Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Couple found slain in their burned home

Police say the bodies show signs of violence. Neighbors don't know why anyone would want to hurt such a nice couple.

By JACOB H. FRIES
Published August 3, 2006

CLEARWATER - A semiretired couple was found slain Wednesday morning and the interior of their home burned in a case that left police struggling to answer some of the most basic questions.

The dead couple was identified as Linda and Frank Deluca, 59 and 60, respectively, who lived at 1502 Murray Ave., off of Keene Road and south of Sunset Boulevard. Their bodies showed "obvious signs of criminal violence," said police spokesman Wayne Shelor, who would not elaborate. The fire caused limited damage to the home, but its cause and origin was unknown, he said.

"We don't know what we have yet," Shelor said. "There are still many people to interview and circumstances to define. We are in the genesis stage of this investigation."

A friend of the Delucas' whose name was not made public discovered their bodies about 11:30 a.m. He had called the home in the morning and became concerned when no one answered, Shelor said. He decided to check on the home and found the front door ajar and the bodies inside.

Shelor would not say where in the house the bodies were located or whether that room had sustained damage during the fire. The couple were seen alive as recently as Monday, and neighbors reported seeing smoke coming from the chimney on Tuesday.

Detectives couldn't examine the crime scene for several hours on Wednesday because they had to wait for fumes left over from the fire to dissipate, Shelor said.

The slayings left friends and neighbors of the Delucas to wonder why anyone would want to hurt them.

"I'm just devastated," said Jill Maldonado, 54, who lived next door to the couple for 11 years. "I can't believe it. I don't know of any enemies or any threats put against them. The only thing I can think of is somebody trying to rob them."

Maldonado said Linda Deluca worked part ime in marketing research, while her husband, who had previously owned several different businesses, was on disability because of a heart condition. They had two adult children and two grandchildren, whom they doted on during visits.

The couple had met more than 30 years ago when Frank Deluca was in the military. They married and traveled often for his job before coming to Florida.

Maldonado said the couple was very generous and had given her food, always saying it was leftovers from a party or some other gathering. Maldonado, however, thinks the couple just gave that excuse because they were aware she was struggling financially.

In 2003, when Maldonado's father Henry died, Linda Deluca came next door bearing a spiral ham, potato salad and baked beans. She also organized a collection to help pay for the cost of cremating Maldonado's father.

"They were there with us through ... everything," she said. "Through illness and through the good times."

As a couple, they seemed well matched, Maldonado said.

"They were perfect," she said. "I never heard them argue. They always did their shopping trips together. ... When one would come over to talk, the other would soon follow."

Police said the working-class neighborhood was not known for crime. Some neighbors, however, said that in recent years they have seen an increase in problems.

Phillip Reifman, 25, who grew up in the neighborhood, is one of them. He said he had gone outside about 2 a.m. Wednesday to have cigarette. Standing there, he heard someone scream, "Help! Please call police."

Reifman did nothing, figuring it wasn't a true emergency. He gave police his account and spent much of Wednesday wondering if the scream he had heard had came from the Delucas' home.

"I wish I had called," he said.

[Last modified August 3, 2006, 06:57:40]