Nosy Woman Thwarts Murderer's Getaway

He might have gotten away with it, if it hadn't been for that meddling lady.

Paul Gayle went to his ex-girlfriend's house early Saturday morning intending to kill her, but ended up stabbing her new boyfriend to death instead, according to Coconut Creek police.

Gayle thought he had the perfect escape plan when he left his car running outside the home at the 4100 block of NW 43rd Way. What he didn't count on was a woman walking her dog who saw the running car and decided to intervene.

The woman not only turned the car off and took the keys, she took a wallet from inside the car to identify its owner and called 911, according to the Coconut Creek police.

By the time Gayle exited the house, he had no getaway car and the cops were just moments away. As police pulled up, they saw Gayle, wearing a shirt covered in blood, toss an object into his car. They later recovered a blood-covered knife from the vehicle.

The unidentified woman stayed on the scene and continued to speak with the 911 operator until officers arrived.

"I've got his keys and his wallet, he's not going anywhere," the woman told 911.

Police hailed the woman for her crime-fighting instincts.

"This is a clear case of citizen's action preventing a murder suspect from getting away," said Det. Anthony Avello with the Coconut Creek PD.

The ex-girlfriend, Joy Stewart, had fled the scene, though she suffered stab wounds, according to police. Gayle, 28, was charged with murdering the man, Hasting Clarke.

Gayle was being held without bail at the Broward County jail.

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