On October 27, 2011, defendant Paul Michael Merhige pled guilty and was sentenced to seven consecutive Life Sentences Without the Possibility of Parole for four Counts of First Degree Murder With A Firearm and three Counts of Attempted First Degree Murder With A Firearm. The evidence in this case showed that on the evening of November 26, 2009, the defendant was at the home of relatives for a Thanksgiving meal. At the conclusion of the meal, and without warning, the defendant produced guns and began to shoot his relatives. During the course of the shooting the defendant shot and killed his aunt Raymonde Joseph, his sisters Carla Merhige and Lisa Knight and his cousin Makayla Sitton.  The defendant also shot and seriously injured his brother-in-law Patrick Knight, shot and injured his cousin Clifford Gebara and attempted to shoot his uncle Dr. Antoine Joseph. The defendant escaped the scene of the shooting and  was captured by the U.S. Marshal's Service in the Florida Keys after an extensive man-hunt. The case was assigned to Assistant State Attorney Terri Skiles and Aleathea H. McRoberts along with Detective Eric Frank of the Jupiter Police Department. 

State Attorney Michael McAuliffe stated in part: "I am well aware of the strong emotions that the issue of the death penalty evokes. I also am sensitive to the unique perspective of victims and family members in capital murder cases.  In this case, some victims strongly urged a resolution of the case in order to re-build their lives; others strongly believed that any resolution short of an execution was an injustice. I have taken all these deeply held beliefs and sometimes conflicting wishes and sentiments into account in agreeing to this resolution. I believe that the seven consecutive life sentences recognize the heinous nature of the crimes and adequately punish the defendant for those crimes."