Authorities hunt for man who allegedly shot family members after dinner.
Investigators in Florida alerted Michigan authorities to be on the lookout Saturday for a man accused of shooting four relatives to death after a Thanksgiving dinner in South Florida.
The suspect, Paul Michael Merhige, 35, sought a physician in the Detroit area in the past year, Jupiter Police Sgt. Scott Pascarella said, but he was unsure why he needed the doctor.
Merhige is believed to be driving a royal blue 2007 Toyota Camry with a rear spoiler and Florida license plate. He is accused of killing including his pregnant sister and her twin sister, as well as his 6-year-old cousin and 79-year-old aunt.
There had been "ongoing resentment" in the family, but investigators weren't sure what specifically prompted Thursday's shooting.
Police said Merhige left briefly before returning to the home where 17 relatives had gathered in Jupiter, a small beach town about 90 miles north of Miami. The town is known as a home to celebrities including Michael Jordan and Burt Reynolds.
Pascarella said police first received a 911 call from a neighbor, then another from someone inside the home. The home, in a well-kept new subdivision with brick-paved driveways, is owned by local TV videojournalist Jim Sitton and his wife. The home was surrounded Friday by yellow crime scene tape and police crime unit vans.
Sitton's daughter Makayla had gone to bed before the rampage, police said.
"God packed a lot of sweetness into that little body," Sitton said. "She's just our life. I don't know how we are ever going to recover."
Messages left a phone number listed for Sitton and his wife were not returned Saturday. He told The Palm Beach Post on Saturday that he saw no "red flags" when the two were sitting near each other during Thanksgiving.
Sitton also previously told local media said his daughter was supposed to perform in a holiday production of "The Nutcracker." The Florida Classical Ballet Theatre had two shows Friday.
Do you have more information about this topic? If so, please click here to contact the editors of ABC News.
