Two people were killed and two people were injured in a series of stabbing attacks allegedly carried out on Denver’s 16th Street Mall over the weekend. A 24-year-old man named Elijah Caudill was arrested Sunday and charged in the case.
What we know about the stabbings suspect:
Elijah Caudill’s public arrest record in Colorado begins a few months after his 21st birthday in 2021, when he was picked up by Westminster police for allegedly threatening a maintenance worker with a knife.
According to a restraining order petition filed after the attack, Caudill was homeless and sleeping at the Village at Park Centre shopping area over several days. The maintenance director of the property asked Caudill to leave. Caudill then snuck up behind the man with a knife, yelled obscenities and jabbed his knife at the worker.
Felony charges were dropped when Caudill pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault and was sentenced to 24 months probation. But his probation was revoked, and he was given a year in jail, according to court records.
In 2022, Caudill was arrested by Thornton police for felony attempted robbery and assault. He pleaded guilty to felony theft and was sentenced to community corrections and time served in jail, which amounted to about half a year.
A year later, in 2023, Caudill was arrested for misdemeanor criminal mischief by the Adams County Sheriff. He pleaded guilty and paid a fine.
He was arrested again in Denver in January 2024 for a sexual contact, no consent misdemeanor. His address in the case file is listed in Northglenn. A competency review was scheduled for July 2024. It’s unclear what the outcome of the hearing was.
Caudill was eventually released on a personal recognizance bond. His Denver County court file says he was released to Bridges of Colorado, which describes itself as an organization that places liaisons in “judicial districts to serve defendants (referred to as participants) in the criminal justice system who have significant mental health needs.” Calls and emails to Bridges of Colorado were not immediately returned.
Caudill failed to appear for a hearing in the case on Dec. 20. A month later, he was arrested for the stabbings on the 16th Street Mall.
Caudill's grandfather reportedly told CBS that he "hears people that ain't there. He "was plagued with untreated mental health issues all his life and nursed a serious drug habit that included crystal meth, fentanyl and synthetic marijuana," CBS reported.
Caudill had lived in Colorado, Kentucky and Florida, per CBS.
How the 16th Street Mall attacks happened:
The string of stabbings started on Saturday evening at about 5:10 p.m. at the intersection of 16th and Tremont streets, police said.
The weapon was a “large butcher-style knife,” said 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 police Chief Ron 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. His identity has not yet been released.
Andrew Kenney contributed to this article.
