The Denver coroner’s office has identified the second person killed in a series of stabbings on the 16th Street Mall as 34-year-old Nicholas Burkett.
Burkett was one of two killed in the weekend attacks. The first victim was identified as Celinda Levno, an Arizona-based American Airlines flight attendant who was staying at a hotel in the area.
Two others were injured in the stabbing spree. The attacks happened at multiple locations on Saturday night and again on Sunday. Levno was killed on Saturday and Burkett on Sunday.
What we know about the attacks so far
A 24-year-old man named Elijah Caudill was arrested Sunday and charged with the stabbings. There was no apparent connection between the suspect and the victims, with the attacks seeming to be indiscriminate.
Police chased down Caudill on Sunday after spotting him run with a knife. He allegedly had just attacked Burkett. Shortly afterward, authorities found Burkett and took him to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Public records reviewed by Denverite showed Caudill has a long criminal history in Colorado, starting in 2021, when he was charged with threatening a worker at a Westminster shopping complex with a knife. Caudill served jail time for this incident.
A year later, after being released from jail, he was arrested for felony attempted robbery and assault. After once again serving jail time, he was arrested for misdemeanor criminal mischief in Adams County in 2023 and was arrested in January 2024 for a sexual contact, no consent misdemeanor.
Caudill was due in court for his 2024 arrest in December, but failed to appear. A month later, he was arrested for the stabbings at 16th Street Mall.
Denver police allege that Caudill conducted the series of stabbings on Saturday evening, starting around 5:10 p.m., near 16th and Tremont streets. The stabbings were conducted with a “large butcher-style knife,” according to DPD.
