Missing man found dead; suspect, 26, faces manslaughter, kidnapping charges

An arrest warrant was issued Friday for a 26-yearold man after witnesses said he shot another man to death in Leesburg and dumped his body in a wooded area in Marion County, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.

Along with manslaughter, Matthew Allen is facing charges of kidnapping, unlawful transport of human remains, tampering with evidence, grand theft auto and child neglect.

Allen was already held at the Marion County Jail on an unrelated warrant in Sumter County.

Deputies on Thursday found the body of Casey Dean in the woods behind a Weirsdale home in Marion County after friends reported him missing since Aug. 28. He was last seen in Leesburg at a home on Misty Meadows Road, where there was an altercation over Dean allegedly trying to scare someone earlier that day with a gun that was thought to be inoperable, according to the affidavit.

Witnesses told deputies

Allen picked up the gun during the argument and shot Dean in the neck, killing him in front of two children and others, the affidavit continued. He then wrapped Dean in a rug, placed him in the back of a stolen pickup truck and drove off, eventually dumping the body near County Roads 42 and 14 before disposing the rug with the help of a woman whose name was redacted by authorities.

She later told detectives Allen did not allow her to leave his side until Wednesday, when he let her pick up clothes and return ahead of his plan to leave the state. She drove off in a separate car, later abandoning it in Umatilla to escape Allen, the affidavit said.

Allen was later arrested without bond on drug charges filed in Sumter County, Marion County Jail records show. He declined to be interviewed by detectives and requested a lawyer.

Authorities are requesting he be held in Lake County without bond in Dean’s death, a Sheriff’s Office spokesperson said.