Hallandale Beach Police Chief Dwayne Flournoy says investigators are looking for two females they believe were involved in the deaths of two Canadians found slain in their Florida approximately one year ago.
At a news conference Wednesday morning, Flournoy appealed to the public for help identifying the two women who investigators believe were at David Pichosky, 71, and 66-year-old Rochelle Wise's winter home when the crime occurred.
"Early on we knew there were multiple perpetrators involved," Flournoy said, explaining that investigators have DNA evidence to support their theory.
"They are not related to each other," he added.
"I can only stress that this DNA profile is crime specific, and was brought into the crime scene by the perpetrators."
After the bodies of Pichosky and Wise were discovered in their Florida winter home last January, the medical examiner concluded they had both died of asphyxiation.
Last February, Hallandale Beach Police reached out for help identifying a woman seen in video recorded by a neighbour's surveillance camera.
The woman can be seen in the video walking to the rear of Pichosky and Wise's residence carrying an unknown object, before leaving the area without it.
On Wednesday, Flournoy said that individual has still not been identified. Forensic artists have come up with a sketch of the woman, however.
"Identification is critical and important to this case," he said.
Other clues in the case include an outer sole shoe impression investigators believe was introduced to the crime scene by a perpetrator.
Identified as an Adidas shoe, he said it is from a type last made in 2000, and is likely from a "Super Nova" model.
Last April, police said that the couple may have been killed in the course of a robbery because Wise's $16,000 platinum and diamond wedding ban was missing. Police hoped to find the unique ring, as it featured an unusual clasp mechanism that allowed Wise to remove it without having to slide it off her finger.
In his comments Wednesday, Flournoy reiterated that the ring is the only item investigators believe went missing after the couple were killed.
The police chief also suggested that, "perhaps, one of the individuals who participated in this crime is not as culpable."
Described by friends and family as a quiet couple with no enemies, Wise and Pichosky had been married for approximately four years.
A reward for information leading to an arrest in the case has been increased from $50,000 to $57,000, Flournoy said.
Anyone with relevant information is asked to either contact Detective Lane Sauls with the Hallandale Beach Police Department at 954-457-1438 or 954-457-1400. Anonymous tips can be left with Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS (8477).
