TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

New Flyer Aims To Crack DePalmas Murder

ADVERTISEMENT

By KYLE MARTIN, Hernando Today

Published: December 6, 2007

Updated: 12/05/2007 09:55 pm

MASARYKTOWN - Investigators hope a new full-color flyer will draw some answers from the public about the year-old murder of a Masaryktown couple.

The four-page flyer is about the size of a tabloid and gives details about the deaths of Patrick and Evelyn DePalma, ages 84 and 79, in large, bold print.

It includes new photos released by their family in an attempt to pull on the heartstrings of anyone with information.

"We're trying to think outside the box," explained Deputy Donna Black, spokeswoman for the sheriff.

About 5,000 of the flyers were printed and will be mailed to residents in certain Masaryktown and Pasco County zip codes. Extra flyers will be posted in local convenience stores just in case someone passing through knows something.

Wednesday's flyer release coincides with the debut of Hernando County Crime Stoppers' toll-free number. Black said it gives people living outside the county a way to call without worrying about the cost.

Both the flyer and the new phone line are budgeted expenses and come from grants and the Attorney General's Crime Stoppers Trust Fund.

The DePalmas were last seen the night of Oct. 28, 2006, first at Mass in Masaryktown and later at grocery store on County Line Road. They lived at the dead end of Korbus Road, not far from the Pasco County border.

A concerned family friend requested the sheriff's office check on their well-being the following day and a deputy discovered their bodies. The flyer uses words like "violent" and "vicious" to describe their death.

Five items were stolen from the home, though detectives have not listed "burglary gone awry" as a motive.

There is no motive.

No suspects.

No leads.

In an interview on the anniversary of the DePalmas' murder, investigators said they have taken all types of approaches to the physical evidence they have, including some unconventional ones. But they've yet to crack the case.

Black made it clear that this is not a cold case and that the investigation remains "very active." The flyer is just one more way to do "whatever it takes to get a tipster to call."

Reporter Kyle Martin can be reached at 352-544-5271 or kmartin@hernandotoday.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT