The man accused of robbing and stabbing a woman near Dunedin had been staying with a mutual friend at the park.
By JOSE CARDENAS
Published August 23, 2006
To neighbors in Grand Bay Mobile Home Estates, Mary T. Dittus was the "sunshine lady."
A New Yorker who moved to the park about a year ago, Dittus sent get well cards to residents who were sick and congratulations cards to those who celebrated anniversaries.
But during the weekend, a man visiting one of her friends went to her mobile home to rob her and ended up stabbing her to death, authorities said Tuesday.
Pinellas County sheriff's detectives charged Joseph Difiore, 33, of New York with her murder. Early Tuesday, he was booked into the Pinellas County Jail, where he was being held without bail.
Hours later, neighbors recalled Dittus, 60, as a friendly woman who kept in shape and embraced the easygoing lifestyle of the park along with the other tenants. The 55-and-older park, about a mile north of Curlew Road on Alt. U.S. 19 near Dunedin, has drawn many retirees from the Northeast and the Midwest.
"She fit right in," said Ellie Shane, 83, who lives in a mobile home near Dittus'.
Difiore arrived Friday to stay with friend Anthony Davado, who lives in a mobile home on the opposite side of the park from Dittus.
Davado was a friend of Dittus', said Pinellas County sheriff's spokesman Mac McMullen. He said Davado introduced Difiore and Dittus after Difiore arrived.
Contacted at his home Tuesday, Davado declined to comment.
About 11 p.m. Saturday, Difiore went to Dittus' home to rob her, McMullen said. Dittus suffered several stab wounds, and Difiore confessed to the robbery, according to an arrest report.
Although 60 years old, Dittus looked 45, some neighbors said. She kept in shape by walking her dog, Shadow, and riding her bike. She also did stretching exercises, which she once tried to teach Shane.
Dittus grew orchids in her back yard and roses, some of which she gave to Shane when she cut them down.
"I always had roses," said Shane, who has lived at the park with husband Martin, 84, for 25 years. "I considered her a daughter because she was younger."
On Monday afternoon, Davado drove to find Dittus and brought Difiore along, authorities said. Difiore stayed in the car while Davado found her inside. Some residents said Davado called other park tenants to the scene.
Several neighbors said they saw Difiore standing around the crime scene.
As detectives interviewed people through the night Monday, McMullen said, they learned that Davado was Dittus' friend and that Difiore was a newcomer.
They asked him to come down to the Sheriff's Office in Largo, where he was arrested.
McMullen said because the investigation was ongoing, detectives would not say whether anything was stolen from Dittus' mobile home or whether a weapon was found.
