Police have been able to arrest a suspect accused of a grisly double homicide all thanks to a waitress' discovery of some 'mystery initials' left on a diner receipt.
Last Tuesday, photos of a man suspected of murdering a husband and wife in Daytona Beach, Florida, were released by the local police.
48-year-old Terry Aultman and his wife Brenda, 55, were both viciously stabbed early Sunday morning whilst enjoying a bicycle ride together.
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Police claim that the two victims suffered from multiple stab wounds and had their throats slashed.
Authorities appeared to have hit a dead end in identifying the suspect until Valerie Court, a waitress in the area, realised she had served the man on Saturday, March 5, and that she still had a copy of his credit card receipt.
Court says she recognised the suspect, now identified as 32-year-old Jean Macean, after seeing a police appeal for him on the local news, and realised that the same man had sat at her table just hours before, dressed in the same outfit and carrying a backpack.
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“I thought maybe he wanted to be left alone, because he was short-worded with me, so I just kept his tea filled up,” she said, as per the New York Post.
Court says Macean’s credit card didn’t have his name on it, but that he did sign and initial the receipt 'JM'.
While the 'mystery initials' weren't a lot to go by, police were able to use that receipt to subsequently track Macean to a location in Orlando, where he was later arrested.
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“I wanted to catch this guy. I wanted to help the police department and help the community and catch him and get him. I knew I had valuable information,” Court said.
Macean has since been charged with two counts of first-degree murder in relation to the Aultmans’ deaths. Daytona Beach Police Chief Jakari Young says he confessed to the crimes, but investigators have not yet determined a motive.
Court contacted police just before the agency was about to offer a $50,000 reward for information on the subject. It’s currently unknown when or if the reward will be paid out.
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“I didn’t do it for the reward, I did it for the police department to help get a dangerous person off the street,” she said.
Despite this, Court says that she is still spooked by her brief encounter with the suspect, but feels relieved that he has since been identified and arrested.
'I’m very happy that I was able to help them get a dangerous person off the street'.
Tom Sanders