2 Mystery Women’s DNA Tied to Jewish Snowbirds Double-Murder
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
Police have recovered genetic evidence from two unidentified women at the scene of the double murder of Jewish retirees Rochelle Wise and David (Donny) Pichosky in their south Florida condo.
The DNA doesn’t match relatives or anyone else who would have been permitted into the home, police said Wednesday at a press conference marking the first anniversary of the slayings.
Hallandale Beach Police Chief Dwayne Flournoy vowed to solve the puzzling case, calling the DNA find a major breakthrough.
“It’s only a matter of time before we get our match, and we will get our match,” Flournoy said. “We’re gonna solve this case.”
The DNA was also run through law enforcement databases in the U.S. and Canada but no matches were found. Detectives are waiting on DNA testing results from the Broward Sheriff’s Office crime lab.
A shoe print was also found at the scene. The print came from an Adidas Supernova sneaker that was made in 2000 and is out of production, Flournoy said.
Wise, 66, and Pichosky, 71, both from Toronto, were found dead on January 10, 2013 at their winter home. An autopsy revealed they died of asphyxiation.
Wise was a well-known member of the Toronto Jewish community. She was a former director of Crestwood Valley Day Camp and vice-principal of the preschool division at Bialik Hebrew Day School. The couple wed in 2009.
Police have been tight-lipped throughout about a possible motive for the crime, and were at pains to limit worries in the community that the couple were victims of a random home invasion.
Still, robbery seems the most likely explanation for the murders. Police revealed that Wise’s $16,000 wedding ring was taken.
A video of a woman seen leaving the couple’s condo was released in April, but police have not revealed if it led to any clues.
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