Headline Surfer multimedia presentation / ABOVE: Three screenshot images (left) released by Daytona Beach police of the 'person of interest' they are looking for regarding the early Sunday throat-slash murders of Brena Aultman & Terry Aultman of Daytona, who were fatally attacked on Wild Olive Avenue, near Main Street - the epicenter of Bike Week - after attending the festivities at the biker rally. LEFT: DBPD reward poster offering $50,000 for info leading to the arrest of the killer.
By HENRY FREDERICK / Headline Surfer
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- A $50,000 reward is now being offered by Daytona Beach Police for anyone who has information leading to an arrest in the murders of a husband and wife who were killed by a knife-wielding man who stabbed them multiple times before slashing their throats after the married couple left the Bike Week festivities on Main Street early Sunday.
Brenda Aultman and Terry Aultman were stabbed multiple times and their throats were slashed -- fresh blood trails showing their bodies were dragged by the killer from the roadway onto the grass in the 700 block of North Wild Olive Avenue before walking away just before 2 a.m. and disappearing under the dark night sky.
The Aultmans, who lived a mile from the Bike Week rally on Main Street, rode their bicycles to the event, but never made it back home -- their lives snuffed out on a nearby side street in brutal fashion by the unknown killer in a veritable bloodbath -- a crime scene so gruesome, Daytona Beach Police Chief Jakari Young told TV news camera crews and other media outlets on the scene that the killer had to be "deranged."
Young said robbery did not appear to be a motive, but he did not elaborate as to how he came to that conclusion.
The Daytona Beach Police Department continues to actively work on a homicide case involving the married couple who were discovered dead over the weekend near the intersection of North Wild Olive Avenue and Riverview Boulevard.
“We will spare no expense and leave no stone unturned in order to solve this case,” Young pledged from the crime scene in an interview with TV news camera crews. “I assure you that our detectives are doing all they can to bring justice to the loved ones of these victims.”
DBPD was first notified at 1:57 a.m. Sunday in a 9-1-1 call from a man living in the 700 block of North Wild Olve Avenue.
First responders then found the bodies of 48-year-old Terry Aultman and 55-year-old Brenda Aultman – both residents of Daytona Beach – soon after they arrived at the scene, both covered in blood and with multiple stab wounds and lacerations to their bodies. Paramedics noted their throats had been slashed. Both were declared deceased at the scene within minutes of the initial 9-1-1 call.
Cops with DBPD’s Criminal Investigation Division have spoken to the man who made the 9-1-1 call as well as a woman who was also on scene.
Both told cops they found the man lying face-down on his chest and the woman lying face-up on her back in a grassy area next to the sidewalk at the southeast corner of Wild Olive and Riverview.
Two bicycles were spotted near the bodies. They were being processed for evidence as part of this ongoing investigation.
The bodies were transported to the office of the Volusia County Medical Examiner’s office where autopsies were performed to determine the exact cause and manner of death - even though it appears obvious they died as a result of trauma from multiple stabbings and throats slashed, the latter which resulted in a large amount of blood loss.
"CID is working on all aspects of this case, including determining the motive for this attack and identifying whoever was involved in these murders," Daytona Beach Police PIO Messod Bendayan in an email media alert to Headline Surfer and daily news organizations. "It appears that the victims were using their bicycles to get home after participating in Bike Week festivities when the attack happened."
The PIO said cops are continuing to search for a 'person of interest' in this case -- a Black man wearing a dark cowboy hat, a beige scarf, red gloves, light-colored pants, and carrying a backpack.
Daytona Beach Police released a 1-minute surveillance video clip to media outlets...
Anyone with information is urged to contact Detective Collin Howell at (386) 671-5257 or HowellCollin@DBPD.us regarding Case 220003866.
Headline Surfer video:
YouTube embedding / Headline Surfer video / The video presentation includes a surveillance clip by Daytona Beach Police in an attempt to identify a 'person of interest' in the double homicide on the side street of Main Street, the epicenter of Bike Week. The video includes the sites of the motorcycle rally leading into the Daytona Beach Police surveillance clip.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Headline Surfer's video presentation on the double-throat slash murders was designated as 'age-restricted' by YouTube based on its community guidelines. YouTube visitors (18 and older) with a YouTube account will be able to watch the video. CLICK LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrG0bQaIbSY.
About the Byline Writer: Henry Frederick is a member of the working press and publisher of Headline Surfer, the award-winning 24/7 internet news outlet launched in 2008, that serves greater Daytona Beach, Sanford & Orlando from Lake Mary, Florida via HeadlineSurfer.com. Frederick has amassed close to 150 award-winning bylines in print & online. He earned his Master of Arts in New Media Journalism from Full Sail University in 2019. He was a breaking news reporter (metro cops & courts beat) for the Daytona Beach News-Journal for nearly a decade. And Before that worked the same beat for The Journal-News/Gannett Suburban Newspapers in Rockland/Westchester counties, NY, dating back to 1989. Having witnessed the execution of serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Florida's death chamber and covering other high profile cases, Frederick has appeared on national crime documentary shows on Discovery ID, Reelz, and the Oxygen Network series "Snapped" for his analysis. • Award-Winning Journalism: Florida Press Club recognizes Headline Surfer for nine stories in 2020 statewide competition. • Award-Winning Journalism of Henry Frederick.