Related links

CLEVELAND - The case of a missing postal worker, whose body was found back in January in a frozen creek, has taken a strange twist -- his brother is now behind bars.

Cleveland police are not revealing much, but according to an arrest warrant filed in Cleveland Municipal Court, Christopher Lathan, 48, is accused of having something to do with the death of his brother, Robert Lathan, 49.

Lathan's wife, Tonya Swift, told Fox 8 News about the morning her husband was arrested.

"Around 7:30, we got woken up to somebody's banging on the door and stuff, and he comes down, he looks out the window and says 'there's cops here' so he comes down and they started arresting him," said Swift.

On Thursday morning, police arrested Lathan to face charges of involuntary manslaughter and obstructing official business.

"I'm more confused more than anything because we thought it was over," said Robert Lathan's sister, Margueretta McPherson.

Back on January 8, Christopher and Robert, who was a U.S. Postal worker, were involved in a rollover accident on Martin Luther King Boulevard. Christopher was treated at Huron Hospital in East Cleveland.

Robert was missing for several days until his body was discovered in nearby Doan Creek January 14.

At the time, investigators said there was no indication that anyone else was in the car. Police also say no one mentioned Robert was missing until his family filed a missing persons report later that night. But on the day his brother's body was found, Christopher Lathan told Fox 8 News that was not true.

"They didn't believe me Friday when they came to the hospital, I told them my brother was with me, they talkin about 'no you were by yourself', I told them I was not by myself, my brother was with me," Christopher Lathan said in January.

But according to the arrest warrant, Christopher Lathan hampered the investigation "by not telling police officers that his brother, was in the vehicle with him at the time of the accident." The initial accident report indicates Christopher was found on the driver's side of the car.

Family members are distraught over the new allegations.

"He wasn't the one driving, and he doesn't know why, he wouldn't kill his brother, he loved his brother," said Swift.

"It has been very hard for him, trying to get over the brother's death, and here we go again, it's like reliving...are we ever gonna put closure to this? We thought there was closure," said McPherson.

Christopher Lathan is being held at the Justice Center in downtown Cleveland. He has not been charged.