CASSELBERRY, Fla. — Casselberry Police say Pyle refused to answer any questions on Tuesday night about the death of his on-again-off-again girlfriend and roommate, Pamela Rooks.

  • Pamela Rooks, 55, strangled to death, officials say
  • Roommate William Pyle charged with 1st-degree murder

Early Tuesday evening, police responded to a home on the 200 block of Mont Blanc Court to find 55-year-old Rooks dead. William Pyle was at the scene, officials said.

Investigators say they suspected something suspicious from the start.

"The fact that he didn’t want to talk to us about what was going on certainly caused us some concern," said Casselberry Police Commander William Nas.

On Thursday, the Medical Examiner's Office determined that Rooks was killed by strangulation. She also had signs of blunt-force trauma, it said.

Investigators say Rooks had been dead for a while when Pyle's mother called 911 after she says her son called her to come over.

911 call:  "My son just called me and said. 'Mother get over here.'  I walked in the door she’s laying in the floor.  He said he and she got into a quarrel, she hit the wall, then she grabbed her chest and hit the floor."

Police say on Thursday the medical examiner's office ruled Rooks was strangled to death and had blunt force trauma to her body.  Later in the day, police served Pyle with a warrant for first-degree murder.

Court records indicate Pyle has an extensive criminal history, including a battery conviction stemming from a 2016 incident where he told police he hit his neighbor over the head with a flashlight because that neighbor had been seeing Rooks.

Pyle remains in custody without bond and police say he is not cooperating in their investigation.

"He hasn't expressed any interest in talking to our investigators," said Nas.

Police arrested Pyle in Orange County, but he’ll eventually be transported to the jail in Seminole County. ​