Eddie Scott, Port St. Lucie man, indicted in murder of Thomas John Kloepfer and Julixa Espada

BOYNTON BEACH - A 27-year-old man indicted for the double murder of a Boynton Beach couple in December refused to face a judge Wednesday morning.

Eddie Scott, of Port St. Lucie, was indicted Feb. 16 on two counts of first-degree murder. He was taken to the Palm Beach County Jail Tuesday afternoon, jail records show.

This morning, he would not appear before Palm Beach County Circuit Court Judge Krista Marx for his first court appearance.

Marx ordered that he remain in the jail without bond.

The indictment says he is responsible for the murders of Thomas John Kloepfer, 26, and his girlfriend Julixa Espada, 27.

Kloepfer and Espada were found dead December 30 in their home at 982 Old Boynton Road in Boynton Beach. They were both shot once.

The indictment does not give details regarding the homicides.

Boynton Beach Police spokeswoman Stephanie Slater said in December that detectives “have reason to believe that the victims knew their attacker, and that an argument led up to their deaths.”

She added that the detectives did not believe the murders were random acts.

Kloepfer grew up in foster care and did odd jobs in fields such as construction, said his former foster mother, Bea Pignato of Loxahatchee. She saw him most recently at Christmas, when he gave her a poinsettia.

“Anyone that befriended him was immediately his family. He called someone his cousin, or his brother, or best friend,” said Pignato, who said Kloepfer was bipolar. “He knew a lot of people. Some were, you know, unsavory characters.”

Neighbors in December said Kloepfer and Espada were renting the home, which is north of Boynton Beach Boulevard and west of Interstate 95. Police received a call from a man who said he had found his two roommates on the ground and unresponsive.