Suspect confesses to stabbing man to death with machete in West Palm Beach, police say

Elias Armando Calderon. (West Palm Beach Police Department)

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Police have identified a suspect who they said confessed to fatally stabbing a 68-year-old man with a machete in West Palm Beach Thursday night.

The brutal attack happened just after 9:30 p.m. at the Saddle Brook Apartments, near the 5100 block of Carribean Boulevard, according to police.

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A 911 call reported someone being slashed and stabbed with a machete, and upon arrival, police officers found 35-year-old Elias Armando Calderon walking around the complex still holding the machete, a news release stated.

According to detectives, Calderon fled the scene after seeing the WPBPD officers and was arrested following a short pursuit where he then “spontaneously” admitted to the violent killing as he was being taken into custody.

The victim, whose identity is being withheld due to Marcy’s Law, was found lying near the entrance to the apartments, off Caribbean Boulevard, and pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics, according to investigators.

Calderon was booked into the Palm Beach County Jail around 6:15 a.m. Friday morning and is facing a charge of first-degree murder.

A motive for the incident has not been determined at this time.


About the Author

Ryan Mackey is a Digital Journalist at WPLG. He was born in Long Island, New York, and has lived in Sunrise, Florida since 1994.

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