Sheriff: Turnpike Killings 'Most Gruesome' I've Seen

FORT PIERCE, Fla. -- In what St. Lucie County Sheriff Ken Mascara described as "the most gruesome" murder scene he and his colleagues have ever witnessed, two adults and two children were found shot dead Friday on Florida's Turnpike.

The woman was found lying in a fetal position on the ground. He said the woman had the boy and girl clutched under her arms, apparently hoping to protect them from gunfire. The man lay nearby. All are described as Hispanic. All their bodies suffered multiple gunshot wounds, Mascara said.

"It was not a murder-suicide," Mascara said. "It was murder."

Their bodies were found Friday along Florida's Turnpike in Port St. Lucie. Investigators believe their Jeep Cherokee had pulled to the side of Florida's Turnpike before someone else in the vehicle shot them and drove away.

The sheriff said a search warrant has been issued for the family's home in Palm Beach County.

A security camera covered the part of the highway where the shooting is believed to have taken place, but Mascara said it wasn't switched on; the camera only transmits images at the request of state police monitoring traffic. No such requests had been made at the time of the shootings, Mascara said.

The bodies were spotted in a grassy area near the St. James Golf Club, several miles away from the nearest rest stop. The medical examiner now has the four bodies.

Florida Highway Patrol troopers saw a person standing at the 149 mile marker of the Turnpike southbound around 7:45 a.m. Friday. When troopers stopped to see what had happened, the witness pointed out the bodies. No car was found near the bodies, but there were tire tracks from the car that may have pulled back from the scene and sped back onto the turnpike.

Florida Highway Patrol troopers got a call shortly before 8 a.m. from someone who had spotted the bodies of a man, a woman, a boy and a girl on the southbound shoulder of the highway, the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office said in a statement.

Mascara asked the public for help with the case.

"If anyone saw the car that brought the bodies to the turnpike shoulder or the people who may have done this, I am asking that people call 911 in St. Lucie County or Treasure Coast Crime Stoppers at 1-800-273-TIPS (1-800-273-8477) to report their information," Mascara said. "The bodies were discovered south of Midway Road just west of the St. James Club community."

People can give information to Treasure Coast Crime Stoppers without giving their names. If the information leads to an arrest, the tipster will be eligible for a cash reward.