An Osceola County man is facing first-degree murder charges after police say he shot and killed his brother during an argument over a cheeseburger.

  • Nicholas Middendorf died at St. Cloud home
  • Benjamin Middendorf arrested on 1st-degree murder charges

“We were in a fight and I grabbed a gun and I shot him. Oh my god," Benjamin Middendorf said in a 911 call released by the St. Cloud Police Department.

St. Cloud Police received a call just after 10 p.m. about a shooting at a home in the 600 block of 6th Street.

According to investigators, Benjamin Angus Middendorf, 25, shot his brother, Nicholas Middendorf, 28, in the chest with a 9mm handgun during an argument.

“My son, just shot my son," Middendorf's mother told a dispatcher during an emotional 911 call.

Nicholas Middendorf died at the home.

“This is an impulsive incident that happened. Maybe anger, rage. But it was definitely over a verbal dispute that sadly, it was over a cheeseburger," St. Cloud Police Department spokesperson Denise Roberts said. "It's something that could have possibly been prevented, if he had held back those emotions.”

“I hope you go to jail," Middendorf's mother was overheard saying in the 911 call.

An arrest affidavit says their mother and the shooting victim, Nicholas, had been drinking with friends on Cinco de Mayo. Benjamin told detectives he does not drink.

"It is Mother’s Day weekend and in this particular case, the mom has lost two sons. One who is deceased and then the other son who is now incarcerated and facing homicide charges," Roberts said.

Benjamin Middendorf was arrested on charges of premeditated first-degree murder. He was taken to the Osceola County Jail.

During a court appearance Saturday, a judge ordered Middendorf remain in jail on no bond.