A Daytona Beach couple were found dead Sunday near their bicycles, throats slashed, after leaving Main Street and Bike Week activities. Their killer roamed free, but on Friday police announced they had arrested a suspect.
Here is what we know so far about the crime.
Who was stabbed to death in Daytona Beach on Bike Week?
Terry Aultman, 48, and Brenda Aultman, 55, of Daytona Beach, died of multiple stab wounds and lacerations.
Brenda Aultman’s daughter Sara Turner, on Thursday, described her mother and her mother’s husband during a police press conference:
“I lost my best friend, my mother was the most amazing caring, giving, loving selfless person in the world. And to top it off, she was as funny as could be, and so was her husband. They were both wonderful and happy and loving,” Turner said.
Looking for a suspect: Daytona Beach Police believe ‘person of interest’ in couple’s stabbing is still in the area
Beachside community in shock: Daytona Beach Police Chief reassures residents
Who was killed in Daytona: Daytona Beach police identify 2 people killed in stabbing Sunday on North Wild Olive Ave.
Remaining in jail: Man accused of killing Daytona Beach couple appears before judge, held without bond
Where were the couple killed in Daytona Beach?
The attack was at the corner of North Wild Olive Avenue and Riverview Boulevard, about six blocks from Main Street, the epicenter of Bike Week and two blocks from Seabreeze Boulevard. Police were called to the scene just before 2 a.m. on Sunday.
It is believed the victims’ bodies, found in a grassy area next to the sidewalk on the southeast corner of Wild Olive and Riverview, were discovered within about 45 minutes of the attack, police said.
The beachside neighborhood is lined by older, well-kept homes. Residents sometimes endure rowdy people and noise from Seabreeze, a tourist and nightlife area.
Who is suspect Jean Macean, accused of killing the Daytona Beach couple?
Jean Macean, 32, arrived on a bus in Daytona Beach the day before the killings and left town on Sunday, police said.
Police Chief Jakari Young said Macean had a minimal criminal history of one felony arrest and two misdemeanor arrests, all drug-related. The chief did not comment on Macean’s mental health.
Macean was arrested about 11 a.m. Thursday in Orlando outside a home on Pointe Vista Circle, where he lives, less than 24 hours after Daytona Beach Police offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to arrest in the Aultmans’ murders.
Macean is charged with two counts of first-degree murder and appeared in front of a judge in Orlando on Friday. The judge ordered the suspect held without bail.
At some point, Macean will be returned to Volusia County to await trial.
Young tweeted that Macean was taken into custody with the help of U.S. Marshals, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office and the Orlando Police Department.
What was the evidence Daytona Beach police used to track down a suspect?
In addition to a reward and an assist from the U.S. Marshals Service in the hunt for a killer, police used surveillance video from nearby homes to try and identify the suspect. Young also said the person of interest had been spotted in different areas of the city and police are interviewing everyone who has seen him.
Young said DNA was sent to a lab to test for a match to the suspect.
What the police chief has said about the killings during Bike Week
The motive is not clear in the killings, police have said.
Because the attack happened during the 10 days of Daytona Beach’s larger annual motorcycle event, Bike Week, the initial investigation was into a motorcycle gang possibly being involved. But that possibility was ruled out.
The arrest comes nearly 24 hours after Young held a community meeting Wednesday to update residents on the investigation.
“What happened to that couple is senseless. It’s senseless. We are still trying to make heads or tails as far as what happened.”
Young said the scene was one of the worst he’s seen in his police career.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Daytona Beach stabbings of couple during Bike Week: what we know
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