• Tweet
• Share
• Email
• Print

SARASOTA COUNTY, Fla. - Friends and family of a slain Charlotte County firefighter are reacting to the news of his wife's arrest.

Standing in the very spot of her murdered friend's memorial in Punta Gorda, Meghan Collins now is grateful another piece of the puzzle of justice is in place. 

"He's left a big void in a lot of people's hearts. A lot," Collins said of murdered Charlotte County firefighter Sam Dreher.

The man now behind bars accused of Sam's death, Michael Minor, is also being slapped with grand theft and burglary charges for a crime that happened several days before the murder. But there's an even bigger twist, Sam's widow Danielle is also charged in that previous burglary. 

FOX 4's Kelli Stegeman talked to Sam's sister by phone about his widow's arrest.

"I'm nt surprised, but I do not know the evidence that the sheriff's department had against her and I just have to defer to their judgement that they know what they are doing," Cindy Lutz said. 

Court documents say the widow helped the murder suspect burglarize the firefighter's girlfriend's house several days before the murder. Investigators say Minor recorded the previous burglary on video.

Investigators say texts linked Minor and Sam's widow to the burglary. She was allegedly looking for rings she believed her husband took from her. She and Minor allegedly tracked Sam's girlfriend by putting a GPS device on her car. 

"I think there are many facts in this case that have yet to come to light," said Lutz. 

"I think the most important thing that everybody needs to realize here is that yeah they are doing an investigation and hopefully the family can get some rest," Collins said.

And Sam's family agrees. It's still only about Sam. 

"We can not bring him back," Lutz said. "But what we can do right now is pray that we get through this and we can pray that law enforcement and the state's attorney's office will continue to pursue this to the end."