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Then separately, he called 5-year-old Anna into the same room. Dr. Harvard’s autopsy findings documented that both children had injuries on their arms and hands consistent with defensive wounds, the kind sustained when a person instinctively raises their limbs to protect themselves. At 7 and 5 years old, they both did exactly that.
Blood stain analyst Jan Johnson testified during the court proceedings that based on her analysis of the physical evidence, Anna had been positioned in a kneeling posture over the edge of the bathtub when she was struck. Her brother was already there. The forensic record confirmed that Anna had witnessed what happened to Edward before the same fate reached her.
Zakvsky placed all three members of his family together in the bathroom. He went to the sink, washed up, changed into clean clothing, and left the house. He drove to a bar and remained there for several hours, drinking heavily until he was severely intoxicated. Later that night, police officers on patrol found him passed out in his car.
They took his keys, told him to collect them from the station in the morning, and left. They had no reason to look further, no reason to connect him to anything beyond a man who had too much to drink. They had no idea what was inside the house on Shrewsbury Road. The morning of June 10th, 1994, Zakvski did not have his car keys. Police had taken them the night before.
He returned to Shrewsbury Road on foot and forced entry through a window. Inside, he changed into his work uniform, found a spare key, and drove to Eglund Air Force Base. He reported in. He gave no indication to anyone around him that anything had occurred. He left before his shift ended. He drove to the bank and withdrew the remaining balance from the account.
Then he drove to Orlando International Airport and boarded a flight to Hawaii. By the time that plane was airborne, no one in Florida knew where he had gone. The house sat untouched for 3 days. On June 13th, Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office investigators entered and processed the property. Detective Joe Nelson led that work.
Three pieces of forensic evidence emerged immediately. First, blood was found on the living room couch located beneath a shirt belonging to Zakvski. Second, blood was recovered from a pair of his socks inside the laundry hamper. He had changed clothes before leaving, and what he left behind connected him directly to what had taken place inside that house.
Third, his blue 1992 geo prism was not on the property, not stolen, not towed, simply gone alongside its owner. In the context of everything else recovered at that scene, a missing vehicle registered to the primary suspect was treated immediately as evidence of deliberate flight. Detective Nelson later stated that in his entire law enforcement career, he had never worked a scene of that nature.
That assessment required no elaboration. Investigators built the physical case methodically before moving to the next step. The formal arrest warrant for Edward James Zakvski 2 was issued on June 16th, 1994, 3 days after the bodies were discovered. When law enforcement moved, the documented record was fully behind them.
On June 13th, 1994, personnel from Eglund Air Force Base arrived at the house on Shrewsbury Road. Zakvsky had failed to report for duty and had been flagged as absent without leave. They contacted the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies responded and met them at the property. They found a broken window. They went inside.
Retired Assistant State Attorney Bobby Elmore later described what law enforcement encountered in that house as the worst crime scene of his entire professional career. For a prosecutor with his level of experience, that statement carries full weight. Edward Zachsky was identified as the prime suspect without delay. The FBI was brought in.