Your Florida Daily: Deputies find 1 man killed, another hanging from tree at home

ORLANDO, Fla. – Detectives in Hernando County are trying to piece together what led to two men being found dead in a backyard.

This started as a well-being check at a home in Spring Hill, according to the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office. They were looking for 54-year-old William Trudell.

His family told 911 they believed Trudell had been killed by man named Dakota Croft, 24.

When deputies arrived at the home, they were met with another man: Dustin McMillan. They say McMillan initially didn’t let deputies inside, but later came out to say Croft wasn’t home.

When another deputy entered the backyard, the sheriff’s office said they found Croft hanging from a tree from an apparent suicide.

They say Dustin McMillan admitted he and Croft had plotted to kill William Trudell, the man at the center of the well-being check. McMillan claimed they got drunk earlier in the day and killed Trudell for being a “Cop Caller” who disrespected women in the home.

Shortly after the murder, both McMillan and Croft tried cleaning up the scene and Croft then hanged himself, according to the sheriff’s office.

They say Croft had been currently under supervision by the Department of Corrections and had been wearing an ankle monitor before taking his own life.

McMillan has been charged with first-degree murder and tampering with evidence.

Florida GOP lawmakers seek to ban rainbow flags in schools, saying they’re bad for students

A bill to restrict what types of flags can be flown at schools and government buildings is moving ahead in the Florida Legislature despite some strong backlash.

The measure would ban any flags that represent a stance on things like sexual orientation, gender or political ideology.

That would include pride flags — something critics say is just another attack on the state’s LGBTQ community.

“Instead of fostering tolerance, we focus on intolerance and culture wars,” said State Rep. Dotie Joseph, D-North Miami Beach.

“Flying a pride flag from a school is saying that we believe in this indoctrination, that we believe we should be pushing a certain agenda,” said State Rep. Rick Roth, R-West Palm Beach.

The bill is just one committee vote away from moving to the full House.

So far, the Senate has not taken up its version.

SpaceX scrubs Axiom-3 mission. Here’s the new plan

SpaceX is set to try again Thursday to get the latest all-private astronaut mission off the ground from Kennedy Space Center.

The liftoff of the Axiom-3 mission was originally set for Wednesday, but the company said it needed more time to do checks.

The four-person crew is set to set to spend about two weeks at the International Space Station doing research in microgravity.

The weather is looking good for another launch attempt this afternoon. That is set for 4:49 p.m.

Random Florida Fact

Big Bend Travel Plaza is one of the first independent truck stops along Interstate 10 in North Florida. It’s also the oldest one still in operation.

Near the truck stop, you can see a curious roadside figure known locally as “Johnny Donutseed.”

It was a 10 or 12 foot tall statue of a Johnny Appleseed-type fiberglass figure, except he held a mug of coffee and a large donut.

If you stop off I-10 at Exit 217, Johnny’s still there, though he’s falling apart and has a missing arm.