WPBF 25 News has obtained body cam footage from the Port St. Lucie Police Department showing past encounters with the man who murdered his two neighbors. The murders happened on Monday afternoon on SE Tropical East Circle. The PSLPD said 62-year-old Paul Maraio shot and killed 54-year-old Mark Golden and 75-year-old David Gasick. According to the PSLPD, the motive for the murders was an ongoing conflict between Maraio and the community’s HOA. Officials said Maraio was being evicted, and both victims had ties to the HOA. The body camera footage captures a portion of two interactions Maraio had with law enforcement in the months leading up to the murders. WPBF 25 News has been digging into those prior incidents where Golden had called police regarding Maraio’s behavior.According to the PSLPD, they responded to three incidents involving Golden and Maraio. The chief said each incident was deemed a civil matter. Residents have since raised concerns and questioned whether more could have been done to prevent the tragic shootings. Your neighborhood: Local coverage from WPBF 25 NewsWPBF 25 News Reporter Rachael Perry spoke with Attorney Dave Aronberg to better understand why the past incidents did not rise to the level of a criminal matter. “It’s much harder to prove a criminal case than a civil case. You’ve got to prove it beyond a reasonable doubt. Civil cases only needed to be proven by a preponderance of the evidence. So when police get involved, they, at the very least, are looking for probable cause to make an arrest. Prosecutors will only file if they have a good faith belief they can get a conviction beyond a reasonable doubt,” Aronberg said. Aronberg does not have ties to the case but reviewed the reports. Referring to the March 2025 case where Golden had reported that Maraio made a throat-slashing movement at him, Aronberg said, in his opinion, action likely wasn’t taken due to a lack of evidence. “In this case, it was a he said, he said, and the neighbor said that he was just recreating a pro wrestling move and that he never had any intent to put the neighbor at harm. Because there was no camera, no witness, and no other evidence, the police decided that this was not a criminal matter,” he said. As for the September 2025 incident where Golden called police and reported Maraio was spying on him using binoculars, Aronberg said “When you accuse someone of harassment, you generally need some sort of credible threat of violence. You need some stalking, perhaps some repeated violations. If you see a guy looking towards you with binoculars and then his response is, well, he was looking for wildlife and space shuttle launches from his property, you need to perhaps something more extrinsic proof, a witness or something to show that, no, he was trying to invade your privacy by looking inside your home,” Aronberg said. Without that, he said, there’s not much the police or the courts can do. “It’s a difficult matter when you’re trying to deal with criminal charges where you need to prove something beyond a reasonable doubt, and prosecutors here would very unlikely be able to prove that beyond a reasonable doubt that he was engaged in stalking or criminal behavior,” he said. According to police records, Golden had asked the court for a civil order of protection, but it was denied due to insufficient evidence.”To get an injunction here, a restraining order, it would have been an injunction against stalking, and under Florida law, you have to have at least two incidents of willful, malicious harassment of someone, and here, remember, you have a lot of doubt,” Aronberg said. Reviewing the reports, he said each one appears to be a ‘he said, he said’ issue. “You have to show perhaps at least two incidents of harassment where you engage in a course of conduct that’s directed at that individual that causes substantial emotional distress and serves no legitimate purpose. So, the judge here decided that there was insufficient evidence to proceed, which is the same calculation the police made,” Aronberg said. Following the tragic murders, Aronberg said it does raise questions, but the facts are clear. “Hindsight is 2020 here that the effects were so tragic and the result was so awful that you wish that we were able to do more at the time, but based on the facts, as police knew it back then, it’s hard to sustain a criminal charge,” he said. When it comes to neighbor disputes or similar incidents, Aronberg said documentation is everything. “You have to document everything. You have to try to get witnesses. You have to try to install cameras so that you have something caught on video. At some point, these individuals can’t help themselves, and they will do something that gets them caught. They will put something in writing and a text message, and an email. They will get themselves caught on camera,” he said. Get the latest news updates with the WPBF 25 News app. You can download it here.Aronberg said persistence is key, and gathering real evidence is crucial. The PSLPD is now reviewing the three prior incidents to examine whether or not more could have been done to prevent the deadly shootings. WPBF 25 News asked Aronberg if, in his opinion, it’s clear that the incidents were all civil matters. “In retrospect, knowing now how it turned out, I wish things had been done differently up there, but the police are right to review the situation. It’s hard in the moment to take something, which would be very difficult to make criminal, and do something with it, because you need external proof,” he said. “You need a witness. You need video. You need something more than two people who are neighbors who are having disputes, because if that were the standard, then police would do nothing but that.”This is a developing story.
