A 24-year-old man is accused of going on a violent stabbing spree near a Colorado mall over the weekend — killing two people and wounding two others in a series of random attacks.
Elijah D. Caudill allegedly stabbed four complete strangers near the 16th Street Mall in Denver on Saturday night — knifing at least three of the victims between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. before his arrest, according to investigators.
One of the victims, 71-year-old flight attendant Celinda Levno, was stabbed in the throat and died in the hospital on Sunday morning, police said.
Levno was employed by American Airlines and had been in Denver for a layover. She had just celebrated her 35th anniversary with the airline — which said she “will always be remembered” as a dedicated animal lover and friend in a statement.
The first stabbing happened at around 5:10 p.m., according to police. A man was slashed in the face while he was leaving work and managed to get himself to the hospital without calling paramedics, cops said.
Levno was attacked just 10 minutes after the first victim.
The third victim, an adult man, was stabbed in the torso around 5:56 p.m. and was transported to the hospital in critical condition, but is expected to survive, cops said.
The first victim described the suspect as a white man roughly in his 20s wearing a black hat and pants with a blue sweatshirt. Officers in the area also saw a man matching the suspect’s description running nearby in a green winter coat with a large knife in his hand, police said.
Officers pursued the armed man and took Caudill into custody without incident. They recovered a knife that was covered in fresh blood, police said.
Not long after Caudill was arrested, a fourth victim was found with a large slash on his back. He was rushed to Denver Health but was pronounced dead later that night. His identity has not yet been released.
Investigators have found no connection between Caudill and the victims and have not determined a motive.
Caudill already had a lengthy rap sheet ahead of the alleged stabbing spree, including four failure-to-appear warrants in Denver for misdemeanor arrests in 2024 that include criminal mischief, assault, sexual contact without consent and indecent exposure; attempted robbery and assault in Thornton in 2022; and a 2021 assault in Westminster.
Caudill appeared in court Monday morning and is being held without bond as the investigation into the stabbings continues. He could face two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted first-degree murder.
