Do you know who killed Dwayne Hutchinson? Reward for information leading to an arrest hits $8K

The gate to the small access road leading to the home of Dwayne Larry Hutchinson and his wife of 2 1/2 years was locked mid-day Thursday.

But when two men allegedly broke into the home early Saturday morning, leaving Hutchinson dead yet not harming his wife, whether that gate was locked is unknown. There is a keypad, but no call box. The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office will not comment.

The home in the 1600 block of Zipperer Road is not visible from the road, and the dirt access road showed no signs Thursday that only days earlier it led to a crime scene.

How burglars could access the property is among the many questions that surround Hutchinson’s death as the reward has been increased for any information leading to the arrest of those responsible.

But who killled Hutchinson, 54, remains the biggest question.

Detectives with the Manatee County Homicide Investigative Unit are hoping that the increased reward with persuade someone with the answers they need to come forward.

Hutchinson was found dead in an upstairs bedroom at about 1 a.m. Saturday after his wife called 911 and deputies arrived to the couple’s home.

“We have basically been working around the clock on this since it happened,” sheriff’s office spokesman Dave Bristow said.

Thursday morning, the sheriff’s office announced there is now a reward of up to $8,000 for any information that leads to an arrest of a suspect. It was increased because of a $5,000 reward offered by the Gold Star Club of Manatee County plus the standard $3,000 offered by Crime Stoppers.

Hutchinson’s wife told detectives that two men had entered their home and accosted her downstairs before going upstairs and fleeing moments later. After they were gone, she managed to call 911 and had feared something happened to her husband but did not know he was dead until deputies found her.

When they arrived they found Hutchinson’s wife, who told them that two men had entered her home and accosted her downstairs while her husband was upstairs.

The two suspects reportedly left the 45-year-old woman downstairs and had fled moments later, Bristow said.

“She was able to call for assistance and we came,” Bristow said. “She was fearing something may have happened to him.”

The woman is cooperating with detectives, Bristow said. She was never able to give detectives a good description of the suspected burglars, however, which is why the sheriff’s office has not released anything other than both suspects are men.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office at 941-747-3011, ext. 2519 or Crime Stoppers at 866-634-TIPS.

This story was originally published July 13, 2017 at 11:11 AM with the headline "Do you know who killed Dwayne Hutchinson? Reward for information leading to an arrest hits $8K."