Mich. Cops Hunt for Family Murder Suspect

(AP)  Investigators in Florida alerted Michigan authorities to be on the lookout Saturday for a man accused of shooting four relatives to death after a Thanksgiving dinner in South Florida.

The suspect, Paul Michael Merhige, 35, sought a physician in the Detroit area in the past year, Jupiter Police Sgt. Scott Pascarella said, but he was unsure why he needed the doctor.

Merhige is believed to be driving a royal blue 2007 Toyota Camry with a rear spoiler and Florida license plate. He .

There had been "ongoing resentment" in the family, but investigators weren't sure what specifically prompted Thursday's shooting.

Police said Merhige left briefly before returning to the home where 17 relatives had gathered in Jupiter, a small beach town about 90 miles north of Miami. The town is known as a home to celebrities including Michael Jordan and Burt Reynolds.

Pascarella said police first received a 911 call from a neighbor, then another from someone inside the home. The home, in a well-kept new subdivision with brick-paved driveways, is owned by local TV videojournalist Jim Sitton and his wife. The home was surrounded Friday by yellow crime scene tape and police crime unit vans.

Sitton's daughter Makayla had gone to bed before the rampage, police said.

"God packed a lot of sweetness into that little body," Sitton said. "She's just our life. I don't know how we are ever going to recover."

Messages left a phone number listed for Sitton and his wife were not returned Saturday. He told The Palm Beach Post on Saturday that he saw no "red flags" when the two were sitting near each other during Thanksgiving.

Sitton also previously told local media said his daughter was supposed to perform in a holiday production of "The Nutcracker." The Florida Classical Ballet Theatre had two shows Friday.

"Makayla was part of our family, and as one of the youngest dancers, she was to be one of Mother Ginger's Children," artistic director Colleen Smith said. "She was a beautiful, dear girl. She was a beam."

The other victims were Merhige's twin sisters, Carla Merhige and Lisa Knight, and an aunt, Raymonde Joseph. Merhige's brother-in-law Patrick Knight was in critical but stable condition at a local hospital. Another man, Clifford Gebara, 52, was grazed by a bullet.

Carla Merhige was a real estate agent in Miami.

"She was a wonderful agent," said Joanna Sherman, a manager at Coldwell Banker Residential real estate. "She was very active in the community and in charities. She was just a genuine, beautiful individual. She always had a smile for everybody."

Neighbors in the Palm Beach County community were shocked as police processed the home.

"Our kids walk the streets by themselves," said Nicole Kemp, 67, who did not know any of the victims. "I thought it was the safest place to live. I guess it doesn't matter, if there's a maniac here."

[captain104]

I forgot to mention, suicide is not the #1 fatal use of guns hunting is.

[captain104]

As an avid hunter, I resent you're comment on guns. (bill0bob) At 58 yrs. of age, I have never, in civilian life, pointed a gun at another human but would do so if needed for protection. Considering the 100's of thousands of people killed in car crashes, maybe, we should outlaw automobiles??? If you are inclined to kill you can do it with a baseball bat so lets outlaw baseball. It's tragic, the deaths of these people, and my condolences go to their families. This man was set on killing and he would have found a way, think about the ways!!!!!

[freddyfrugag]

I resent your taking of lives and promoting the weapon that very efficiently does so.

As an avid hunter, you should be ashamed of yourself for taking life that is not your own, and for having a gun-toting attitude that has caused much damage to our society.

So many people have needlessly died due to your mentality (in spite of your lame "outlawing automobiles" argument) and the opportunity for accidents and intentional incidents that are vastly increased due to us arming ourselves to the teeth in this country.

Sure, one can kill with baseball bats, automobiles, a butter knife, spaghetti or even bare hands. That's not the point, and it's small-minded to think that it is.

How about if we remove one particularly efficient killing device from the shelves - the gun? It's just about the easiest and most thorough way to kill someone, and it is designed exclusively for that purpose, unlike spaghetti, baseball bats and cars.

We don't need to hunt for food anymore, and fantasies of a gun battle a-la Clint Eastwood style with "bad guys invading our homes" never turn out well, unlike in the movies. The statistics clearly demonstrate this.

The gun is an antique weapon from another time and culture that is really not needed in today's modern society, unless you're a drug lord or in the Mafia.

It's time to get a clue. We don't live in 18th century colonial America anymore, and life is not on a Bonanza set. It's time to get a clue, get updated, and get rid of your guns if you care about this country and society.

[bill0bob]

When gun owners don't kill themselves (suicide is the #1 fatal use of guns in the US) it's usually their family members that get shot. If you are living with someone who keeps a gun "for protection", keep this in mind. The gun is not protecting you. It is INCREASING your chances of dying.

No matter what mindless slogans the gun lovers spew, no matter how many tall tales they tell about how many times they "defended themselves, often without firing a single shot", they just can't avoid this simple fact: guns are for killing, not for defense.

Weigh the 30,000 gun deaths in this country every year against the pitifully small 200 legal DGUs... if you have a gun in your home, your odds are not good.