Money a Motive in Death of Macomb Co. Couple

NEW BALTIMORE, Mich. (AP) - Money appears to the motive in the deaths of a Macomb County couple, authorities said Monday, three days after their son was charged with fatally stabbing them in 2006.

New Baltimore Police Chief John Bolgar said investigators got tips from around the world after a story about the case and a mysterious message in blood recently aired on "America's Most Wanted."

There has been much interest in interpreting some letters left in blood on the garage floor by one of the victims, but it wasn't the "linchpin" in whether to file first-degree murder charges against Ronald Jabalee Jr., Bolgar said.

"What it means? We're still working on it," he said.

The bodies of Ronald and Christine Jabalee, bludgeoned and stabbed, were found in their garage in New Baltimore, 40 miles northeast of Detroit, in October 2006. They were 58.

Their 40-year-old son operates a meat market in Detroit. A grand jury returned murder charges against Jabalee on Friday, and he remains without bond in the Macomb County jail.

Defense lawyer Stephen Rabaut said Jabalee is "absolutely" not guilty. His next court appearance is July 6.

"My client had a very close and loving relationship with his parents. He misses his parents. It's devastating to him," Rabaut said of the charges.

A grand jury is rarely used by Michigan prosecutors to investigate crimes. But in this case, it was used to compel testimony from reluctant witnesses, county Prosecutor Eric Smith said.

"If you don't testify ... you can be held in contempt," he said.

Smith said money appears to be the motive in the deaths of the Jabalees, but he and Bolgar said they could not divulge what was revealed to the grand jury.

The letters smeared in blood appear to include an "e" and more than one "s." A picture is posted on "America's Most Wanted" Web site, www.amw.com.

"We had numerous calls. We had numerous e-mails on what people believed it could mean," Bolgar said. "A nun who was a nurse that deals with hospice said quite often people in their final moments will actually write backwards not realizing it."