SPRING HILL, Fla. — Hernando County Sheriff's Office said a man was arrested for murder after a family member called for a well-being check on a relative who was found dead.
On Monday, around 7 p.m., deputies responded to a residence in Spring Hill to conduct a well-being check on William Scott Trudell after a family called 911 to report Dakota Lee Croft had possibly killed him.
When deputies arrived, they made contact with Dustin McMillan, who initially did not let deputies into the home. One deputy walked to the backyard and found Croft dead and hanging from a tree.
HCSO said deputies searched the home and surrounding area, where they found Trudell's body lying in a wooded area. Deputies also found drag marks from the side garage to where Trudell's body was found.
During questioning, McMillan said he and Croft had bought alcohol earlier in the day and had been drinking and planned to attack Trudell. McMillan told deputies he and Croft were upset with Trudell for being a "cop caller" and disrespecting women in the home. The two men allegedly ambushed Trudell when he entered the garage and killed him.
A family member of Trudell entered the garage a short time later and saw the body on the floor. McMillan told deputies that's when he and Croft moved the body to the wooded area and began to clean up the garage.
According to HCSO, McMillan said after they cleaned up, Croft hanged himself in the backyard.
Croft was under the supervision of the Florida Department of Corrections and had cut off his ankle monitor, which deputies found in the backyard.
HCSO charged McMillan with first-degree murder and tampering with evidence. He was transported to the Hernando County Detention Center and is being held without bond.
