A 65-year-old golfer has died after being attacked with his club in what appears to be an “indiscriminate act of violence” on a course in Florida, police said.
Junior Boucher, 36, is now charged with first-degree murder after the death of Brian Hiltebeitel at Sandhill Crane Golf Club in Palm Beach Gardens on Monday afternoon.
“At this time, it does not appear that Boucher had a legitimate purpose for coming to the golf course. This is because Boucher used the victim's golf club as a weapon, violently attacked the victim, and ultimately It appears to be a random act of violence that killed him,” Palm Beach Gardens Police Chief Dominic Pape said at a news conference Tuesday.
Witnesses heard Hiltebeitel scream, “You're trying to kill me,” and then saw Boucher hit Hiltebeitel with a golf club on the first fairway, according to the police report.
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Junior Boucher was arrested on first-degree murder charges for the murder of Brian Hiltebeitel. (Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office)
Police said Hiltebeitel tried to run away, but Boucher took another club from Hiltebeitel's bag and chased him into a pond, where he jumped on top of him, strangled him and beat him again.
After the attack, Boucher took off his clothes and fled into the woods. Officers used a stun gun to subdue him.
Boucher is being held without bail and has previous arrests for domestic assault, assault on a police officer and drug possession.
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Hiltebeitel was cornered in one of the ponds at Sandhill Crane Golf Club in Palm Beach Gardens, the Associated Press reported, citing police. (Google Maps)
Pape told reporters on Tuesday that efforts to save Hiltebeitel's life were unsuccessful, adding that he was pronounced dead on the golf course.
According to the Associated Press, Boucher was reported missing by her family an hour before the attack.
According to court records, Boucher's family filed an eviction petition to evict Boucher from their home early Monday.
Junior Boucher (right) in court. (WPEC)
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Dina Lauro, identified by WPTV as Hirtebeitel's girlfriend, described Hirtebeitel as “a very nice person, very fun to be around, always in a good mood, never depressed, happy.” “I woke up,” he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
