Fort Lauderdale police find murdered couple's car, arrest their granddaughter's boyfriend
FORT LAUDERDALE — An arrest has been made in connection to the murder of an elderly Fort Lauderdale couple back in late March.
Fort Lauderdale Police announced on Wednesday that Maurice Anthony Newson, 30, was arrested for stealing Major and Claudette Melvin's 2014 red Ford Fusion and later trying to sell it. Police did not say whether Newson was also responsible for the couple's death.
The night of the double murder
Around 8:47 p.m. on March 22, Fort Lauderdale Police were called out to a death investigation of a husband and wife who were found shot dead in their Melrose Park home.
When detectives went inside the home, they found Claudette, 87, lying in the dining room and Major, 89, in the living room, both bleeding out with gunshot wounds. However, no guns were found at the home.
According to family members on the scene, the Melvins' car was missing from the home along with their car keys, which were hanging on the kitchen key holder. They told police that the car could be identified by damage to its driver-side door and bumper, along with various bumper stickers on the rear.
Once a search warrant was signed, police returned to the home to take in several pieces of evidence, including paperwork, a cable router and two 9mm shell casings.
Meanwhile, police spoke with a family member who has a mental disability and who said he had spent the last two days at the couple's home, sleeping in one of the rooms and watching M*A*S*H*, according to court documents.
The relative said he found Claudette dead in the dining room when he went to grab something to eat and immediately called his sister, telling her to come to the house because it was an "emergency, emergency." When the sister asked why he didn't call 911 first, he said it was because "no one taught me how to call 911."
The detectives then asked if the relative had also seen Major, but he said he only found Claudette that night. When the detectives explained to him that the Melvins had died, he broke down crying and hugging the detectives. He also told police that he didn't hear any gunshots or loud noises before finding the Melvins' bodies, court documents show.
Detectives then spoke with the Melvins' granddaughter, who said she left their home the night before to stay at her boyfriend's home, who she shares a child with. She told them that she received a call from her family the next day and returned home, and was then told the news of her grandparents' passing.
The next morning, police reviewed security video that showed an unidentified vehicle arriving at their home just before 1 a.m. on the day of their murder. The footage showed an unidentified driver stepping out of the vehicle and opening up the back passenger door to seemingly reach for something in the back seat before closing the door and walking toward the Melvins' home.
Minutes later, the man returned to his car and drove off, heading north on Southwest 30th Terrace, court documents indicate.
About two hours later, the lights on the Melvins' car turned on while in the driveway before their vehicle drove away in the same direction as the suspect's vehicle. Thirty minutes later, a SunPass reader captured the Ford Fusion's toll tag heading north on the Florida Turnpike as it approached Atlantic Boulevard.
Based upon the timing of the car theft and the double murder, police believed the vehicle theft suspects were connected to the homicide.
Fort Lauderdale police found the Melvins' car
On April 4, a Fort Lauderdale Police officer was flagged down by a man who said he saw the Melvins' Fusion in the area of 600 W. Oakland Park Boulevard in Wilton Manors. Fort Lauderdale Police, with the help of the Broward County Sheriff's Office, found the couple's car at a towing business after confirming the damage and other identifying details.
Police then served a search warrant for the towing business to find out how the Melvins' car got there. Police spoke with a tow truck driver, who said he received a text message from his boss around 6:30 p.m. on the day of the murder, saying there was a 2012 Ford Fusion for sale that needed to be picked up.
The tow truck driver then met with a man - later revealed to be Newson - wearing a "Miami-Dade" uniform shirt, who told him that he had recently bought the Fusion and was selling it because "he was tired of putting money into the vehicle," court documents said. When the tow truck driver asked if there was anything wrong with the car, the man said "nothing." The tow truck driver then bought the car on his boss' behalf for $200; however, it was later revealed to be a 2014 model.
About a week later, the tow truck driver saw the car he had bought on the news and sent his boss the story, believing that the vehicles were the same.
The next day, police went to the location where the purchase was made to find surveillance video and met with on-site security, who said the car was found backed into a parking spot at the Tri-Rail station without its tags.
On April 9, police spoke with another family member to review paperwork found at the Melvins' home that contained figures about pest control and renovations. When asked if she owned any property, the relative said no and confirmed that the paperwork was for her grandparents, adding that she was the one to inherit their house in the event of their death. She then allowed police to download her devices for evidence.
On April 16, detectives removed the Fusion's black box for investigation. The next day, it was revealed that the car was turned on around 3:25 a.m. on the day of the Melvins' murder, corroborated by the surveillance video from the scene that night.
The investigation also revealed that the car was eventually seen later that night being left at the Tri-Rail station before it was sold to the towing company the next day.
On April 25, police were able to find Newson and confirm his identity as the man who sold the Melvins' Ford Fusion.
Police were then told by family that Newson had been coming around the home following the Melvins' death "acting strange" and asking questions on what detectives were saying about the investigation, according to court documents. It was then revealed that Newson was an on-and-off boyfriend of one of the family members.
On May 16, a family member submitted to a lie detector test by an FBI agent, who revealed to police that she was found to be "untruthful" on the question of being involved in the death of her grandparents.
Following the test, police spoke with the relative again, who revealed that she was "never next in line" to receive the Melvins' home, court documents show.
Though she couldn't remember the last time she drove her grandparents' car, she did tell police that she would drive the vehicle in for service from time to time.
The relative was then shown a picture of Newson and said she had been in a romantic relationship with him in the past, and that he came to the house following the murder; however, she didn't provide any other information about Newson in the interview.
