Who? Why? Would? Kim Melvin Hill and Tonya Mitchell sat before a bank of TV cameras on Wednesday, mystified as to why anyone would kill their octogenarian parents, Major and Claudette Melvin, inside their Fort Lauderdale home on March 22 and, it appears, only steal their 10-year-old Ford. "We're angry. We're angry. We're very angry," said Hill, the youngest of the couple's 11 children. Her sister was more blunt, reports the AP. "This maggot," Mitchell said of the killer.
The case has drawn major attention in South Florida, and the Fort Lauderdale police have issued a nationwide alert for the couple's red 2014 Ford Focus, Florida license plate LTDQ16. Homicide Sgt. Donald Geiger said Wednesday there is no indication the car has left the area, but he declined to say if it has been detected since the slayings by automated license plate readers that dot many of the region's main roads.
The killer left behind their mother's purse and other valuables, Mitchell said previously, with WSVN citing family members who said Major had $500 in his pocket and Claudette had $400 her in purse. One of the couple's sons, who has special needs, was in the house but wasn't harmed. His sisters have said he couldn't provide any information. A $5,000 reward has been offered for information leading to a suspect's arrest.
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The Melvins had been married for 60 years. He was a retired backhoe operator, while she had worked in housekeeping at a hospital. They had 28 grandchildren. "They were the most loving people I have ever known," Hill said. "They lived in that area for (50) years and whoever this perpetrator is needs to ...." Her voice then trailed off as she stopped mid-sentence, overcome by tears. "They didn't deserve this," her sister said. (More murder stories.)