On June 1, 2011, officers with the Miami-Dade Police Department went to investigate a brush fire in a desolate area near the Everglades. Instead, they found a murder.

The burned body of a man whose hands were tied behind his back lay near a dirt road, according to an affidavit. He had a slit throat, blunt-force injuries and burns to his pelvic area. He was later identified as Camilo Salazar, a 43-year-old man whose wife had reported him missing.

When investigators examined his car, a fingerprint led them to Ariel Gandulla, a mixed martial arts fighter, the affidavit said.

This week, Mr. Gandulla, 51, returned to Miami as a suspect in the killing of Mr. Salazar after spending several years in Canada. The state attorney said the case resembled the plot of a “bad Hollywood movie” : Another fighter, a promoter and a supermarket magnate are also suspects; there have been escapes to Spain and Canada; and an affair led to a fatal act of revenge, according to affidavits.