BRANDON — For years, the house at 517 S Larry Circle stood out for the wrong reasons.
Weeds strangled the fence. Broken down cars littered the yard. And the two brothers who lived there grew from boys with attitudes into men with rap sheets.
The home, however, had since been cleaned and seemed destined for a fresh start. Neighbors said an investor was poised to buy it from Micah Rogers, the younger brother, the only one left living there.
But on Valentine's Day, Rogers, 31, died from carbon monoxide poisoning after putting a motor scooter in his bedroom, turning it on and asphyxiating himself, according to Hillsborough County sheriff's spokesman Larry McKinnon.
Then on Monday, the aftermath of his suicide led to another discovery at the Brandon home.
Family members, including his maternal grandfather, discovered a garbage can, sealed shut with tape, in the back yard.
Inside was a badly decomposed human body.
Officials have not identified the body, which appeared to have been stored in the garbage can for some time.
As detectives began their investigation, they learned that Micah's older brother, Benna, 33, has been unaccounted for over the last few months. Family members never reported his absence to authorities.
McKinnon said detectives are trying to determine whether the older brother is missing or has just been out of contact with his family. Authorities have not made a connection between the missing brother and the body in the garbage can.
Neighbors said Micah and Benna had lived at the home with their late father, Benjamin Franklin Rogers, since they were kids. Their mother, Debbie Cook, moved out when they were teens.
Cook's mother, Margaret, said in a brief interview Monday that her daughter had discovered Micah's body after the suicide. She said she could not remember the last time she had spoken with Benna Rogers.
In 2003, the brothers were charged with stealing more than 500 DVDs and video games from Brandon-area Blockbuster video stores. Authorities said they sold the stolen goods to pawnshops and used the money for heroin.
Records from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement show extensive criminal pasts for each — including vehicle theft, dealing in stolen property and heroin possession convictions for Micah, and grand theft, dealing in stolen property and possession of drug paraphernalia convictions for Benna.
"I steered clear of those brothers because they were trouble," said neighbor Fran Landon, 51.
Their father died in 2010.
Neighbor Raymond Williams, 74, said he'd not seen Benna Rogers in more than a year.
"After the dad died, he didn't stay there all that long," he said.
Micah Rogers, who went by "Bucky," became the owner of the house through a quit claim deed.
Neighbors weren't sure what he did for a living and often saw him riding his scooter, which otherwise was usually propped up against the garage door.
Williams said he saw Micah Rogers last week, on Feb. 13. He was friendly and waved hello, he said, but looked "a little glassy eyed."
The discovery of two bodies in a week's time marked the darkest chapter in the home's history.
"Bad things have been going on in that house for a long time," said Williams.
Times researcher John Martin contributed to this report. Reach Jodie Tillman at jtillman@tampabay.com or (813) 226-3374. Reach Stephanie Wang at swang@tampabay.com or (813)661-2443.
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