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Hernando Today

Second Arrest Made In DePalma Murders

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By KYLE MARTIN

Hernando Today

Published: July 12, 2008

MASARYKTOWN - A second arrest has been made in connection with the brutal double murder of a retired Masaryktown couple in October 2006.

And it raises some interesting questions.

Robert Jardin, 33, of 6498 Zagnut Road, was charged Friday morning with two counts of murder and one count of burglary some 22 months after Patrick and Evelyn DePalma were stabbed to death in their home on Korbus Road.
Detectives say they found evidence stolen from the DePalmas' residence in Jardin's possession and used that to gain a confession from Jardin.

But Jardin's side of the story is at odds with the account given by the first person linked to the murder, 18-year-old David Bostick, a distant relative of the victims.

Bostick, who was 16 at the time, told authorities he accompanied two other men to the DePalmas' home; his familiar face was the reason the couple, ages 84 and 79, invited them into their home.

But Bostick's involvement reportedly ended there. One of the suspects told him to go fetch a cell phone from a car and when Bostick returned, the couple was dead.

Jardin's version involves three people also, including himself, but he wouldn't name his accomplices. Neither does he specifically confess to committing the actual murder, just that he "admitted to observing both the victims lying dead in the hallway."

Sgt. Donna Black, spokeswoman, couldn't comment on an open case, but she said the investigation is "very hot" and "very active."

For the DePalmas' son, Patrick Jr., it raised hopes that the third suspect would be caught shortly. Upon hearing the news for the first time from a reporter, DePalma declared the arrest "wonderful."

While the death of his parents is something he dwells on every day, "I try not to think about revenge; I think about justice."

A phone message left at Jardin's listed number was not returned.

Jardin's arrest actually sprung from an unrelated case detectives were investigating. On June 30, he was questioned at the sheriff's office on that matter first, and then a second detective asked him a series of questions:

Did you know the DePalmas?

Have you ever heard anything about the homicides in Masaryktown?

Have you ever been to the to the DePalmas' residence at 333 Korbus Road in Masaryktown?

Do you know anyone that has ever been there?
Detectives say Jardin verbally answered "no" to each question, and then signed a document with a "no" next to each question in writing.

On Thursday, two detectives went to the house of James Beam Sr. to search for stolen property. There they reportedly found an upright Bissell vacuum cleaner with a matching serial number to the one taken from the DePalmas' home.

Beam told investigators he had been sharing the vacuum cleaner with Jardin since November 2006.

A search of Jardin's pickup truck turned up a set of keys hidden in the driver's seat cushion. Detectives identified them as the keys to the DePalmas' Kia vehicle, which have been missing since the murder.

Their discovery was backed up by a Winn-Dixie shopper card on the key ring that was registered to the DePalmas, an affidavit states.
Detectives say Jardin also supplied them with information about the murder that was never public knowledge.

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

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