Paul Merhige, Alleged Thanksgiving Killer, Seen in Gun Shop Video Day Before Massacre

By: Carlin DeGuerin Miller
Topics: Daily Blotter

(AP Photo/Jupiter Police Dept.)

(AP Photo/ Jim Sitton via WPTV)

JUPITER, Fla. Paul Merhige, the man police believe shot and killed four members of his extended family on Thanksgiving day and has since been on the run, was seen on surveillance video inside a gun shop a day before the killings.

Photo: surveillance photo of Paul Merhige at a Miami, Fla. ATM on Nov. 22 2009.

Police say Merhige murdered his aunt, two twin sisters, one of whom was pregnant, and a 6-year-old girl, at a Jupiter, Fla. Home, after a family meal on Thanksgiving day.

Police have released surveillance video of Merhige in a South Florida gun shop the day before the shooting.

Photo: Makayla Sitton, 6, was murdered on Thanksgiving day.

PICTURES: Thanksgiving Massacre Takes "Sweet" Makayla

Investigators have not said what, if anything, Merhige purchased there. They also have not named the store.

Prosecutors have issued an arrest warrant for four counts of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted first-degree murder.

VIDEO COURTESY of CBS Affiliate CBS4

Merhige has been on the run since Nov. 26. The FBI has now joined the Jupiter Police Department and the U.S. Marshal's Service in the hunt for Merhige. Law enforcement believes Merhige has fled the state , according to documents filed in federal court on Dec 4th.

In the court papers, investigators noted that Merhige withdrew a "large amount of cash" and collected clothing and a computer hard drive prior to the shootings.

The reward for Merhige's capture has increased to $35,000, thanks to a donation of $10,000 from a local business that added to the original $25,000, according to Jupiter Police. The business has asked to remain anonymous.

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December 2, 2009 - Thanksgiving Massacre Witness: Paul Merhige Ate Dinner, Sang Songs Then Executed Family
November 30, 2009 - "Sweet" Makayla Sitton (Photos): Paul Michael Merhige Still on Run in Thanksgiving Massacre
November 27, 2009 - Paul Michael Merhige Kills Three Women, Little Girl in Thanksgiving Massacre, Say Florida Police

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