Fla. man accused of killing mom’s fiancé while he was moving into their home

PALM BAY, Fla. (TCD) — A 24-year-old man was recently indicted for the shooting death of his mother’s fiancé.

On Feb. 11, shortly before midnight, Palm Bay Police officers responded to a home on Cromey Road to a report of a gunshot victim, the State Attorney’s Office for the 18th Judicial Circuit announced. At the scene, officers reportedly found Michael Akerberg, 48, lying in the front yard with multiple gunshot wounds.

Akerberg was transported to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead, the Attorney’s Office said.

Upon further investigation, officials reportedly learned the victim was engaged to Thomas Pastor’s mother. According to the Attorney’s Office, Akerberg was in the process of moving into his significant other’s family home when he and Pastor got into a “heated argument” that “escalated.” Pastor allegedly grabbed a gun from his bedroom and shot Akerberg.

Afterward, Akerberg reportedly tried to escape despite his gunshot wounds, and Pastor went after him and shot him again in a neighbor’s yard.

The Attorney’s Office said Pastor fled the scene but “surrendered to police at a relative’s home in West Melbourne.”

Pastor was arrested and booked into the Brevard County Jail without bond, records show. On March 21, the Attorney’s Office announced that a grand jury indicted Pastor for first-degree premeditated murder.

The Attorney’s Office said the jury heard “testimony from the Brevard Medical Examiner, a Palm Bay Police detective, and crime scene investigator before returning with the indictment.”

A trial date for the case has not yet been scheduled.