Arlene Arocho died Aug. 14
By Jeremy Maready
THE LEDGER
Published: Tuesday, March 22, 2011 at 10:22 p.m.
LAKELAND | A Lakeland man was arrested Tuesday and charged with manslaughter in the death of his live-in girlfriend during a domestic dispute in August.
Anthony Renard McNeal, 47, of 515 Bon Air St., No. 145, was charged with manslaughter with a weapon and tampering with physical evidence, according to Lakeland police. He was booked into the Polk County Jail and held without bond Tuesday night. He will have his first court appearance today.
An autopsy concluded that Arlene Arocho, 43, died from a stab wound.
Police said it was inflicted by McNeal during an argument Aug. 14, reports said.
About 9 a.m. that day police were called to the Bon Air Street address after receiving a report about an unresponsive woman.
Police learned McNeil had gone to the property manager's office and said he had found Arocho unresponsive in bed at the apartment. When officers went to the apartment Arocho was dead, according to reports.
For months, Lakeland detectives worked on the case and waited for test and autopsy results to return, Lt. Al Wilson said.
"When there's unresolved questions, we have to investigate those things thoroughly," Wilson said.
Through interviews with witnesses, police learned that the couple had been involved in an argument earlier that day.
Police said they did not know what the argument was about.
Wilson also said there had been reports of past domestic violence issues between the couple.
McNeal has denied he stabbed Arocho.
"His story is dramatically different from the witnesses in this case," Wilson said.
The tampering with evidence charge stems from an accusation that McNeal tried to clean up areas of the crime scene before detectives had a chance to analyze it thoroughly, Wilson said.
McNeal is the son of the Rev. Jesse McNeal of Freedom in Christ Ministry in Lakeland.
[ Jeremy Maready can be reached at jeremy.maready@theledger.com or 863-802-7592. ]
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