A granddaughter accused of having her elderly grandparents murdered in their Fort Lauderdale home back in March paid her ex-boyfriend who's accused of killing them $1,000 after they were slain, new court documents show.
Jalisa Michelle Hill, 34, was arrested Thursday on two counts of first-degree murder in the March 22 shooting deaths of Major and Claudette Melvin, Fort Lauderdale Police said.
Police said they believe Hill worked with 30-year-old Maurice Newson to murder her grandparents. Newson was charged in the murders of the couple last month.
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The husband and wife, who were 89 and 85 years old, were found shot to death inside their home in the 600 block of Southwest 30th Terrace back on March 22.
Their vehicle, a 2014 red Ford Fusion, was missing but was later found in a tow yard.
Newson was arrested on May 23 after it was determined he'd stolen and sold the car to the tow yard, police said.
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According to a probable cause affidavit released Friday, Hill told police she'd left the couple's home the night before to stay at her boyfriend's home in Pembroke Pines.
A neighbor's surveillance camera captured a suspect arriving at the couple's home around 1 a.m. on March 22, and more than two hours later, the video showed the victims' vehicle leaving the home.
According to the affidavit, a man sold the car for $200 the same day as the murder to a towing company owner.
Investigators discovered the phone number of the man who sold the couple's car was linked to Newson, the affidavit said.
The affidavit said investigators found Hill had paperwork regarding pest control and renovations at her grandparents' home.
"Jalisa Hill went on to say that she was going to be the one in line to receive the home when her grandparents pass away," the affidavit said. "Jalisa Hill stated that her grandfather was going to bequest the house to her and her mother."
Hill also filed an insurance claim for the couple's stolen car, but didn't tell the company her grandparents were dead and was concerned about the payment check being addressed to her grandmother, the affidavit said.
Hill was given a polygraph by an FBI agent on May 16 and the agent found that "Jalisa showed deception and she found her to be untruthful to the question of being involved in the death of her grandparents," the affidavit said.
She was again interviewed by detectives and charged some of her answers, now saying she was never in line to receive her grandparents' home, the affidavit said.
Investigators learned Newson had worked for Spirit Airlines as a ground crew chief but was fired in January for workplace violence after he was arrested for battery on Dec. 30, the affidavit said.
After he was fired, he began to struggle financially, the affidavit said.
Hill confirmed she'd been in a longterm relationship with Newson and that he was her ex-boyfriend, but said she didn't speak with him or see him regularly but saw him the day after her grandparents were murdered walking by her home to a bus stop, the affidavit said.
But after Newson's arrest, investigators found records that showed Hill had sent $1,000 to a man who then sent the money to Newson through Zelle, the affidavit said.
Hill and Newson remain held without bond. Hill was expected to go before a judge Friday afternoon.
Family members said Major and Claudette Melvin had 28 grandchildren, and some of the family had previously said they had suspicions that one of them was involved in the killings
“At the end of the day, Jalisa is my niece and I can’t really see her being involved in anything like that, but the law speaks for itself," the couple's son, Dennis J. Parker, told NBC6 on Friday.
