The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office is investigating a double homicide in the 12000 block of Beeline Highway in Palm Beach Gardens.
Two bodies were found after Palm Beach County Fire Rescue put out a brush fire in the area Wednesday night.
The bodies have not yet been identified.
The sheriff's office sent detectives from its violent crimes division to investigate.
“Whoever murdered these people did not want these people to be recognized," says Andrew Scott who retired as the Boca Raton Chief of Police 10 years ago.
From his experience, burned body cases without fingerprints are hard to solve, but not impossible.
“It appears, based on what little I know of the incident that dental records are going to be very, very important as to ultimately identifying who these people are," Scott says.
For dental records to work, the victims would need to not only have up to date x-rays, but investigators would need to have an idea of where they went to the dentist.
Then there’s the DNA route. But in order for that to work, the victims would need to have been sent to prison, where they keep a record of an inmate’s DNA. A lesser crime, or no criminal history at all, there would be no DNA to compare it to.
"There’s a variety of things, there’s a lot of knowns but they’ve got their hands full," Scott says. "This is a difficult scene.”
One scene, we saw metal detectors, and investigators sifting through the soil above the burn scene-checking for any other evidence that was left behind.
"Are there pieces of jewelry, clothing perhaps that survived the fire or fell off and then ask the public if they have seen this particular piece of jewelry," Scott says
Another angle worth looking at, Scott says, the fact that there were 2 victims.
“Not out of the norm, but it’s not as usual as a single homicide. That in it of itself could be an interesting lead.”
Scott says, “It could take several weeks, it could take months, they may never be able to identify them.”
Anyone who was in the area between 8:45 p.m. and 9:23 p.m. is asked to call Palm Beach County Crime Stoppers at 800.458.TIPS.
Brush fire in the 12000 block of Beeline Highway, Palm Beach Gardens. Two unidentified bodies were located. Any information, contact us! pic.twitter.com/kWaOOOBzeR
— PBSO (@PBCountySheriff) March 16, 2017
