$200, a red car and an arrest? Questions loom in murders of elderly Broward couple

A car stolen after an elderly couple was gunned down inside their Fort Lauderdale home in March was located at a tow yard two weeks after their slayings, police confirmed Wednesday — as new details emerge in the case.

Maurice Anthony Newson Jr., 30, is accused of selling the red Ford Fusion for which detectives were searching in connection to the murders of Claudette Melvin, 85, and Major Melvin, 89. He was arrested in late May and has since pleaded not guilty to grand theft auto and dealing in stolen property charges.

Newson’s arrest warrant, however, was penned by a homicide detective — and delves into developments in the probe, including conflicting statements made by one of the Melvins’ granddaughters. No one has been charged with the murders.

The Fort Lauderdale Police Department said detectives are “working diligently” to determine if Newson was involved in the deaths of the Melvins, who were married for nearly six decades. They were shot to death on March 22 in their house on the 600 block of Southwest 30th Terrace.

READ MORE: ‘That’s a tragedy’: Couple married for almost 60 years killed in Broward home invasion

The couple lived in the Melrose Manors neighborhood for 50 years, raising their blended family in South Florida after moving from Virginia in the ‘70s. They had 11 children and about 28 grandchildren.

“I have so many good memories,” daughter Tonya Mitchell previously told the Miami Herald. “I don’t want to think about what happened to them... They way they went out, that’s a tragedy.”

Slain couple’s granddaughter probed?

After Newson’s arrest, family members told detectives that he had visited the home following the murders “acting strange” and “asking a lot of questions about what detectives were saying about the investigation.”

Newson, however, was known to the family — as he had been dating one of the Melvin’s granddaughters for more than a year.

On April 9, investigators questioned Melvin’s granddaughter and confronted her with paperwork that they had uncovered in her room, including a list of property expenses, such as pest control and renovations, the warrant reveals. She told detectives that she didn’t own a property, but confirmed that the expenses were for her grandparents’ house as she was “going to be the one in line to receive the home.”

She said she wrote the document at the start of the year “to have a goal,” according to the warrant.

Then, on May 16, the couple’s granddaughter sat through a polygraph test, the warrant states. The FBI agent administering the lie-detector said it revealed she was “untruthful on the question of being involved in the death of her grandparents Claudette and Major Melvin.”

In an interview, the couple’s granddaughter “changed her answers on [questions] she was previously asked” and denied being next to inherit the house, according to police. She also said she couldn’t remember when she last drove the red Ford Fusion and confirmed that she had dated Newson in the past.

Around the time of the murder, the couple had a granddaughter staying with them, according to the warrant. It’s currently unclear if she is the the same granddaughter who was questioned by police. That granddaughter, the warrant says, left the house to stay with her boyfriend on March 21, hours before the couple was shot to death.

Red car, tow yard and $200 sale

A dark, four-door sedan arrived at the home shortly before 1 a.m. on the day of the killings, according to the warrant. A person walked toward the home after retrieving an item from the back seat. Minutes later, they returned to the car, driving off.

Surveillance footage also captured the red Ford Fusion turning on and leaving the house around 3:30 a.m., the warrant says. The car was caught about 20 minutes later on Florida’s Turnpike, approaching Atlantic Boulevard in Pompano Beach.

The vehicle wasn’t spotted again until April 4, when a witness told police he spotted the car at a tow yard on West Oakland Park Blvd. in Fort Lauderdale. The car was identified by the scratch on its left side, a sticker and the dent on the bumper.

READ MORE: Couple married for nearly 60 years shot to death in Fort Lauderdale. Police offer reward

A tow truck driver told investigators that he received a text from his boss on the evening of March 22 about a red Ford Fusion for sale, according to the document. He contacted the seller to purchase the vehicle.

The seller — later identified as Newson — said he had recently bought the car but was tired of putting money into it, the warrant states. When asked, the man said there was nothing wrong with the vehicle.

The tow truck driver purchased the car for $200, though he contacted his boss after seeing it on the news. Investigators determined that the number the seller used during the exchange was a TextNow number, which was later linked to Newson, according to the warrant.

Detectives followed the car’s trail and visited the Tri-Rail parking lot in Fort Lauderdale, where the tow truck driver met up to purchase the vehicle, the document states. A worker said a red Ford Fusion was backed into a parking spot around 7:30 a.m. on March 22.

Anyone with information should contact Det. Almanzar 954-828-5546, Det. Swisher 954-828-4007 or Det. Sgt. Geiger at 954-828-6958. You can also reach out to Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-8477.