Two men hunted down 35-year-old Phillip Madlock to collect a drug debt last year and "severely assaulted" him in multiple locations around Lincoln before he died, police alleged Tuesday.
Lincoln police arrested Dominic G. Aguirre, 36, and Paul A. Clark, 35, on Monday in connection with Madlock's death, accusing Aguirre of second-degree murder and Clark of aiding and abetting. Neither has been formally charged.
More than six months have passed since Madlock's brother reported him missing July 10, saying he hadn't heard from him in two weeks.
Court documents filed Tuesday provided the first glimpse into what happened to Madlock following a series of events that left friends and family members worried for his safety even before he disappeared.
Investigators believe Madlock died as Aguirre and Clark moved him around the city, and that the two then dumped his body somewhere outside Lancaster County, according to the court documents. But police haven't publicly disclosed whether his body has been found.
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"The release of further investigative details has the propensity to compromise the integrity of the ongoing investigation," Chief Jeff Bliemeister said in an email to the Journal Star.
An update is expected Wednesday morning.
Aguirre and Clark remained in jail without bond. The pair have been behind bars since Jan. 12, when they were arrested on suspicion of taking part in a marijuana-trafficking conspiracy.
More arrests could follow, Bliemeister said.
"The Lincoln Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Unit is completing interviews, following a digital footprint, analyzing evidence seized in multiple search warrants and collaborating with other law enforcement agencies," Bliemeister said.
Madlock's disappearance was not immediately publicized by police or his family, as sometimes happens in missing persons cases involving suspicious circumstances.
At the time he was reported missing, a sister called his disappearance out of character and said she feared something might be wrong, police said in a Nov. 22 affidavit requesting a search warrant for Madlock's phone records.
In October, police tracked down a former girlfriend, who said Madlock hadn't spoken with her since she kicked him out of her home July 18.
It was unusual for him to sever ties with everyone, the woman said.
Before their falling out, she said, Madlock had told her about several disturbing incidents that started while he was on a trip to the Dominican Republic over the summer.
There, Madlock said he met a woman and quickly became adamant that he needed to send her money to buy a home, the former girlfriend told police.
A Lincoln man remains missing more than six months after family members told investigators they were concerned something might be wrong.
He also talked of borrowing $2,000 from "some Crips in California" who he was unable to pay back, she said.
The strange behavior apparently continued when he returned to the U.S. on June 19.
Madlock asked his former girlfriend "if he could stay with her and 'lay low' because some people might be trying to kill him," she told investigators, according to the November search warrant affidavit.
Madlock's family didn't return a request seeking comment Tuesday.
Prior to their arrests Monday, Aguirre and Clark were charged with conspiring to bring marijuana from farms in northern California to Lincoln since 2014.
They are expected to appear in court for the first time Wednesday afternoon.
The Nebraska State Patrol, Saunders County Sheriff’s Office, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Cass County Sheriff’s Office and the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office assisted in the investigation, Bliemeister said.
Madlock's killing marks the only recorded homicide for Lincoln for 2017.