Mystery of couple’s stabbing murder solved by initial on credit card receipt

‘I thought maybe he wanted to be left alone because he was short-worded with me, so I just kept his tea filled up,’ restaurant worker who served suspect says

The suspect in the stabbing deaths of a couple was arrested after a server recognised the man as a previous customer.

Images and footage of the suspect, now identified by police as Jean Macean, were made public last Tuesday in connection to the murders in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Server Valerie Court recognised a man who she had served on Saturday 5 March. He had used a credit card to pay.

According to The Sun, Ms Court said Mr Macean had a late lunch, wearing the same clothes she had seen him wear in the images released to news outlets. He also had a backpack at the time.

“I’m very happy that I was able to help them get a dangerous person off the street,” Ms Court told The Sun. “I thought maybe he wanted to be left alone because he was short-worded with me, so I just kept his tea filled up.”

Hours later, in the early hours of Sunday, Terry and Brenda Aultman were repeatedly stabbed while biking home, according to police.

Ms Court noted that Mr Macean had paid with a credit card, but that it “didn’t have his name on it. It said ‘my temporary pay card’ but he did initial, sign it and initial it ‘JM’”.

Brenda and Terry Aultman are pictured hours before they were murdered in Daytona Beach, Florida, on 5 March 2022 (Brenda Aultman via Facebook)

Brenda and Terry Aultman were murdered near their home in Daytona Beach on 5 March 2022 (Sara Turner via GoFundMe)

With the help of the receipt, police found Jean Macean, 32, in Orlando, where he was arrested last Thursday, according to WESH.

“I wanted to catch this guy. I wanted to help the police department and help the community,” Ms Court added. “I knew I had valuable information.”

She spoke to the police as they were about to offer $50,000 as a reward for valuable information. It remains unclear if Ms Court will receive the funds.

“I didn’t do it for the reward, I did it for the police department to help get a dangerous person off the street,” she said.

While she’s relieved that the suspect has been arrested, she told The Sun that she was spooked by the interaction.

Mr Macean appeared in court on Wednesday and is now being held without bond, WESH reported.

Police said Mr Macean confessed and that the department believed the murders to have been random, the outlet stated.

Investigators also believe that Mr Macean didn’t know the victims. No possible motive has been put forward.

WESH reported that the prosecutor and public defender assigned to the case have yet to comment on the allegations, but that the public defender didn’t challenge the warrant arrest.

“There was a probable cause finding in the warrant for bond. I believe we would take that up at a later date,” public defender Sara Altes said, according to the local station.

When Mr Macean was taken to Volusia County Jail, an illegal immigration charge also appeared. Police stated earlier that he’s from Haiti but his immigration status remains unclear.

The charge is an immigration hold put in place by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to WESH.