A 24-year-old man is accused of killing two people and injuring two others in a series of random attacks in a violent stabbing near a Colorado shopping mall over the weekend.
Elijah D. Caudill allegedly stabbed four strangers near Denver's 16th Street Mall on Saturday night, and before his arrest, he attacked at least three of the victims with a knife between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. Stung. According to investigators.
One of the victims, 71-year-old flight attendant Serinda Levno, was stabbed in the throat and died in hospital Sunday morning, police said.
Levno is employed by American Airlines and was in Denver for a layover. She had just celebrated her 35th anniversary with the airline. The airline said in a statement that she “will forever be remembered” as an avid animal lover and friend.
Police said the first stabbing occurred around 5:10 p.m. Police said the man was cut in the face while leaving work, but managed to be taken to hospital without calling paramedics.
Levno was attacked just 10 minutes after the first victim.
The third victim, an adult male, was stabbed in the torso around 5:56 p.m. and taken to the hospital in critical condition, but is expected to survive, police said.
The first victim described the suspect as a white man in his 20s wearing a black hat and blue sweatshirt. Police said a nearby officer saw a man matching the description of the suspect running nearby wearing a green winter coat and holding a large knife in his hand.
Officers pursued the armed man and Caudill was taken into custody without incident. Police said they recovered a knife with fresh blood on it.
Shortly after Caudill's arrest, a fourth victim was found with a large cut on his back. He was rushed to the Denver Health Center, where he was pronounced dead later that night. His identity has not yet been released.
Investigators have found no connection between Caudill and the victim and have not determined a motive.
Caudill already had a lengthy rap sheet prior to the stabbing charges, including charges of criminal mischief, assault, nonconsensual sexual contact and indecent exposure in Denver in 2024. There were four warrants for failure to appear for misdemeanor arrests including; Robbery and attempted assault in Thornton in 2022. And the Westminster attacks in 2021.
Caudill appeared in court Monday morning and is being held without bail as the investigation into the stabbing continues. He faces two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted first-degree murder.
