The recent double-murder of a Canadian couple inside a gated south Florida community has shocked the affluent neighbourhood, as police remain tight-lipped about the ongoing investigation.

The bodies of David Pichosky, 71, and Rochelle Wise, 66, were discovered inside their Hallandale Beach townhouse on Thursday evening by a concerned neighbour.

The Toronto couple was known to spend their winters in the waterfront community, located between Miami and Fort Lauderdale.

Neighbours are left rattled by the gruesome crime, with some going so far as to install burglar alarms or security bars on their windows.

“I’m afraid, I’m very afraid,” said neighbour Francis Chouinard. “I told my husband ‘you put bars upstairs; you put bars on the windows.’ ”

Popular with retirees, Hallandale Beach is regarded as very safe: security cameras monitor the front entrance and guards regularly patrol the area.

While police are reviewing surveillance tapes from the night of the murders, they have not revealed the couple’s cause of death or possible motive for the crime.

With files from CTV’s Joy Malbon