VERO BEACH — A 55-year-old man is accused of fleeing after his elderly parents were discovered fatally shot in their Florida condominium has been identified as a suspect in their deaths and arrested on a separate charge of evading police, the authorities said.
The vehicle was tracked as it entered Indian River County from neighboring St. Lucie County, where the killings happened, using cameras that read license plates and were placed in various locations in the area by deputies, Philip Repaci Jr. was arrested late Tuesday.
The arrest came after a chase during which a deputy used a precision immobilization technique, or PIT maneuver, to stop Repaci’s car on Oslo Road, the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office said.
Repaci, a former New York City police officer, is being detained at the Indian River County Jail on a $150,000 bond for fleeing and eluding. He is due to be arraigned on April 8, 2026. The police in Fort Pierce, who are investigating the homicide, identified him Wednesday as a suspect in the deaths of his parents, 85-year-old Philip Repaci and 80-year-old Joan Repaci.
The couple was found Tuesday afternoon with multiple gunshot wounds in their Harbour Isle condominium complex on Hutchinson Island in Fort Pierce. The police described the deaths as suspicious and said Repaci Jr. had fled the scene before officers arrived, leading to a be-on-the-lookout alert for his vehicle.
“This investigation is active and ongoing,” Fort Pierce police said in a statement.
The Indian River County Sheriff’s Office said that it would offer assistance in the case, with Sheriff Eric Flowers writing that his agency was “ready to provide any assistance needed to ensure the suspect sees justice.”
Surveillance video released by the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office shows deputies performing a high risk traffic stop after completing a PIT maneuver. It can be found here: https://youtu.be/CKIkd2VmWFo.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call the Fort Pierce Police Department at 772-467-6800 or Treasure Coast Crime Stoppers at 1-800-277-8477.
