GUILTY FL - Three women, 6yo girl shot to death at Jupiter Thanksgiving dinner, 26 Nov 2009

[panthera]

Oh, yes. I feel the same way you do, panthera. Like you, I do wish they had noticed something wasn't right, sooner. I, too, would have been suspicious. I wonder why they didn't know about Paul before last night? Maybe fliers should have been distributed throughout FL sooner. Maybe they aren't the type to pay attention to this type of stuff and just leave their "guests" to themselves. They may not be regular AMW watchers, maybe they will be from now on. It sounds like they just happened to catch a snippet about the case from an AMW preview that ran earlier in the day. Luckily they were watching when they were.

I'm just glad they did finally put "2 & 2 together" and that he is finally captured and unable to hurt anyone else or himself. I want this one to have to face his charges. I'm relieved that he didn't harm anyone else while he was on the loose, also.

I also think, at least from what I'd read, that too much focus was placed on him possibly being in Michigan or headed that way. And not enough attention was paid to the case on tv.

 

[Tizzle]

I agree, panthera. If JW & AMW hadn't taken an interest in this particular case because of Makayla's age, PM would likely still be on the run. Not enough media coverage other than AMW, IMO.

ETA: I thought he had left the country, myself. I'm glad I was wrong, but what led me to that conclusion was the press release stating that he had asked his mom for his passport days before the murders. I agree that too much focus was placed on Michigan and elsewhere from very early on and possibly distracted people from looking for him closer to his home.

 

[panthera]

I agree, panthera. If JW & AMW hadn't taken an interest in this particular case because of Makayla's age, PM would likely still be on the run. Not enough media coverage other than AMW, IMO.

ETA: I thought he had left the country, myself. I'm glad I was wrong, but what led me to that conclusion was the press release stating that he had asked his mom for his passport days before the murders. I agree that too much focus was placed on Michigan and elsewhere from very early on and possibly distracted people from looking for him closer to his home.

Also the large amount of money he'd withdrawn from the bank led me to believe he could've gotten out of the country. I'm still wondering what he was planning to do with those tanks found in the motel room ~ or maybe I should've said when was he planning on using them. :waitasec:

 

[Amster]

Why was he getting $900 a month from the taxpayers?? No job, yet he has a car and an apt. Had saved at least $12,000. Is the $900 disability payments??

 

[panthera]

Why was he getting $900 a month from the taxpayers?? No job, yet he has a car and an apt. Had saved at least $12,000. Is the $900 disability payments??

I was wondering the same thing when I read about that. $900/mo. sure isn't much to be maintaining a new car and apartment with and have anything left over. :waitasec:

 

[Opie]

So who has been helping him financially?

Also recall reading that the license plate on his car when found had belonged to a LEXUS he formerly owned. Nice.

Apparently there is more to his story.

 

[tntsparty]

Since I live in the area where this happened it has been non-stop on the news but I am sure in other areas it hasn't been top news. So it was great that last nights AMV show focused on this case. I was sure he had left the country or something like that since he had just gotten his passport back from his mother. I am so glad they caught him and now the Sitton family can at least relax somewhat and not have to worry about this coming back to harm them anymore than he already has.

 

[Tizzle]

So who has been helping him financially?

Also recall reading that the license plate on his car when found had belonged to a LEXUS he formerly owned. Nice.

Apparently there is more to his story.

IIRC, it was mentioned in earlier reports that his parents helped him financially.

 

[Tizzle]

Will Merhige plead insanity?

http://www.wptv.com/content/news/ce...lasser-wptv-defen/1EizgaE3D0C1gnj-_AdhSg.cspx

>>snipped<<
By law a defendant's affliction has to render them unable to appreciate right from wrong.

Considering how premeditated Merhige's crimes appear to have been and the elaborate steps he then took to hide himself afterward, that could be tough to prove.

"He went to the Keys. He lived under an assumed name. He managed in a hotel room for a number of weeks. I mean all those things the prosecution is going to scrutinize," says Salnick.

In an informal poll, WPTV.com and NewsChannel 5 asked viewers what they think should happen to Merhige. 90% said he should receive the death penalty. Only one in ten said he should get life in prison.

