Posting #222- Man Mistaken for Sex Predator Fatally Beaten

Date:  05/15/2010

Man Mistaken for Sex Predator Fatally Beaten, by Bianca Prieto - May 13, 2010
Orlando Sentinel:
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2010/05/13/20100513man-wrongly-identified-as-predator-killed.html

ORLANDO, Fla. - A man suspected of beating an elderly man to death in Bithlo,Fla., in a case of mistaken identity was arrested Thursday.

Authorities arrested Robert Pascale, who allegedly used a black Louisville Slugger baseball bat to bludgeon a 78-year-old man to death inside of a trailer in Bithlo late Tuesday after he was wrongly identified as a sexual predator.

Officials said Pascale killed Hugh Edwards, an elderly man who has no criminal history.

Details about the mistaken-identity motive were recorded in the arrest report for the Pascale's friend, 32-year-old Michael Garay.

Garay has been arrested and charged with accessory to murder.

Deputies were alerted to a possible homicide when Christa Limerick called 911 and said she thought her acquaintances had killed a man inside of a trailer in Bithlo, reports show.

Officers were dispatched to Bithlo around 4:24 a.m. and found Hugh Edwards dead in a pool of blood. Officers noted there were signs of a struggle.

Limerick told deputies she was drinking with a group of friends when Pascale allegedly asked her what she would do if a she had kids and lived next door to a sex offender, the report shows. Limerick said she would kill the person, according to the report.

Shortly after that conversation, Limerick said she watched Pascale and Garay walk into the elderly man's fenced yard and return a short while later.

Garay later told deputies they returned to the home to get a baseball bat and when they walked back over to the man's trailer, Pascale "jimmied" the lock open, the report says. Garay told deputies he waited outside while Pascale went inside.

Garay told deputies that he stood outside of the victim's home and heard several "thumping" sounds come from inside.
After the beating Garay, Pascale, Limerick and another woman, Amber Baker, got into Limerick's car. The group drove over to a nearby retention pond where Pascale allegedly dumped the baseball bat, records show.

Next, the group drove to Pascale's mother's house so Pascale could change his clothes. Once back in the car, they drove over to an area known as "Dead Man's Trail" where the two men got out of the car, reports show.

Garay told deputies he and Pascale walked along a dirt path and Pascale walked into the woods to ditch the bloody clothing. Garay's jacket, which also had blood on it, was discarded, according to the arrest affidavit.
The men then met up with the women at a nearby convenience store about 20 minutes later.

Deputies have recovered both the baseball bat and the clothing, the report says.

Records show Garay's criminal history includes arrests on charges of battery of a law-enforcement officer.