Bloodied man confesses to killing man over borrowed car

A blood-soaked man was arrested in Florida after showing police the body of a man lying on a patio and saying: “He's dead.”

Matthew Weldon, 37, was arrested and charged with second-degree murder in Palm Harbor on Tuesday, May 21 after allegedly killing a man during an argument over a borrowed car.

Mr. Weldon allegedly showed up at two different neighbors' homes and confessed to the murder, prompting them to call 911.

According to an arrest affidavit, Mr. Weldon first told a neighbor that he had killed someone.

When the neighbor said he was going to call 911, the suspect allegedly responded, “No, no, no” and fled.

The suspect then ran to another neighbor's house, where he again confessed to killing someone, according to his arrest affidavit.

The first neighbor called police around 3:30 p.m. and officers arrived on scene to find Mr. Weldon outside the residence and “covered in blood,” the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office said in a news release.

Mr. Weldon allegedly told responding deputies that “he’s dead,” before pointing to a house.

At that home, officers found the victim, later identified as Carroll Bryan, 49, on the back patio suffering from multiple blunt force injuries to his head, neck and arm. Bryan was pronounced dead at the scene.

Based on evidence collected at the scene, investigators said it appeared Bryan was on the back patio of the residence when he was struck in the back of the head. While on the ground, he was hit several times.

The arrest affidavit alleges that Mr. Weldon used a “blunt/sharp object” to strike the victim.

The suspect was also slightly injured during the incident, the statement said.

During the investigation into the murder, authorities learned that Mr. Weldon had met Bryan at a local bar in Clearwater approximately two weeks earlier.

Mr. Weldon offered to help Bryan and, a week before his death, lent him his vehicle.

However, Bryan allegedly did not return the vehicle when he was supposed to, and Mr. Weldon became upset, according to the sheriff's office.

Bryan then showed up in Mr. Weldon's vehicle on Tuesday and the two got into an argument, which ultimately turned deadly, authorities said.

On Friday, a public defender entered a not guilty plea on behalf of Mr. Weldon and filed a formal request for discovery, Law&Crime reported. Mr. Weldon is currently being held in the Pinellas County Jail.