Mystery Around Double Murder of Jewish Couple Deepens as Police Head to Toronto
A team of Floridia police officers have reportedly travelled to Toronto to investigate the mysterious double murder of Jewish retirees David “Donny” Pichosky and Rochelle Wise.
The couple, who spent the winters in Hallandale Beach, Fla., near Ft. Lauderdale was found dead in their plush condo Jan. 10. Authorities have classified the killings as homicides but have no suspects and have refused to say how they were killed.
Hallandale Beach Police Chief Dwayne Flournoy said the four-member team wants to know more about the beloved couple, but refused to elaborate.
“(We want to) develop the victimology of Donny and Rochelle,” Flournoy said, according to the Toronto Star. “Who were they, what did they do while they were here, what was their background, their past life experiences.”
The team consists of Flournoy, a member of his command staff and two homicide detectives, according to the Jewish Tribune. They will be in Toronto until Thursday.
Although police have remained tight-lipped about the case, the Toronto trip raises the possibility that the couple may have been deliberately targeted by someone.
Police held a meeting for residents of the couple’s condo complex, where townhouses sell for $400,000, but would not reveal any details of the case. They have suggested it is not a random attack and told residents it was unlikely that the killer posed a danger to other residents. They have ruled out a murder-suicide.
Wise, 66, was a well-known figure in the Toronto Jewish community and a longtime administrator at Bialik Hebrew Day School. She founded and ran the popular Crestwood Valley Day Camp for many years before working at Bialik. Pichosky was also active in the community.
A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.
If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO