SOUTHPORT — The brick house shared by 46-year-old John Steve Bowen and 44-year-old Donna Maria Merendino sat calm and quiet Saturday.
Bowen’s van and Merendino’s Buick sat in the driveway, collecting debris that fluttered down from the trees above.
It was a sharp contrast to the scene the night before when a family member arrived at the home to discover Bowen and Merendino dead.
“It was my daddy and his girlfriend,” Cameron Bowen said Saturday afternoon outside his father’s home at 1327 10th St. in Southport.
He had heard news of the tragedy that morning.
Bay County sheriff’s deputies were called to the house about 7 p.m. Friday when another family member found the bodies.
None of the couple’s neighbors seemed to have any idea what happened.
Charles Sapp was at a birthday dinner at his daughter’s house next door when deputies arrived.
“We got a call about 8:30 and they said something happened,” Sapp said. “We looked out and, Lordy mercy, there were police cars and we saw the yellow tape everywhere.”
Investigators worked late into the night before the bodies were turned over to the medical examiner’s office for forensic analysis.
Another neighbor, Erika Whyle, said she learned very little about Bowen and Merendino in the two years she lived adjacent to the couple.
“This house has a history,” Whyle said, referring to her own home on Jefferson Avenue just around the corner. “The owners knew the people that broke in and wanted what was in the safe. It was drugs to the best of my understanding.”
The previous homeowner, Michael Norman, shot and killed two men during a home invasion in May 2010. Investigators determined the would-be invaders were after prescription drugs.
Despite the deaths in the nearby homes, a man who has lived in the neighborhood for 45 years said it was a good area.
“At one time I knew everyone around here, but it’s not like that anymore,” Earl Pettis said.
He also knew very little about Bowen and Merendino, but said they seemed nice and would wave when he drove by. He seemed calm about Friday’s incident.
“I guess anymore, it’s not a shock,” Pettis said.
Events that led to the deaths still were officially undetermined Saturday. The Sheriff’s Office said in a news release that it does not appear to be a random incident and that autopsies are scheduled for Monday.
“My daddy was a good man,” Cameron Bowen said. “I can only imagine what people are speculating.”
Bowen said his father had never been married and was engaged to Merendino. He also said he’s waiting to hear more from investigators before trying to make sense of what happened.
“I’m still in shock,” he said.