a florida ex convict has been arrested and charged with murder and arson in the death of a retired university professor, who had given the suspect and his wife close to $40,000 in financial aid dr thomas oakland, 75, was initially believed to have died in a house fire, but an autopsy on the retired university of florida professor found that he'd been bludgeoned and was already dead when fire consumed his gainesville home wednesday police opened a homicide investigation and began searching for a couple who knew the professor late thursday, the us marshals florida regional fugitive task force apprehended 37 year old stephen underwood jr in jacksonville underwood had been released from prison december 22 after convictions for fraud and trafficking in stolen property, according to state records arrest: stephen underwood jr (left), 37, has been charged of murder, arson, burglary and grand theft in the death of dr thomas oakland (right), 75, whose body was recovered inside his fire ravaged home  inferno: oakland's body was found by firefighters responding to a call about flames coming from his home in gainesville, florida  underwood, a day laborer who is currently unemployed, is now being held on charges of murder, arson, burglary and grand theft the suspect and his wife of two years, sherry sidell underwood, 48, had a relationship with oakland that was ‘financial,’ gainesville police spokesman officer ben tobias said gainesville fire rescue got the call at 107pm wednesday about flames coming from oakland's home at 1921 sw 8th drive in the kirkwood subdivision, reported the gainesville sun the man's body was discovered in one of the home's three bedrooms for years before his death, oakland had been a ‘good samaritan’ who was trying to help underwood out, police said over the year before underwood went to prison, investigators believe oakland gave him more than $37,000 in cash ‘apparently, underwood knew oakland kept cash in the house,’ tobias said when underwood got out of prison, the relationship became a problem for oakland, police said the professor contacted police last month to file reports that he'd been defrauded by underwood oakland told officers at the time that he knew underwood had taken advantage of him, but wanted to help beneficiaries: for years before his death, oakland had been a ‘good samaritan’ who was trying to help underwood (left) and his disabled wife, sherry sidell underwood (right), 48  oakland said he ‘just wanted to be a good christian and help a poor man get back on his feet,’ according to police documents it wasn't immediately clear how oakland said he had been defrauded police said underwood's wife, who is disabled, told police that her husband had a large bag of cash she believed he had taken from oakland scholar: oakland was a prominent professor of education until his retirement in 2010, and a former fulbright scholar  ‘she knew he was unemployed and had no funds of his own, and all of a sudden he had a bag of cash,’ tobias said, adding that the woman is not being charged oakland, a former fulbright scholar, was a prominent professor of education until his retirement in 2010, and president of the international foundation for children's education, according to the university he'd also authored or edited 12 book and hundreds of articles ‘dr oakland was an exemplary world class scholar in the field of school psychology, and a dedicated teacher, researcher and mentor to his students during his 15 years as a college of education faculty member,’ said glenn good, dean of the school's college of education ‘we will continue to be inspired by his extraordinary commitment to the college and his profession, his caring and love for his family, compassion for his students and graduates, and his grace and humor’ court records show underwood jr has a long rap sheet dating back to at least 2007 in 2014, he was convicted of swindling, fraud and dealing stolen property he's also been convicted on drug charges, forgery and grand theft jean crockett, director of the school's college of education, told the gainesville sun that the 75 year old educator was especially known for working with disabled children and adults both in the us and abroad
stephen underwood jr 37 thomas oakland university of florida underwood december 22 oakland more than $37,000 the year before
stephen underwood jr, 37, charged of murder, arson, burglary and grand theft in the death of dr thomas oakland . retired university of florida professor was initially believed to have died in a house fire, but autopsy showed he had been bludgeoned . underwood, an unemployed day laborer, has a long criminal history and was released from prison december 22 after convictions for fraud . oakland gave underwood and his disabled wife more than $37,000 in cash in the year before he went to prison 