What to Know
- Police believe someone ordered a "hit" against 60-year-old Bruce Salituri, who was murdered inside his home in September 2019
- Michael Schnitzerling, 29, allegedly shot and killed Salituri and then attempted to kill Salituri's roommate
- The incident sparked an hours-long SWAT situation at the quiet Fort Lauderdale neighborhood
Police are looking for more clues in the murder they say was ordered against a man who was killed last year in his Fort Lauderdale home.
NBC 6 has exclusively obtained new details and video in the Sept. 12, 2019 fatal shooting of 60-year-old Bruce Salituri.
Police say 29-year-old Michael Schnitzerling posed as a Florida Power and Light worker to get inside Salituri's waterfront home, ordered him to open a safe and killed him inside his master closet.
After killing him, Schnitzerling told Salituri's younger roommate, "Your dad pissed some people off and you saw my face," before using a semi-automatic handgun with a silencer to shoot him multiple times, an arrest warrant says. When the gun jammed, he stabbed him twice.
Police said the roommate was able to escape and ultimately survived the attack. Neighbors discovered him covered in blood and drifting in and out of consciousness.
The situation sparked an hours-long SWAT standoff at the normally quiet neighborhood near Northwest 57th Street and 27th Avenue. Police initially believed Salituri was the barricaded subject who attempted a murder-suicide.
Schnitzerling escaped and drove away from the scene. The handgun that was used in the murder was left at the home, and investigators discovered the weapon was registered in his name. Schnitzerling was caught three weeks later in Delray Beach. He pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and attempted murder.
Partially sealed documents say Schnitzerling was on the phone with at least two people in the days and hours leading up to and immediately after Salituri's murder. Investigators believe his killing was someone else's idea.
Local
“We are confident that this individual selected that home, or was sent to that home, to carry out the crime," said Fort Lauderdale Police Chief Rick Maglione. “We do feel confident that there are other individuals involved."
New surveillance video shows Schnitzerling on the day of the murder stop for a coffee and then drive in his tan 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe to Salituri's house.
Prosecutors believe the new evidence is enough to seek the death penalty against Schnitzerling, who is being held in jail without bond.
