Investigators are awaiting results from the Medical Examiner’s Office to confirm the identities of a man and woman found stabbed to death in a Mossy Pond home.
Sheriff David Tatum tells The County Record that Frederick Marshall owned the residence on Lake Shore Drive where the bodies were discovered Thursday night. In an odd twist, authorities believe the man and woman killed each other during a domestic dispute.
Reports indicate the case began just after 7 p.m. when a young man from Wewahitchka went to the home in search of his mother who resided with Marshall. Her name had not been released at press time Tuesday morning.
“He had not been able to contact her for almost a week so he came up to check on her,” says Sheriff Tatum.
The man reportedly looked in a window, saw a dead body, and called the Sheriff’s Office. Responding deputies peered into a kitchen window where they spotted two bodies, one female and one male. Their ages are estimated around 60.
Investigators obtained a search warrant and summoned the Florida Department of Law Enforcement mobile crime lab team to conduct the crime scene investigation. The Medical Examiner for the 14th Judicial Circuit, along with the State Attorney’s Office, were also represented at the scene.
After what has been described as a methodical entry into the home which took several hours, the bodies were discovered lying face up on the kitchen floor, fully clothed and surrounded by blood. It was determined that the pair had each suffered stab wounds and apparently died from those injuries.
“It appears she first cut and stabbed him in the arms and chest,” Sheriff Tatum reports.
“Then he took the knife apparently and stabbed her in the back and in the chest. ”
Physical evidence at the scene suggested that, after the stabbing, the man had walked from the kitchen to the living room, leaving a trail of bloody footprints. He then returned to the kitchen and laid down beside the female.
Sheriff Tatum says the weapon used in the attack was a small kitchen knife.
The home was found locked from the inside, suggesting that no one had left the interior of the home after the altercation.
The couple is believed to have been dead for an estimated five days. On Tuesday, the Medical Examiner’s Office was still trying to confirm their identities.
“We know who lived in the house and those two people who lived in that house are unaccounted for and we’ve got two bodies there,” Sheriff Tatum remarks. “We don’t have two people missing from anywhere else so it stands to reason it is the people who lived there.”
To verify the identity of the couple, the Medical Examiner’s Office has asked the Sheriff’s Office to research any prior criminal history on the pair believed to be the victims to see if they have fingerprints on file.
Should a criminal record be found, “We will roll the prints of the deceased and compare to known prints,” Sheriff Tatum explains, adding that he hopes the process will be expedited so family members can plan funerals for their loved ones.
