A California man was found buried in his backyard just days after complaining that his roommate ransacked his room.
Bradley Minder, 31, was found in a freshly dug grave Oct. 15 in the backyard of the home where he rented a room on Sylvan Drive in Riverside after colleagues reported they had not seen or heard from him. in several days. according to the Sacramento Bee.
Police then arrested his housemate, Richard Thomas Martinez, 48, who made statements suggesting he had killed Minder.
Authorities have said Martinez killed Minder during an argument, but did not specify what they were arguing about. KTLA Reports.
However, Minder’s family has since revealed that Martinez had ransacked his room just three days earlier.
Bradley Minder, 31, was found in a freshly dug grave on October 15 in the backyard of the house where he rented a room on Sylvan Drive in Riverside, California.
His family has since revealed that the man accused of killing him had ransacked his room just three days before his body was found.
“He wanted to let me know that he was back home and that he was cleaning his room, because the man broke into his room and destroyed a lot of his things,” said Minder’s mother, Leona Hodo. he told ABC 7.
She and other family members claimed Minder and Martinez did not know each other, but Martinez occasionally stayed at the house, which belonged to her grandfather.
“Bradley didn’t really know him, the guy was out on a bender or something,” said Minder’s brother, Vinnie Casella.
“I wasn’t right in the head,” Casella said, suggesting Martinez was on drugs.
“I was constantly smoking meth and stuff.”
The distraught brother added that his brother was willing to leave the house once he found a new room to rent.
He noted that Martinez had previously been arrested for disorderly conduct and possession of a controlled substance when he assaulted his own grandfather and then ransacked his brother’s room.
“He never got angry at anyone, he was never an angry person, he was loving, he had a heart of gold,” Hodo said.
Police arrested his housemate, Richard Thomas Martinez, 48, who made statements suggesting he had killed Minder.
Minder was the oldest child in the family and helped raise his younger siblings, his family said.
He is now remembered as friendly and protective of his loved ones.
“He told me he was going to be okay, he said, ‘I love you mom, you’re my rock,’ and that was the last time I talked to my son,” Hodo said.
A family statement also described Minder as “the gentlest soul to ever walk this Earth.”
“He was a kind friend and a deeply loyal son, brother and uncle,” said the statement to KTLA.
‘His family meant more to him than anything in the world. He forgave easily and treated everyone with pure, unadulterated love and was a natural protector with a heart of gold.’
Minder was the eldest in his family and is remembered as friendly and protective of his loved ones.
Hodo said he now plans to be in the courtroom on Nov. 4 when Martinez is arraigned on murder charges.
He is being held without bail.
Meanwhile, Minder’s family is trying to raise money to help with funeral expenses.
“With such short notice of his passing, his mother, sisters, nieces and nephew are currently in Kansas and have to travel to California,” the online fundraiser says.
As of early Tuesday morning, he had raised $5,150 for the family.