BRANSON, Mo. (AP) - Prosecutors have charged a Branson man with first-degree murder in the strangulation of a teenager whose body was found in an apartment bathtub a month after the suspect allegedly threatened to kill the victim and his family.
Charges were upgraded Monday against Sean D. Roberson, 24, after a medical examiner determined Andros Valentin-Vargas had died of asphyxiation from strangulation. Roberson previously had been charged with first-degree assault, armed criminal action and first-degree burglary in the 18-year-old's death.
According to a probable cause statement, Valentin-Vargas' brother came home around 2:45 p.m. Friday and heard a noise coming from the room of his roommate, who wasn't there at the time. When the brother tried to open his roommate's door, he saw Roberson holding a knife, police said.
The brother took off running and yelled "call the police" as Roberson chased him and eventually threw the knife at him, police said.
The body of Valentin-Vargas was found about an hour later in the same apartment. He was found in the bathtub covered with water, with strangulation marks on his neck and cuts on other parts of his body, police said.
Roberson, who didn't yet have an attorney Tuesday, was found in Lake Taneycomo after a manhunt involving several law enforcement jurisdictions. He was pulled from the lake after refusing orders to voluntarily surrender and taken into custody, police said.
The probable cause statement said Roberson made statements a month ago that he intended to kill the victim and his family.
In addition to the murder charge, Roberson was charged Monday with resisting arrest. His next court appearance is scheduled for May 6, according to online court records.