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Murder Suspect Jumps To His Death After Elderly Girlfriend Is Found Dead In Florida Condo
Police in St. Petersburg say Tracy Lukanic jumped from the top floor of a downtown parking garage soon after he allegedly killed 70-year-old Deborah Ann Haugh.
A Florida man reportedly jumped to his death from a building not far from where his partner was found violently murdered.
Deborah Ann Haugh, 70, was found dead on Thursday afternoon at her Parkshore Plaza condo at 300 Beach Drive N.E. in downtown St. Petersburg, Florida, police said Friday afternoon. Although a cause of death has yet to be released, authorities said the woman “died from violent trauma” when news first broke of Haugh’s death.
St. Petersburg Police Spokesperson Yolanda Fernandez called the death “a violent act,” according to CBS Tampa Bay affiliate WTSP.
Before releasing the victim’s name, police stated they “believe that the suspect was known to the victim,” announcing the murder was not a random act and that there appeared to be no threat to the community.
In Friday’s release, police identified the suspect as Haugh’s boyfriend, Tracy Lee Lukanic, 57, who had “committed suicide” on Thursday morning.
Lukanic allegedly jumped from the top floor of the Sundial parking garage at 117 2nd Street N., about a five-minute walk from Haugh’s residence.
The investigation began Thursday when Haugh failed to show up for a pre-planned lunch date with friends, according to St. Petersburg officials.
"The door was locked, and they felt it was highly unusual for her not to show up or not to call them,” police spokesperson Fernandez told ABC Tampa affiliate WFTS-TV. “They knew her car was in the garage, and they wanted to make sure she was OK.”
The friends contacted Parkshore Plaza maintenance and requested they do a welfare check, after which condo employees found Haugh’s body in her fifth-floor apartment, according to NBC Tampa affiliate WFLA-TV.
Police said there were no signs of forced entry, according to WTSP.
Lukanic is the only named suspect so far.
“The condominium is being very cooperative, and we’re working through management and security in order to get all the surveillance video in order to see if this can help us piece together exactly what happened,” Fernandez continued.
Fernandez told the ABC affiliate it was a “very violent” crime scene, “no matter where it would happen in the city.”
Police say the investigation is ongoing.
