FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (TCD) — Police have launched a homicide investigation after an 89-year-old man and his 85-year-old wife were found shot to death inside the home where they had lived for decades.
According to WTVJ-TV, on the evening of Friday, March 22, Fort Lauderdale Police Department officers were called to Major and Claudette Melvin’s home after a family member discovered them deceased from apparent gunshot wounds. Fort Lauderdale Police also issued a Be on the Lookout (BOLO) bulletin for their 2014 red Ford Fusion, which was stolen from their residence.
WPLG-TV reports one of Melvins’ daughters, Tonya Mitchell, said her father was shot and killed while he was on the couch, adding, “Apparently they startled him. He tried to get up and at the time of getting up, he must have fell on his knees and that person shot him.”
Claudette Melvin was shot in the chest.
At a press conference, Mitchell described her parents as “the most loving people that I’ve ever known.” They had been married for over 50 years and lived in the same house for about that same amount of time.
The suspect or suspects reportedly did not steal any items from the Melvins’ home other than their 10-year-old car. Police are continuing to search for leads and information regarding the suspect or suspects.
Fort Lauderdale Police Sgt. Donald Geiger said at the press conference, “This one really hits home for not only me but for my detectives it does. This is a couple that were born right after the [Great] Depression, lived through World War II, lived through the civil rights movement, Vietnam War, everything imaginable, and now it ends like this. This is something we are taking very seriously.”
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