Man charged in girlfriend's death
TAMPA (FOX 13) - Detectives say a Tampa man is responsible for the death of his girlfriend, who was found unresponsive at her Tampa home back in November 2016 and later died. Investigators now believe, however, the events leading to her death happened at a home on Madera Beach.
Pinellas County deputies arrested 36-year-old Michael Thomas Valenti on June 28 and charged him with manslaughter in the death of 45-year-old Alison Marie Burch, of Tampa.
Investigators turned their attention to Valenti at the beginning of May. Hillsborough County sheriff's detectives were investigating Burch's death but pulled in Pinellas County sheriff's detectives when they discovered the events in Madeira Beach that lead up to her death.
Detectives say while Burch and Valenti were doing house repair work at 14925 1st Street East in Madeira Beach, they got into a physical fight. It appears Burch's injuries during that fight lead to her death.
When detectives interviewed Valenti, he was already an inmate at the Orient Road County Jail on unrelated criminal charges. They say he admitted to the allegations and was charged with manslaughter on June 28.
Valenti will be extradited back to Pinellas County.