Mass stabbing incident? Denver police arrest guy accused of killing others with a knife | Law Enforcement Today

DENVER, CO - Authorities with the Denver Police Department (DPD) announced that police have arrested the suspect wanted in a series of stabbings, some of them fatal.

According to CBS News, the suspect, identified as 24-year-old Elijah Caudill, was arrested near the 16th Street Mall following the latest stabbing. Caudill appeared in a Denver courtroom on Monday morning, January 13th. He is being held without bond on the investigation of two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted first-degree murder.

There was a series of three stabbings. The first of the three happened along 16th Street between 5:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, January 11th. The first stabbing was initially reported at approximately 6:20 p.m. Saturday after the victim self-transported himself to the hospital. The stabbing reportedly happened as he was leaving work in the area of 16th Street and Tremont Street around 5:10 p.m. on Saturday. The adult male was slashed in the face.

Police said the victim was walking along the 16th Street Mall when a male ran up behind him, slashed him in the face and then ran away. The victim described the suspect as a white male in his 20s, wearing a black hat, black pants, and a blue sweatshirt. 

A few minutes after the first attack, there was a reported stabbing in the area of 16th Street and California Street. This stabbing happened around 5:20 p.m. on Saturday. The adult female victim was stabbed in the throat and rushed to the hospital where she died Sunday morning, January 12th. 

The woman was an American Airlines flight attendant in Denver on a layover. She has been identified as 71-year-old Celinda Levno. American Airlines released a statement regarding her death, saying, "With great sadness, we inform you of the passing of Phoenix-based Flight Attendant Celinda Levno while on layover in Denver. Celinda began her career with America West in 1989.

Celinda's love for her horses, friends, and family will always be remembered. We stand in support with Celinda's family, friends, and our colleagues in Phoenix Inflight as they process this senseless tragedy. While this tragic event did not take place at the layover hotel, crews laying over in downtown Denver will be temporarily relocated to a hotel near the Denver airport."

The third reported stabbing happened about a half hour later in the area of 16th Street and Lawrence Street, at approximately 5:56 p.m. on Saturday. The adult male victim was stabbed in the torso and rushed to the hospital. He remains in critical condition, but is described as "stable."

DPD said that officers were in the area of 16th and Wynkoop when they saw a while male in his 20s wearing a green winter coat and black pants running with a large knife in his hand. Officers said they pursued the male who dropped the knife and was taken into custody without further incident. 

The knife that was recovered was covered in suspected blood. Shortly after Caudill was arrested, an unknown male was located on the ground at 16th and Wynkoop with a large laceration to his back. He was rushed to Denver Health where he was pronounced dead at 8:45 p.m. Investigators believe that there is no connection between Caudill and the victims. As of this writing, the motive for these stabbings is unclear.

Caudill has a lengthy criminal background that includes four failure-to-appear warrants in Denver for misdemeanor arrests in 2024 that include criminal mischief, assault, sexual contact-no consent, and indecent exposure. He also had warrants for attempted robbery and assault in Thorton in 2022, and a 2021 assault in Westminster.