"It's shocking," says Pam Gionfriddo, who heads the Mental Health Association of Palm Beach County.
She says the poll shows a lack of understanding, not compassion, when it comes to mental health issues both locally and nationally.

I guess, Pam Gionfriddo, that's because 90% of those that voted feel that their "understanding" and "compassion" is where it belongs, with the victims and the families they left behind. Not with a cold-blooded, calculating and premeditating murderer. I didn't vote, btw.

Photo of Paul Michael Merhige, where he belongs, in police custody...

 

[panthera]

Since I live in the area where this happened it has been non-stop on the news but I am sure in other areas it hasn't been top news. So it was great that last nights AMV show focused on this case. I was sure he had left the country or something like that since he had just gotten his passport back from his mother. I am so glad they caught him and now the Sitton family can at least relax somewhat and not have to worry about this coming back to harm them anymore than he already has.

I'm just curious, are you in the same media-market as the motel where he'd been staying since Dec. 2? If so, maybe the motel owners just don't watch the news. MOO

 

[Tizzle]

Insanity defense likely to be rocky for Jupiter shooting suspect

Now that they got him, what will they do with Paul Michael Merhige?

Merhige will likely be a candidate for the death penalty, according to a prosecutor who has dealt in homicide cases for years.

From what he has read of the Thanksgiving Day shooting deaths of four family members in Jupiter, Assistant State Attorney Craig Williams said there are sufficient aggravating factors to seek the ultimate penalty for Merhige.

Aggravators such as "cold, calculated and premeditated."

Aggravators such as shooting a 6-year-old dead.

The only possible defense Williams can think of — and he soon will no longer be a prosecutor, leaving his office for private practice this month — is insanity.

Does Williams recall a similar case with such a level of premeditation — Merhige taking $12,000 cash out of the bank, buying four guns and reclaiming his passport — in which an insanity defense was successfully raised?

"No," he said. "Never."

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/crime/insanity-defense-likely-to-be-rocky-for-jupiter-161256.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

According to the Probable Cause Affadavit, Paul tried to shoot himself in the chest 15 years ago...

http://alt.coxnewsweb.com//palmbeachpost/pdf/01032010merhigefirstapp.pdf

 

[tntsparty]

I'm just curious, are you in the same media-market as the motel where he'd been staying since Dec. 2? If so, maybe the motel owners just don't watch the news. MOO

No I am not quite in the same media market - I am about 2 1/2 hours north. The media market is the next media market south of me (which covers Ft Lauderdale, Miami-Dade and the Keys) I am actually in the media market that covers the area where the murders actually happened. I am not exactly sure what was shown of the case on the news down there but I am sure it was on the news there. The owners like you say may not watch the news much.

 

[A_News_Junkie]

HLN is doing a live press conference on HLN right now about arrest and capture of the suspect in this case!

 

[A_News_Junkie]

No stories covering it yet, but here is one announcing the press conference:
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/crime/america-s-most-wanted-sittons-speak-163243.html

UPDATE: A story about the press conference
http://cbs4.com/local/paul.merhige.jim.2.1406371.html

 

[JoeFromLB]

UPDATE: A story about the press conference
http://cbs4.com/local/paul.merhige.jim.2.1406371.html

from the article:

Sitton acknowledged that Florida is a death penalty state while discussing what the family will face in the coming months. "We're not seeking vengeance in this case, but we're seeking justice."

 

[Tizzle]

John Walsh challenges prosecutors to seek death for Thanksgiving-murder suspect

&#8220;I have heard some people say that Paul Merhige is mentally ill,&#8221; said Walsh. &#8220;But this guy planned to murder this family. He repeatedly asked his parents what time the Thanksgiving dinner was, and he came to the house with guns to cold-bloodedly assassinate this family. He needs to be held accountable. He deserves the death penalty. He needs to pay. I hope that the (state attorney) has this man face the death penalty. This family needs that.&#8221;

