A Largo man is dead after a series of bizarre events. Investigators believe a false report of a rape plays a key factor.
This all started last month when a woman claimed a man broke into her apartment and raped her using a box cutter as a weapon.
It happened May 10, at The Lakes At Largo apartment complex off 137th Street.
In a downpour, investigators tried to figure out why a neighbor stabbed Michael Peterson to death.
They spoke to a man living in apartment 102-B, who told them Peterson had been banging on an apartment door, demanding money that was owed.
A couple, Brittany and Gerald Sorey, had moved out of that apartment after Largo police say Brittany reported she had been raped.
An eviction notice is hanging on their doorknob. The man who came to her door assumed they still lived here.
Largo police said when Peterson came to the door, the new tenant called Brittany, who told the tenant the man knocking sounded like the guy who raped her.
When the tenant stepped out to snap a picture, things went bad fast. The new tenant stabbed Peterson to death.
Police say Brittany Sorey made up the entire rape report.
Police cleared the guy who stabbed Peterson, saying it was self defense.
Neighbor Al Butkus said Peterson fished in the nearby lake, built a garden and installed a bike rack in front of his apartment.
“Everybody around here didn’t really believe that he really passed away. He got killed from this. It’s just a crying shame.” said Butkus.
“That hurt everybody around here. I was like really devastated about it. I built a little memorial over there for him and everything.”
Brittany Sorey is charged with making a false report of a crime, a misdemeanor. She’s out of jail on $150 bond.
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