By Juliana A. Torres
Staff Writer

As of Friday, authorities were still looking for one of two men facing murder charges for the death of a 71-year-old man found in his St. Cloud home Wednesday, St. Cloud police said.

A neighbor and friend of the victim Charles Kilpatrick stopped by his house at 800 California Ave. Wednesday morning, found him dead and called 911, Capt. Bret Dunn, of the St. Cloud Police Department, said.

Police, responding to the suspicious death at 11:41 a.m., reported that Kilpatrick had  “significant injuries” to his head.

Christopher Shipley, 27, was named as a primary suspect early in the homicide investigation. He was Kilpatrick's roommate and was at the house Tuesday evening, police said, along with the other suspect in the case, 26-year-old Michael Corrales. An argument broke out that night and Kilpatrick was struck in the head with a blunt object, Dunn said.

“We believe that it happened sometime between 9 and 11 o'clock,” he said.

Both Shipley and Corrales drove away from the house in Kilpatrick's pickup truck, police said. Police apprehended Corrales in Sanford late Wednesday night, Dunn said. He was arrested for violation of probation and booked into the Seminole County Jail. He had not been charged with homicide at press time Friday.

Shipley's whereabouts are unknown, though investigators believe him to be driving Kilpatrick’s truck. He was seen in the Sanford area at some point Wednesday night, Dunn said, though police sources reported that Shipley was headed to Orlando.

“We do suspect that Mr. Shipley is still in possession of the vehicle,” Dunn said.

Shipley and Corrales face charges of murder, robbery and grand theft auto. Corrales was not related to the homicide victim, but he and Shipley were acquaintances, Dunn said.

“To my knowledge, they haven't really known each other all that long,” he added.

The missing truck, a blue 1990 Dodge pickup, has the Florida tag D396WG. Anyone with information on the homicide, including the whereabouts of Shipley or Kilpatrick’s truck, can call the St. Cloud Police Department at 407-891-6700 or anonymously through Crimeline at 800-423-TIPS.