POMPANO BEACH, Fla. – The Broward Sheriff’s Office is investigating a double homicide after a Canadian couple was discovered dead inside their mobile home in Pompano Beach on Friday.
Deputies said the bodies of Marc Gagne, 80, and Rita Gagne, 78, were discovered by a neighbor in the 700 block of Birdie Lane in Pompano Beach. The neighbor became concerned after not seeing the couple for a few days, and after nobody answered knocks on the door, entered the house to find both bodies on the floor.
Crime scene techs gathered evidence from the inside the home while homicide investigators worked to find out what led up to the murders.
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reported that Gagnes were from Saint-Come-Liniere, a small village an hour and half south of Quebec City. Rita Gagne's sister, Monique Fortin, had been concerned because she hadn't heard from the couple since Tuesday, the CBC reported.
Detectives described the scene as gruesome.
Residents were shocked to hear that two of their neighbors were found dead inside of their home in the Golf View Estates mobile home park.
Neighbors said the slain couple were snowbirds who only lived in the home for about six months of the year. While they kept to themselves, they weren't strangers to their neighbors.
Residents said with the killer on the loose, they now worry for their safety.
"They didn’t bother anybody. They are snow birds. They are only here about six months out of the year," neighbor Thomas Sheely said. "Apparently, they just got back from a funeral from burying their daughter, and they have only been back for a couple weeks."
Sheely said police told him that the bodies had been inside the home for several days.
"It's just surreal. You never thought a murder could happen four houses down from you," Sheely said.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact BSO Homicide Detective Barbara Dyer at 954-321-4262 or Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS.