Are Paradise Valley crimes connected?

PARADISE VALLEY, AZ - ABC15 has discovered two prior robberies in Paradise Valley similar to the murders of Lawrence and Glenna Shapiro.

Paradise Valley has seen at least two crimes that have similarities to the murders in the past six months.

One from September 2011, and the other from October 2011. 

Both crimes were within a few miles of Monday's double murder of the Shapiros.

In late September, a homeowner told police he woke up to find two men in his house who said they were robbing him. 

They apparently got in through an open door. They tied him up with bed sheets, put a pillow case over his head and robbed him of money, jewelry and took off in his car.

In late October, a police report from the Paradise Valley Independent Newspaper reports a couple was stopped on their property by a man who jumped out from behind a bush.

He forced them inside, handcuffed them and stole money and jewelry, then took off in their vehicle. The vehicle was later found in Phoenix.

The difference between these two crimes and the Shapiros' murder case is no one was killed and no fire was set.

The Mayor of Paradise Valley Scott LeMarr lives two blocks from the Shapiro home and knew them both well.

He is shocked and saddened by what happened. LeMarr insists he isn’t changing any of his routines because of the Shapiro case and ensures residents that Paradise Valley is a safe place to live. 

“This is horrible, but we are not going to be defined by this crime in Paradise Valley and it is still a safe place to live," he said.

The mayor said overall crime in his city has dropped over the past several years.

The last murder in Paradise Valley is from 2004.  A crime that was solved.