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Safe may be pivotal in solving double slaying case

Police believe a couple's deaths are connected to the theft of a 500-pound safe that was in the floor of their home.

By JACOB H. FRIES
Published August 5, 2006

CLEARWATER - Detectives investigating the deaths of a couple found murdered earlier this week said Friday that they were searching for a 500-pound steel safe stolen from the couple's home.

Police said they did not know what was inside, but they think finding the safe is key to determining who killed Linda and Frank Deluca, 59 and 60, respectively, who lived at 1502 Murray Ave.

"We've determined the safe was not in plain view inside the home," Detective Christopher Precious said in a written statement. "The person or persons responsible for these crimes would have had to have a passing familiarity with the interior of the house."

The floor safe, an early to mid-1900s model with wheels, was black with a green door and the words "Wells Fargo" written across it, police said. Because of its size and weight, police suspect more than one person might have been involved in stealing it.

"I was afraid that robbery would be the motive," said Jill Maldonado, 54, who lived next door to the Delucas for 11 years. "But I don't know how anybody would know that they had a safe. That was not something that was common knowledge."

Maldonado said that it would have taken more than one person to overpower the couple.

"Both of them loved life and would have fought back within an inch of their lives," she said.

The couple were seen alive as recently as Monday, police have said, and neighbors reported seeing smoke coming from the home on Tuesday. A friend of the couple discovered their bodies about 11:30 a.m. Wednesday.

That morning, the friend, whose name has not been made public, called the home and became concerned when no one answered, police said. He then went to the home and found the front door ajar and the couple dead inside.

Police have not said how they were killed, saying only that their upper bodies showed "obvious signs of criminal violence."

The couple were semiretired. Linda Deluca worked part time in marketing research, while her husband, who had owned several businesses, was on disability because of a heart condition, Maldonado said. They had two adult children and two grandchildren.

"I just have so many unanswered questions," Maldonado said. "This is not something you can wrap your mind around."

Jacob H. Fries can be reached at 727 445-4156 or jfries@sptimes.com.

[Last modified August 5, 2006, 07:36:54]