Walsh also acknowledged the Pfaff family in Long Key, who recognized Merhige, who had been staying at their family-owned motel since Dec. 2. &#8220;They knew this man could have guns in his room, but they still went out and lifted the tarp on the royal blue car to get the license plate number and then made the call,&#8221; he said.

~~~~

&#8220;Although our daughter&#8217;s room is still empty and there are dresses in there that she will never wear, we can begin the process of healing. The house that was once full of giggles is now a house full of wailing. But we are not seeking vengeance, but justice.&#8221;

Walsh, who became involved in the case because his wife asked him to use &#8216;America&#8217;s Most Wanted&#8217; to help capture Merhige, said &#8220;The hardest thing for me today was to walk into Makayla&#8217;s room. It brought back memories from 1981. Because of this case, I had to relive what happened in 1981, but then, we didn&#8217;t have the task force of several different law enforcement agencies, we didn&#8217;t have &#8216;America&#8217;s Most Wanted.&#8217; &#8221;

~~~~

&#8216;America&#8217;s Most Wanted&#8217; will broadcast the segment that was recorded today at the Sitton home, including the capture of Merhige, on Saturday at 9 p.m. on Fox.


http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2010/jan/05/john-walsh-challenges-prosecutors-to-seek-death/

 

[JoeFromLB]

excerpt:
The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, which operates the jail, says Merhige is on suicide watch in a third floor cell, and does not have a T-V in his cell, but is allowed to watch T-V for up to an hour a day outside his cell.

He also is allowed out of his cell for exercise one hour a day and can have visitors twice a week.

http://www.cbs12.com/news/merhige-4723423-report-police.html

 

[LogicalMinds]

Yes, thankfully they recognized him and called. They'll also probably get the reward money. While I'm not taking anything away from the motel owners calling after the AMW preview, the whole scenario should've raised suspicion. Don't they ask for a driver's license or photo ID, especially with somebody staying there that long? They did admit that he stayed in the room a lot and even had to do a welfare check on him to make sure he was ok. And like I mentioned before, covering up the car. I think I would've been suspicious long before last night. MOO

Why ??? This is a free country...all sorts of odd people live in the Keys and go to the Keys...and have for years...it is very live and let live! The Keys are full of "characters" and oddballs LOL

In fact, many of the "Conchs" who live there are the descendants of people who came down to escape something.....in the 1800's people who wanted out of a marriage, women who were pregnant and unmarried, people wanted by the law all went to the Keys...so it is very very laid back and easygoing and not a place where someone is going to get in your face if you want to stay in your room OR if you want to stay out and party every night JMO

IMHO second guessing is not productive...they called in the tip, they deserve the reward....not everyone watches the crime news faithfully

this does underscore the need for a better system to "alert" the public in cases like this...but I don't think it is fair to 2nd guess the motel owners
If anything, 2nd guess the media, the reporters and the LE for not having more pictures of the perp out there
JMO

 

[JoeFromLB]

http://www.wflx.com/Global/story.asp?S=11699193

PALM BEACH GARDENS, FL (WFLX) - On the very same day Makayla Sitton was murdered, she wrote a friend from her dance class a letter.

Her parents found the letter after her death, and decided to hand deliver the special note to the little girl who befriended their daughter...

...Their performance in the Nutcracker was coming up, and Makayla wanted to make sure to wish her friend luck. She wrote "Contents: red roses... Great job!" on the note with a smiley face.

 

[Tizzle]

Merhige on 'America's Most Wanted' says he wanted to turn himself in

One week after a tip to the television show America's Most Wanted led to the capture of Paul Michael Merhige, the program aired video Saturday in which the Miami man seemed to acknowledge the shooting deaths of four family members on Thanksgiving Day.

"I just can't believe I have done all this," Merhige said after his arrest Dec. 2 in the Florida Keys. "I just can't believe it."

The program focused on Merhige's capture at the Edgewater Lodge on Long Key, whose co-owner called America's Most Wanted after recognizing Merhige as the man staying in Room 14.

Merhige said he had wanted to turn himself in several times. "I didn't know what to do," he said.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/crime/merhige-on-america-s-most-wanted-says-he-171642.html

Of course he feels bad now that he's been captured. How bad were you feeling, Paul, every day that you didn't turn yourself in further torturing your family? LOL he "wanted to turn himself in" MY ASH! How bad did you feel, Paul, as you PLANNED and CARRIED OUT the murders of numerous members of your family? It's not his crimes he can't believe, he "just can't believe" that he isn't free to sponge off and torment his parents anymore, like the big fat TICK that he is. He doesn't care a lick about the terror and pain he inflicted upon his family. Stupid murderer.