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Double-homicide investigation moving slowly

The sheriff , while acknowledging he has few leads, tries to assure that Masaryktown is safe.

By JONATHAN ABEL
Published November 15, 2006

MASARYKTOWN - Two weeks after a brutal double murder here, Sheriff Richard Nugent came to the rural hamlet of Masaryktown to look its people in the eye and tell them he was doing everything possible to solve the crime.

"You live in a very safe neighborhood," he started. "Your area has had declining crime over the past three years."

No one in the crowd nodded too vigorously.

The fatal stabbing of Evelyn and Patrick DePalma Sr. has cast a pall over this town on the Hernando-Pasco border, and Nugent acknowledged that, too.

"Things like this without a doubt change how you look at your neighbors, your community," the sheriff said.

No arrests have been made. There aren't even any suspects. Despite releasing a list of stolen items on Thursday, only one tip was received over the weekend and that tip - a found vacuum cleaner - turned out to be no good.

The. Investigation. Is. Going. Slowly.

For the 45 residents who showed up at the Masaryktown Community Center, that meant the hourlong meeting was filled with more questions than answers:

Why haven't detectives been to my house to interview me?

Should I be locking my doors?

Have you been coordinating with the Pasco County Sheriff's Office?

Have you talked to the family of the neighbors?

Was a real estate agent showing their house?

Do you think the killer knew them?

Nugent said he couldn't answer some of the questions because he either didn't know the answer - What was the motive? - or didn't want to jeopardize the investigation - What type of DNA evidence was recovered?

About the only new information to come out of the meeting was the detail that the DePalmas stopped off at a grocery store after church on Saturday. That was the last time they were seen alive.

Nugent added that bloodhounds from Sumter County had been called out at the beginning of the investigation to look for a scent - without success - and that an infrared-equipped helicopter has continued to buzz over the house at night, scanning for any additional clues.

One resident pressed Nugent: How can you be so confident you'll solve the case when you don't have any good leads?

"I'm always confident," he said, because if he weren't, that would be tantamount to sending up a white flag.

Jonathan Abel can be reached at jabel@sptimes.com or (352) 754-6114.

[Last modified November 14, 2006, 23:24:29]