LANCASTER, Pa. — A Lancaster man has been accused of beating his roommate to death early Monday morning, according to a criminal complaint affidavit filed by Manheim Township Police.
Brian Diante Gray, 18, of the 1000 block of North Duke Street, is charged with criminal homicide in the death of 68-year-old Michael Pfender, whose body was found in the detached garage of a building where he and Gray lived, along with Gray's father and another person, police said.
Gray's father contacted authorities Monday at 6:32 a.m., claiming there had been "some kind of accident" but declining to provide additional details.
When police arrived, Gray's father told the officers that his son woke him earlier that morning and admitted to killing Pfender in the detached garage where Pfender lived. Gray allegedly asked his father and their other roommate for help.
Gray had left the scene before police arrived, the complaint states.
Gray's father allowed police to enter the garage, where they found Pfender's lifeless body. Pfender had visible injuries to his face and head, according to police.
The second roommate told police Gray had awakened him at 4 a.m. Gray was reportedly in "an agitated state" and told the roommate that Pfender was not breathing. The roommate initially believed Gray was joking, but accompanied him to the garage, where he saw Pfender's body.
The roommate said he had been in the garage with Gray, Pfender and another witness the night before. Gray appeared to be intoxicated, but the roommate reported there did not appear to be any issues between Gray and Pfender at the time, according to police.
Gray's roommate reported he left Gray, Pfender and the other witness to go to his room at about 2:30 a.m. When Gray woke him at 4 a.m., both Gray and the other witness were gone and Pfender was dead, the roommate reported.
Before he left the scene, Gray allegedly argued with his roommates, who wanted him to "do the right thing" and call police, the complaint states. The witnesses told police Gray was proposing "farfetched ideas" like disposing of Pfender's body, according to the complaint.
Investigators located the third witness, who admitted he had been with Gray and Pfender the night before. He told police that at one point Gray had become angry after Pfender made a disrespectful comment toward him, but the two appeared to reconcile before the witness left at about 3:15 a.m.
The witness told police he left so that he and Gray could connect online to play a video game. The witness said that at about 3:49 a.m., Gray told him he needed to leave and signed out of the game. Gray did not return, and the witness eventually logged off, he reported to police.
Police say a preliminary assessment of Pfender's body by the Lancaster County Coroner's Office determined he had sustained blunt force trauma to the face and head and had a defensive wound on his right hand.
Police say Gray turned himself in at the Lancaster City Police Station at about 11 a.m. Monday. He allegedly told police "I (screwed) up."
