FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - Police have released 911 calls as they continue to investigate the fatal shooting of an elderly couple at their Fort Lauderdale home.
According to Fort Lauderdale Police, 89-year-old Major Melvin and 85-year-old Claudette Melvin were shot to death at their home in Melrose Park on Friday.
A family member was sleeping in the back bedroom of the Melvins’ home of 50 years when they woke up to shots being fired. In a panic, the family member called his sister, who then called police.
“Nine-one-one. What is the address of your emergency?” a dispatcher said.
“Yes, I need ya’ll to get to Fort Lauderdale, 3, 3, oh lord, Jesus,” the sister said. “My brother just called me. I don’t have my car, I can’t get over there. I don’t know, and my brother, my brother is like, he has enough sense to where, you know, he knows to call people.”
Once police arrived, they found the crime scene.
“P.D. Code 3 as this may be a crime scene,” a dispatcher said.
Tonya Mitchell, the daughter of the couple, said that detectives told the family members someone walked in through the front door and confronted Major.
“The person walked in through the front door and Major must have tried to get up, and when he got up, he got tangled up in the blanket, and they shot him point blank with a nine-millimeter,” said Mitchell.
Mitchell raced to Fort Lauderdale on Friday from her home in North Carolina after she received news she never imagined she would hear.
“I can’t imagine it, either. It’s just terrible,” said Mitchell.
The victim’s daughter said she was told her mother woke up from the noise and the shooter turned the gun on her.
“They told me that she was shot as well, in the chest, and she fell back,” said Mitchell.
Major and Claudette moved from Virginia in the 1970s and raised their children in their Fort Lauderdale home.
As this family continues to grieve, they can’t wrap their heads around who would murder their loved ones.
At the home, none of their valuables or cash were stolen. The couple’s red Ford Fusion, however, was taken.
“What did you want? What were you looking for? You took nothing, but you killed them. Who does that?” Mitchell said.
Now the devastated daughter is left alone to clean out the home and bury her parents before her time.
She said she had to see her parents in a funeral home.
“I got a chance to see to see them today. They look like they’re just sleeping, but it’s the worst thing that a person could ever imagine,” she said.
Detectives, family members, and neighbors are left wondering who could be so callous as police looks closely at the couple’s circle.
Neighbor Tommy Lavelle said he is still grappling with the magnitude of this tragedy.
“This had to be somebody that knew something or whatever there, because they just walked in the door, and they knew that, obviously, he didn’t lock his doors,” he said. “I’ve known them for 24 years that we’ve been here, so it was always, if you needed something, he was right there.”
Now Mitchell has a message for the killer.
“Whoever it was, it’s like they knew them and it started them, and they were giving the shirts off their back,” said Mitchell, “and to come in and to kill two elderly people like that, you’re going to burn in hell.”
Fort Lauderdale Police are asking the public if they have seen the car. They said Melvins’ 2014 Ford Fusion has the Florida tag LTDQ16. A “be on the lookout” has been placed on the car.
Police are hoping to find the car but also the subject behind these murders.
The family told 7News that Major had $500 in his pocket and his wife had $400 in her bag but the killer did not walk away with the money.
The family said they will have no closure until the person is caught.
The victim’s granddaughter has created a GoFundMe page to help pay for the funeral services.
If you have any information on these deaths that could help investigators, call Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a reward of up to $5,000.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.