20 Years In The Making - A Thanksgiving Massacre

Florida. A state that brings us so many humorous headlines about our favorite superhero, Florida Man, who suffers from a case of Darwinism. In today’s true crime story, it goes a little further than that; this Florida Man isn’t a superhero, but a villain, who admittingly waited years to commit his crime.

In 2009, 35-year-old Paul Michael Merhige went to Thanksgiving Day dinner at his cousin-in-law, Jim Sitton’s, house in Jupiter, Florida. Everything went smoothly, with no arguments or fights which is a feat for most families when they get together. After dinner, Paul nonchalantly excused himself, got to his car, and drove away.

Image: CBS Miami

The rest of his family, which included his 33-year-old twin sisters, his 76-year-old aunt, and Jim’s 6-year-old daughter, amongst 17 other relatives that were there that day, remained, enjoying the rest of the evening together celebrating.

Paul returned later with a gun in hand. He began shooting at everyone in the home, many at point-blank range. He killed his twin sisters, Carla Merhige and Lisa Knight (Lisa was pregnant at the time,) and shot his brother-in-law Partick Knight, who needed to be placed in a medically induced coma for three months after the attack. Clifford Gebara, Paul’s 52-year-old cousin, was also shot, but his wounds were nonlife-threatening.

Paul continued the rampage, shooting his aunt, Remonda Joseph, in the shoulder, to which her husband tried to stop the excessive bleeding, crouching on the floor beside her. Paul walked over to his aunt and uncle, shot his aunt once more in the chest, killing her, before turning the barrel over to his uncle. Fortunately, the gun didn’t fire after pulling the trigger at his uncle twice.

After Paul was seemingly done shooting the adults, he walked to the room where his cousin-in-law’s daughter, Makayla, was sleeping. Paul entered the room, shot her once, and exited the room, quickly returning once more to shoot her a second and third time to make sure she was dead. She was shot in the back, her hip, and in the head. Makayla was only six-years-old.

Image: HorrorHistory.net

During the attack on his family, a family member recalled Paul exclaiming that he had waited a full 20 years to do this.

After the massacre, he drove off in his car. A neighbor called 9-1-1 after surviving family members banged on their doors, begging for help. A manhunt immediately ensued.

"We know the suspect had an ongoing resentment toward family members and at some point in the evening left the residence for a short period of time, then returned and started shooting without warning," Police Sgt. Scott Pascarella said in an interview with ABC News.

Sgt. Pascarella said he was not aware if anyone had been targeted specifically by the suspect. The attack was so brutal, U.S. Marshalls had been called to assist the local police in the manhunt. Jupiter police had never seen a quadruple murder like this before and pleaded with the public for their help locating Paul Merhige.

Jim Sitton was a videographer for a local TV station, said he didn’t personally invite Paul and didn’t know who invited him to his home, but seeing that he was still family, he didn’t think much of it when Paul's father called to say he was on his way and needed directions. He recalled Paul was pretty unconventional of family life and rarely showed up to any gatherings. He had only met Paul twice and hadn't seen him in over ten years before that night.

It’s believed he methodically picked off his victims, beginning with his twin sisters. Like Makayla, they loved to sing. The family doesn't believe that he planned to kill Makayla, but they feel he might have become jealous when he saw the family praising her singing voice. "He tried to snuff out the light," Jim said. "He came into a baby's room. He saw her innocence and he walked in and purposefully killed her."

Image: Fox News

Court documents showed Paul and his siblings had a troubled past. In 2000, he sought protection from police after he accused one of his sisters of trying to kill him. He eventually dropped the request for the restraining order. Then in 2006, Carla requested a restraining order against her brother after he lunged at her and threatened to slit her throat. She too canceled her request a few weeks later. In family therapy sessions, the twin sisters said they previously along with their brother before his first severe bout of depression when he was 19, but their relationship had deteriorated since then.

Prosecutors issued an arrest warrant for four counts of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted first-degree murder against him. A $10,000 reward was offered for information leading to his arrest. He wouldn’t be caught until January 2nd, 2010 when a Florida Keys motel employee recognized him from an episode of America’s Most Wanted. He was definitely on the run as he tried to disguise himself by shaving his head, grew out his beard, switched out the plates on his car, and used a car cover to try to hide his vehicle.

Image: America’s Most Wanted

Paul immediately accepted a plea deal that would spare him the death sentence. He pleaded guilty to the murder and attempted murder charges in exchange for seven life sentences. As part of the agreement, he agreed to waive any opportunities to appeal. Medical records were released by prosecutors after he accepted life in prison to avoid a possible death sentence for the massacre. These records showed disturbing details from over a decade of doctor and hospital visits as Paul’s family sought treatment across the country for his various mental illnesses.

Records showed he told a therapist in 1998 that he felt that his family was obligated to take care of him and thought he deserved to move back in with his parents because he believed that his family needed to “suffer with him.” Then, in April 1999, he tried to kill himself with a gunshot to the chest that grazed one of his lungs. He would once again attempt suicide in 2005 by swallowing all the psychotropic pills left in his medicine cabinet.

Adding insult to injury, two lawsuits had been filed against Paul’s parents, Michael and Carole. One filed by Patrick Knight and the other by the parents of Makayla Sitton. Both parties maintained the notion that his parents knew that their son was dangerous and failed to protect their relatives during the Thanksgiving get-together from him. Judge Meenu Sasser ruled that no Florida courts have held parents responsible for the actions of their adult children. Both suits were tossed.