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. —
WPBF 25 News has obtained body cam footage from the Port St. Lucie Police Department showing past encounters with the man who murdered his two neighbors.
The murders happened on Monday afternoon on SE Tropical East Circle. The PSLPD said 62-year-old Paul Maraio shot and killed 54-year-old Mark Golden and 75-year-old David Gasick.
Hearst OwnedThe Port St Lucie Police Dept.
According to the PSLPD, the motive for the murders was an ongoing conflict between Maraio and the community’s HOA. Officials said Maraio was being evicted, and both victims had ties to the HOA.
The body camera footage captures a portion of two interactions Maraio had with law enforcement in the months leading up to the murders.
Hearst OwnedPort St Lucie Police Department
According to the PSLPD, they responded to three incidents involving Golden and Maraio. The chief said each incident was deemed a civil matter.
Residents have since raised concerns and questioned whether more could have been done to prevent the tragic shootings.
Your neighborhood: Local coverage from WPBF 25 News
WPBF 25 News Reporter Rachael Perry spoke with Attorney Dave Aronberg to better understand why the past incidents did not rise to the level of a criminal matter.
“It’s much harder to prove a criminal case than a civil case. You’ve got to prove it beyond a reasonable doubt. Civil cases only needed to be proven by a preponderance of the evidence. So when police get involved, they, at the very least, are looking for probable cause to make an arrest. Prosecutors will only file if they have a good faith belief they can get a conviction beyond a reasonable doubt,” Aronberg said.
Aronberg does not have ties to the case but reviewed the reports.
Referring to the March 2025 case where Golden had reported that Maraio made a throat-slashing movement at him, Aronberg said, in his opinion, action likely wasn’t taken due to a lack of evidence.
“In this case, it was a he said, he said, and the neighbor [Maraio] said that he was just recreating a pro wrestling move and that he never had any intent to put the neighbor at harm. Because there was no camera, no witness, and no other evidence, the police decided that this was not a criminal matter,” he said.
As for the September 2025 incident where Golden called police and reported Maraio was spying on him using binoculars, Aronberg said
“When you accuse someone of harassment, you generally need some sort of credible threat of violence. You need some stalking, perhaps some repeated violations. If you see a guy looking towards you with binoculars and then his response is, well, he was looking for wildlife and space shuttle launches from his property, you need to perhaps something more extrinsic proof, a witness or something to show that, no, he was trying to invade your privacy by looking inside your home,” Aronberg said.
Without that, he said, there’s not much the police or the courts can do.
“It’s a difficult matter when you’re trying to deal with criminal charges where you need to prove something beyond a reasonable doubt, and prosecutors here would very unlikely be able to prove that beyond a reasonable doubt that he was engaged in stalking or criminal behavior,” he said.
According to police records, Golden had asked the court for a civil order of protection, but it was denied due to insufficient evidence.
“To get an injunction here, a restraining order, it would have been an injunction against stalking, and under Florida law, you have to have at least two incidents of willful, malicious harassment of someone, and here, remember, you have a lot of doubt,” Aronberg said.
Reviewing the reports, he said each one appears to be a ‘he said, he said’ issue.
“You have to show perhaps at least two incidents of harassment where you engage in a course of conduct that’s directed at that individual that causes substantial emotional distress and serves no legitimate purpose. So, the judge here decided that there was insufficient evidence to proceed, which is the same calculation the police made,” Aronberg said.
Following the tragic murders, Aronberg said it does raise questions, but the facts are clear.
“Hindsight is 2020 here that the effects were so tragic and the result was so awful that you wish that we were able to do more at the time, but based on the facts, as police knew it back then, it’s hard to sustain a criminal charge,” he said.
When it comes to neighbor disputes or similar incidents, Aronberg said documentation is everything.
“You have to document everything. You have to try to get witnesses. You have to try to install cameras so that you have something caught on video. At some point, these individuals can’t help themselves, and they will do something that gets them caught. They will put something in writing and a text message, and an email. They will get themselves caught on camera,” he said.
Get the latest news updates with the WPBF 25 News app. You can download it here.
Aronberg said persistence is key, and gathering real evidence is crucial.
The PSLPD is now reviewing the three prior incidents to examine whether or not more could have been done to prevent the deadly shootings.
WPBF 25 News asked Aronberg if, in his opinion, it’s clear that the incidents were all civil matters.
“In retrospect, knowing now how it turned out, I wish things had been done differently up there, but the police are right to review the situation. It’s hard in the moment to take something, which would be very difficult to make criminal, and do something with it, because you need external proof,” he said. “You need a witness. You need video. You need something more than two people who are neighbors who are having disputes, because if that were the standard, then police would do nothing but that.”
This is a developing story.