‘They didn’t deserve this.’ Reward is offered to find killer of elderly couple
An elderly couple — married for almost 60 years — was gunned down in their Fort Lauderdale home about two weeks ago. Broward Crime Stoppers is now offering a reward of $5,000 for tips, police announced Wednesday.
In the evening hours of March 22, investigators found Claudette Melvin, 85, and Major Melvin, 89, shot to death inside their house in the 600 block of Southwest 30th Terrace in the city’s Melrose Manors neighborhood. The family moved to Broward from Virginia when daughter Tonya Mitchell, now 65, was 12 years old.
The Melvins were a blended family — and the couple had 11 children and about 28 grandchildren.
“I have so many good memories,” Mitchell previously told the Miami Herald. “I don’t want to think about what happened to them . ... The way they went out, that’s a tragedy.”
At a Wednesday news conference, Fort Lauderdale Det. Sgt. Donald Geiger didn’t offer details about the investigation, though he said several leads have been followed.
“I look at these people like my grandparents,”
Geiger said. “This one really hits home for, not only me, but my detectives.”
Reporting from local news outlets, however, has shed more light on what happened at the home that the Melvins lived in for half a century.
Mitchell told WPLGABC 10 she believes the shooter entered the home through the unlocked front door. Major, who was on the couch, was fatally struck as he tried to get up. Claudette was shot in the chest while rushing into the kitchen.
Shell casings were found scattered on the scene, Mitchell told the TV station. Nothing appeared to be missing inside the residence.
Geiger didn’t confirm any of those details, frequently citing the ongoing investigation. Instead, he urged the public to keep an eye out for the couple’s car, which is thought to have been stolen.
Investigators believe someone — perhaps the same person who killed them — might have taken the car.
The couple owned a red 2014 Ford Fusion with a Florida tag number of
LTDQ16, police say. Photos of the car indicate that it had a scratch on the left side as well as a sticker and dent on the bumper.
Geiger asked anyone who has spotted the car — even if in the past — to come forward. He also said information about the murders wasn’t released until almost a week later due to an internal error.
At the news conference, Mitchell said she had last spoken to her mother two days before the death. Claudette was looking forward to booking a trip to visit Mitchell in North Carolina.
“I’m so numb, I still can’t believe that happened,” said Mitchell’s sister Kim Melvin Hill, who also lives in North Carolina.
Mitchell said her siblings are concerned with laying their parents to rest — and finding the person responsible.
Anyone with information should contact Det. Almanzar 954-828-5546,
Det. Swisher 954-8284007 or Det. Sgt. Geiger at 954-828-6958. You can also reach out to Broward Crime Stoppers at 954493-8477.
“Please help us,” Mitchell said. “They didn’t deserve this.”