A man was reported missing; a gun was reported stolen. A shallow backyard grave led to the arrest of the accused killer.

New soil, decorative bricks and an above-ground pool sat atop a homemade grave in Simon Hand’s backyard.

Fort Lauderdale Police detectives noticed the newly laid sod on July 15 while they were at the home in the 1800 block of Southwest 64th Terrace in North Lauderdale talking to Hand about a gun that went missing, records say. Days later, detectives would be back with a search warrant.

Broward Sheriff’s deputies and Fort Lauderdale Police officers dug up the body of an adult male from a “shallow grave” in Hand’s yard, according to a probable cause affidavit. Hand, 23, of North Lauderdale, was arrested July 20 and was charged with first-degree murder.

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The victim’s name is being withheld under Marsy’s Law, a voter-approved constitutional amendment that allows crime victims and their families to withhold identifying information from the public.

On July 9, the victim, Hand and other friends were hanging out at Hand’s home, planning “fraudulent activity,” the affidavit says. One of the people there that night told police Hand brought out a gun to show the group, which he and the victim planned to steal from Hand.

A Glock 17 registered to someone else was reported stolen from a car registered to Hand two days later, the affidavit says. That same day, the victim’s mother and girlfriend reported the victim missing.

Detectives went to Hand’s home to question him on July 13, four days after the victim was last known to be with Hand, the affidavit says.

Hand told police he dropped the victim off at his aunt’s home in Lauderhill between 12:40 and 12:45 a.m. on July 10. He showed the officers a text message he received from the victim at 12:55 a.m. that said, “Im at home Cuhh bet,” according to the affidavit.

But witnesses later told police Hand took the victim’s phone and texted himself after the victim was already dead, the affidavit says. The victim’s aunt told police he never came to her house that day.

Records from the victim’s phones showed it was last active near Hand’s home about 12:30 a.m. and shortly before 2 a.m. July 10, refuting Hand’s alibi that he had dropped the victim off in Lauderhill by then, the affidavit says.

Phone records showed both the victim and Hand’s cellphones were in the same area until 1:46 a.m. July 10. Then Hand turned off his phone and the victim’s phone minutes later, the affidavit says.

Hand and another person then drove to Lauderhill with the victim’s cellphone to make it look as if Hand had dropped the victim off shortly after 2 a.m., according to the affidavit.

While detectives searched Hand’s home last week, they spoke to a man who was at the home the night of the murder. The man, whose name is redacted in the affidavit, told detectives that on the night of the killing, he noticed the gun was missing after the victim and the victim’s friend left. He and Hand then searched the house and cars for the Glock to no avail.

That’s when Hand called the victim, picked him up and brought him back to Hand’s house, the affidavit says the man told detectives. Still, no one could find the gun, and the man said he’d report it missing the coming Monday.

Shortly after, while the three were sitting in the living room, one gunshot rang out.

The man said he turned and saw Hand standing with a gun in his left hand and the victim, who had been shot in the head, falling over, the affidavit says. Hand then grabbed a pillow from his room, placed it over the victim’s head and shot him once again in the head.

The two then wrapped the body in plastic and a rug and placed it on the side of the house to bury once they bought two shovels and a pickax from a Home Depot. Hand burned the pillow used in the killing and the victim’s clothes, the affidavit says.

Detectives found the victim’s burned wallet buried in a separate spot in the yard. A burnt debit card bore the victim’s name, the affidavit says.

Hand also faces one count of possession of a weapon or ammunition by a convicted felon. He was convicted of felony burglary and grand theft charges in 2017.