Edgewater cops: Man charged with murdering older roommate by suffocating him

Edgewater murder locator / Headline SurferHeadline Surfer locator / Brian A. McLane, 34, shown below at left in VCBJ mug shot, was arrested Friday in the suffocation murder of his 70-year-old roommate, Richard F. Carton, four days earlier in their residence at 1709 S. Ridgewood Ave., lot No. 8, Edgewater police said.

EDGEWATER -- A 34-year-old man was arrested Friday on a charge of first-degree murder in the suffocation of his 70-year-old roommate four days earlier, Edgewater cops said.

Police responded to 1709 S. Ridgewood Ave., lot No. 8, in regards to a death, which they subsequently deemed suspicious. The victim was identified as 70-year-old Richard F. Carton.

Brian McLane of Edgewater arrested on 1st-degree murder charge / Headline SurferOn Friday, Edgewater police arrested 34 year old Brian A. McLane, Carton’s roommate, and charged him with first-degree murder after cops said he confessed to killing the older man by suffocating him until he was dead.

Very little information was provided by police in a press release and no arrest report was provided.

Police did not released details as to how or when specifically the suffocation occurred or how they were alerted he was dead in the first place. No possible motive was released by police for the killing. 

McLane was ordered held without bail after his first appearance in court earlier today at the Volusia County Branch Jail courtroom in Daytona Beach.

This is Edgewater's first homicide of the year.

Editor's Note:

The information for this story came from a press release issued at 9:01 p.m. Friday by Edgewater police Sgt. Joe Mahoney with scant few details and without an arrest report attached. Headline Surfer sent a follow-up request to Mahoney for additional details at 6:27 p.m. Saturday, asking the following:
# Where's the arrest report with the actual details?
# When was the victim murdered?
# How were police alerted and by whom? # What time was the arrest?
# How was the victim suffocated? # How long were they roommates?
# Who owns the property? # What was the reason for the killing?
# Why wasn't media notified Monday when the victim was killed?
A return receipt at 6:57 p.m. Saturday showed Mahoney opened the email request, but he did not respond.