Denver police say they chased down and arrested 24-year-old Elijah Caudill on Sunday night in connection with a series of stabbing attacks over the weekend on the 16th Street Mall.
The attacks left two people dead — including Celinda Levno, an Arizona-based American Airlines flight attendant — and injured two others.
“This tragedy has been absolutely devastating for me as she was my sister-in-law and friend for over 40 years,” Rochelle Perkins, Levno’s sister-in-law, told Denverite. “We shared our love of horses and animals in general.”
According to a statement released by the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, Levno was a flight attendant for over 30 years. She was on a layover in Denver at the time of the attack.
The other victims have not yet been identified publicly.
How police say the attacks happened:
Denver police said the victims were stabbed by the same man in four attacks spread across two days. The other victims have not been publicly identified.
The string of stabbings started on Saturday evening at about 5:10 p.m. at the intersection of 16th and Tremont streets in downtown Denver. The weapon was a “large butcher-style knife,” said police Chief Ron Thomas. The victim was slashed in the face. Police didn’t connect it to the other stabbings until later in the evening because the victim took himself to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
About 10 minutes after the first stabbing, a woman was stabbed in the throat three blocks away, at 16th and California streets. She died at a local hospital. She was later identified as Celinda Levno, a flight attendant staying in Denver on a layover.
“We began investigating that incident, we did have some very vague descriptions [of the suspect] that were put out,” said Thomas. “There were resources that were drawn from throughout District Six that were deployed looking for that suspect and managing the scene.”
About 40 minutes later, another victim, who is expected to survive, was stabbed in the arm and torso four blocks away at 16th and Lawrence streets. The victim was sedated at the hospital, and so Thomas said police were not able to get much information from him.
A day later, on Sunday evening, police were in the area of 16th and Wynkoop streets when they saw a man running with a knife who matched the suspect description. Officers caught him after a short chase.
It was only then that authorities found a fourth victim, who was taken to a local hospital and pronounced dead.
Motive still under investigation:
Caudill had a first appearance in court on Monday morning, and is being held on charges of first-degree murder of an at-risk elder, first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder.
Caudill has been involved in other incidents where he allegedly threatened people with knives, according to police records. In 2021, a Civil Protection Order was filed against Caudill after he allegedly “confronted and chased [a] maintenance person with a knife attempting to stab him.”
A possible motive is still under investigation. According to police, Caudill had no prior relationship with any of the victims.
Mayor says city still safe:
“We are heartbroken for the victims of the stabbings this past weekend,” said Denver Mayor Mike Johnston at a press conference on the 16th Street Mall at Arapahoe Street on Monday evening. “We know this is an isolated exceedingly rare incident and the suspect is now in custody.”
Johnston emphasized that crimes around downtown have declined, and it’s getting safer. Still, the stabbings took place at a sensitive time for the city, with the the National Western Stock Show going on, adding many visitors from out of state to hotels downtown. Denver Police have increased patrols around downtown.
“We have not seen random acts of violence like this in our city center for as long as we can remember,” said Johnston. “In all cities you have tragedies like this, but we do not want it to change the way people feel about their downtown because the real facts are it is safer now.”
