MCALPIN, Fla. – One man has been arrested and two other men are being sought in connection with the death of three people inside a home in Suwannee County.
The triple slaying occurred near the intersection of 172nd Street and 129th Road in a very rural area.
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Keith Hughes, 25, is charged with conspiracy and robbery. His bond is set at $100,000 for each count. Investigators said Hughes was a former employee of the family that was killed, and they believed he tipped the other men off about a lot of cash in the home.
Investigators said they're looking for James Howze, 38, and Lonnie Munn, 47, who are wanted on suspicion of murder.
Suwannee County Sheriff Tony Cameron said the motive for the triple shooting was robbery. He said the killers were looking for cash Wednesday night when they killed 57-year-old Joe Militello and 68-year-old Nancy Militello, who were married, and their nephew, 32-year-old Angelo Rosales. All three were shot in the head, investigators said.
Cameron said the three were killed in one room "in cold blood" and "execution style." Their bodies were found Thursday morning when investigators said an employee of the family's home-based business arrived for work around 7:30 a.m., investigators said.
"For Suwannee County, this is very unusual," Cameron said. "And you may see some of these things where you have a lot of gang involvement and those kind of things, but to have execution-style murders -- that's what these were: execution-style."
The family ran a scrap-metal business at the home, and Cameron said the men might have thought there was a lot of cash. Cameron said the men did leave with some cash and valuables.
Cameron said the two men being sought are "bad guys" with lengthy records and a history of violence. Cameron said he doesn't believe they're in the area anymore.
"I just couldn't go to sleep," said Jeff Robinson, who worked for the Miletellos and knew them for four years. "I stayed up all night knowing not only did they kill him, they killed his wife and then they killed Angelo."
Robinson said Joe Militello was known for carrying around a lot of cash.
"I think he must have met Joe somewhere and saw a big wad of money on him, you know, and told somebody else," Robinson said. "And the guys rob them, and that's what it's all about: money."
If you have any information that could lead to the men's arrest, you're asked to call the Suwannee County Sheriff's Office at 386-362-2222 or Crime Stoppers at 386-208-8477.