FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) – Months after an elderly couple was murdered in their Fort Lauderdale home, police have made an arrest. However, the man taken into custody is not currently facing murder charges.
It has been a long and painful process for the family of Major and Claudette Melvin, who were murdered in their Fort Lauderdale home in March.
Kim Mitchell, the couple’s daughter, spoke to 7News on Wednesday.
“We are angry, we are very angry. We are still trying to understand how we can do this? Who would do this? Who did this? Why?” Kim said.
There are still questions unanswered, but it appears that progress is being made in the investigation.
Fort Lauderdale police said they arrested 30-year-old Maurice Newson, an ex-boyfriend of the couple’s granddaughter, for stealing and selling the Melvins’ red Ford Fusion.
According to investigators, the car was stolen the night of the murders.
Tonya Mitchell, another daughter of the victims, spoke to 7News a few days after her parents’ bodies were found.
“The person came in the front door and Major must have tried to get up. When he got up, he got tangled in the blanket and they shot him at point blank range with a nine-millimeter pistol,” she said. “She was also shot, in the chest, and she fell backwards. It’s just horrible.”
According to police, 89-year-old Major and 85-year-old Claudette were shot dead in the home where they had lived for five decades.
Nothing was stolen from the house except the Ford Fusion.
However, in early April, investigators received a tip that the sedan was at a tow yard in Wilton Manors.
A tow truck driver told police that on March 22, the day of the murders, he was instructed by his boss to meet someone at a Tri-Rail station to purchase a 2014 Fusion.
The police report states that the driver told police that the seller “stated that he had recently purchased the 2012 Ford Fusion and was selling it because he was tired of putting money into the car.”
The driver bought the car for $200 and later called the police when he saw the Melvins’ car on the news.
Investigators traced Newson’s cell phone number and determined that he was the man who sold the car.
The police report states that the family told investigators “that Maurice often came to the house after the murder, ‘acting strangely’ and asking a lot of questions.”
The police report also states that Melvin’s granddaughter voluntarily took a lie detector test, but it turned out that she “told the truth when asked if she had any involvement in the death of her grandparents.”
At this time, Newson is only charged with stealing and selling the car. The victims’ granddaughter is not currently facing any charges as detectives continue their investigation.
Tonya had a message for the person who took her parents’ lives.
“What did you want? What were you looking for? You didn’t take anything, but you killed them. Why?” she said. “If you come here and kill two old people like that, you’ll burn in hell.”
At this point, it is unclear who else, if anyone, is being investigated in connection with the murders.
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