Around 5:38 p.m. on Wednesday, May 10, 2017, 29-year-old Preston Burnett's body was found by a passer-by in the abandoned Skyview Golf Course in Lakeland. He was violently murdered and left there. An autopsy is being conducted today.
On Tuesday, May 9, 2017, an Auburndale Police Department corporal saw Burnett in downtown Auburndale and drove Burnett to his ex-girlfriend's house around
2:30 a.m. His ex-girlfriend told PCSO detectives that Burnett immediately left her home, stating "They might find me." It is unclear at this point in time who he was referring to. Burnett also told his ex-girlfriend he was in a fight with two unknown African-American males in downtown Auburndale.