A father and son have been charged with the murder of Nova Southeastern professor Dr. Joseph Morrissey in his Plantation home last week, and the person fingering them is close to home.
Shawn Tundidor, son of Randy Tundidor Sr. and brother to Randy Jr., has provided police with some damning evidence in the April 6 murder of the 46-year-old professor, according to an arrest affidavit released late Sunday night.
Tundidor Sr., 43, has been charged with first-degree murder, robbery, kidnapping and arson. Son Randy Jr., 21, is expected to be charged today.
The affidavit includes statements from wife Linda Morrissey, who told police that just days earlier, on April 2, Dr. Morrissey, who was Tundidor Sr.'s landlord, wrote Tundidor Sr. to tell him he was in default of scheduled security deposit payments.
Dr. Morrissey was murdered for revenge, according to the arrest affidavit, because he was on the verge of evicting Tundidor Sr. from one of his properties.
"Somebody f---ed with me, nobody f---s with me," Tundidor Sr. told 19-year-old Shawn Tundidor on April 5, according to the affidavit.
Hours later, shortly before midnight, the Morrisseys and their five-year-old son would become the victims of a horrific crime. A robber, who Linda Morrissey said fits the description of Randy Tundidor Jr., broke into the home, forced the couple to drive him to an ATM where they got him $500, then stabbed Dr. Morrissey before setting the house on fire.
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Dr. Morrissey's body was found, wrists and ankles still bound, with stab wounds on his head and chest.
Linda Morrissey's account to police, included in the affidavit, provides a chilling account of the robbery. At one point, Linda Morrissey heard her husband say "Please don't do it, don't do that."
Linda Morrissey said the man was communicating with another man on a two-way radio throughout the robbery. She said that she and her husband had been tied up with plastic bands and that the robber had used gloves.
Randy Jr. was arrested Wednesday at the Beverly Hills Cafe in Plantation, on an unrelated probation violation charge. During a photo lineup, she identified Randy Jr. as the man who broke into her home, saying she was 85% sure it was him.
In an interview with police, Randy Jr. admitted to being a homeless crack addict and provided a wild story of drug use the night of the robbery at his father's business, Gator tint.
Tundidor Jr. told police he got into a dispute with his father over his drug use and his father burned his drug paraphernalia. He said some of his friends showed up, smoked crack, then left with a box of things from the business. When the friends returned, they took off their clothes and set the on fire, Randy Jr. said.
Also on April 7, police performed a search of Gator Tint. Police found plastic bands, knives, an empty knife box , gray gloves, European currency, remnants of items burned and 2-way radios.
Linda Morrissey later identified the currency as the same money her husband kept in his wallet.
The most incriminating evidence came from Shawn Tundidor, however, who had maintained his family's innocence in the days before his father and brother were arrested.
According to the affidavit, Shawn Tundidor called police on April 8, stating he had information on the case.
Shawn Tundidor told police that his father didn't return home until 4 a.m. on the morning of April 6, and was acting strange. When Shawn awoke in the morning, Randy Jr. was watching the news and very interested in the report of the murder.
When Shawn asked Randy Jr. if he was involved in the murder, Randy Jr. replied, "Go ask dad." Shawn confronted his father, Randy Sr., who said, "Joe the landlord f---ed with me, he f---ed with the wrong one and wants to put us on the streets."
When Shawn Tundidor went to Gator Tint, where he works, he noticed one of the knives usually for sale in a box wasn't there, and that ash from a fire was still in a bathroom sink.
Shawn left Gator Tint and arrived home to confront his father again. According to the affidavit, Randy Sr. told Shawn exactly what happened at the robbery.
He said that he stabbed Joe several times and as Joe was being stabbed, he said "I think I'm dying, I have kids."
The next day, when Shawn asked Randy Sr. about where his white Nike shoes were, Randy Sr. said , "They weren't white when I was done," and told him that he'd burned them.
Despite the release of the affidavit, Shawn Tundidor said yesterday that he hadn't told police anything. Randy Sr. and Jr. are both being held in Broward County jails.
