Daytona Beach Police released close-up photos of the "person of interest" wanted in the stabbing attack early Sunday that killed a Daytona Beach couple as they rode their bicycles home from Bike Week events.
Police also stated that a $50,000 reward is being offered for information leading to an arrest in the killing of Brenda and Terry Aultman.
The police released two new photos focused on the man's face. They also released a photo showing the tattoos on the back of one of his arms.
Police described him as a person of interest in the slayings of TerryAultman,48, and Brenda Aultman, 55, of Daytona Beach. The married coupledied of multiple stab wounds and lacerations in the attack at the corner of North Wild Olive Avenue and Riverview Boulevard, police said. Officerswere called to the scene justbefore 2 a.m. on Sunday.
Person of interest:Daytona Beach Police release video of person of interest in couple's killing on Sunday
2 killed after attending Bike Week:2 killed in Daytona Beach apparently after attending Bike Week, police said
In an email on Tuesday, Daytona Beach Police spokesman Messod Bendayan wrote that police have increased patrols in the area.
"We hope that will help residents feel more secure in knowing that we are doingeverything possible to ensure their safety," Bendayan wrote. "We’re also having conversations with some of those residents to make sure their concerns are addressed and that they know we have a lot of resources out there dedicated to doing nothing other than tracking down this person of interest."
Police have released few details about the double-homicide or the suspect. They haven't scheduled any press conferences regarding the attacks.
Daytona Beach Police Chief Jakari Young attended a neighborhood meeting on Tuesday night with local residents. The media was not allowed to attend.
Resident Susan Odena said that during that meeting, neighbors learned that the person of interest may have recently broken into a cottage in the neighborhood. She said it was believed that he left his DNA behind.She said police believe he was a transient and still in the area.
But Bendayan said that during the meeting some people told Young that a recent break-in in the area might be connected to the person of interest.
"We’ve looked into what they told us and we’ve ruled out any connection there," Bendayan wrote in an email.
But police do believe the man is still nearby.
"We do think the person of interest is still in the area. We can’t say for sure he’s homeless, though. We’re still actively pursuing all leads," Bendayan wrote.
Odena said police encouraged residents to call 911 if they saw the person of interest, but told them not to confront him.
She said police also encouraged residents to install more cameras on their homes.
Bradford Gonzalez also attended the meeting and also mentioned the break-in and the possible connection.He said the homeowner had said their son usually stays in the garage apartment and was thankful he was not there during the break-in.
Gonzalez also said that there was discussionat the meeting that the attacker might be mentally ill.
But Bendayan wrote that was unknown. "We can’t say for sure one way or the other at this point," he wrote.
Gonzalez said he did not think much was accomplished to further community safety at the meeting.
“I don’t think that we really accomplished anything except getting information from the chief,” Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez said when he lived in the Bronx and somebody got murdered, the reaction was different.
“Somebody gets killed in your neighborhood, everybody in the community gets united. In this case it seemed they were dispersed. It didn’t seem like they were united,” Gonzalez said.
He said that someone in the group asked if they needed to stop walking in the neighborhood.
"I said ‘No, we need to start walking,” Gonzalez said. “We walk in threes and fours and walk around the neighborhood and be seen so that these vagrants and other people can see that the community is alert so that will keep them at bay from coming into our community.”
Another meeting is planned Wednesdayat 6 p.m.in the pavilion at Our Lady of Lourdes CatholicChurch, 201 University Blvd.
Anyone with information about the person of interest is asked to call Detective Collin Howell at 386-671-5257 or call 911.
The Aultmans had only been living in their home in Daytona Beach for about six months, Brenda's daughter, Sara Turner, said.
Turnercreated a GoFundMe drive on Tuesday to help with expenses. As of Wednesday afternoon, the drive had $9,781 in contributions from 145donors toward a goal of $25,000.
