More than six decades after a man's dinner outing with his wife ended with him gunned down in his car in North Miami, detectives believe they've solved his murder.
The March 24, 1961 killing of 53-year-old Joseph DiMare has remained a mystery for more than 62 years.
But now, Miami-Dade Police cold case detectives believe they've uncovered his killer: his wife, Frances DiMare.
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In a news release Tuesday, the police department said investigators met with the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office and all agreed that there is no credible evidence to support that anyone other than Frances DiMare is responsible for the killing of Joseph DiMare.
Joseph DiMare, a wealthy produce company co-founder, had been found found shot in the head inside of his car in an empty lot behind a gas station in the area of Northeast 122nd Street and North Bayshore Drive.
Frances DiMare said that they were on the way to dinner when two armed men entered the vehicle at an intersection and pointed a gun to her head, demanding her to drive to the empty lot where the vehicle was located.
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The men then demanded all of her belongings, she said. She stated that the robbers hit her over the head with a gun and she became unconscious.
When she awoke, she discovered that her husband had been shot and killed, she said.
She told investigators she fled from the vehicle barefoot and responded to the gas station, where she called for police.
But Frances DiMare had no signs of any cuts or scrapes on the bottom of her feet from the gravel road, and investigators said they found her shoes neatly placed next to her car.
Investigators also discovered the couple had been having marital issues. Joseph DiMare had decided to change his living will to state that his wife, 33 at the time, must be living at his home at the time of his death in order to be an eligible beneficiary.
Forensic evidence later confirmed that Joseph DiMare was shot with a gun that belonged to him, and investigators concluded that the shooting occurred at home, in the garage before departing for dinner.
The pistol used was discarded along the way, perhaps into the waterway under the two bridges that Frances DiMare drove over on her short path, police said.
As blood ran down out of the vehicle, it left a trail as it was driven from the couple's home on Arch Creek Drive to the location where Joseph DiMare's body was found, which is only a 3-4 minute drive, police said.
Detectives believe Frances DiMare drove the car to the Northeast 122nd Street location in Sans Souci, exited, left her gloves and purse in the car, removed her shoes and placed them next to the vehicle. She then walked carefully along the undeveloped field towards the gas station and then ran the last part of her path, coming from behind the gas station to the office.
After a review of the physical evidence, it was determined that the gunshots originated from the driver's seat, police said.
The original statements provided by Frances DiMare alleging that two men entered the vehicle were never corroborated, though it was learned that she may have had additional accomplices, police said.
"Based on the background and context of the crime, the physical evidence from the vehicle which includes the injuries to Mr. DiMare, the inconsistent statements made by Mrs. DiMare, the motive for killing her husband was due to an impending divorce, and the fact that he was killed with his own firearm," police said in the news release.
Frances DiMare died in 2006.
