Brainerd Man Charged with Murder in Shooting Death of Daughter’s Boyfriend

BRAINERD, Minn. – A Brainerd man is accused of fatally shooting his daughter’s boyfriend who he suspected was abusing her.

The 45-year-old Brainerd father, Michael LaFlex, is charged with second-degree murder in the death of 23-year-old Bryce Brogle, who was reported missing after going to the man’s storage unit on Oct. 26.

According to a criminal complaint, LaFlex shot Brogle in the back of the head from a distance and then buried his body in Crow Wing County.

The defendant’s daughter reported her boyfriend missing on Oct. 28, telling police he hadn’t been seen since he went to the storage unit with her father.

Investigators executed a search warrant on Oct. 29 at the storage unit and said they found the presence of blood and bleach on the concrete floor and signs something had been dragged across the floor.

The following day, law enforcement officers searched land in Crow Wing County on foot and found a grave site. The complaint said that after it was excavated, they found a body with a gunshot wound to the back of the head. An autopsy confirmed it was Brogle.

According to the charges, the landlord for Brogle and his girlfriend called the sheriff’s office, saying the father has asked if Brogle had hurt his daughter. The landlord said his daughter had been seen with two black eyes. The complaint said LaFlex then told the landlord he was going to kill Brogle, and he’d already dug a hole.