PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. (WPEC) — A West Palm Beach murder suspect is accused of beating a man with a golf club and choking him on hole one of the golf course.
The Palm Beach Gardens Police Department (PBGPD) stated that on Monday at around 1:22 p.m., they responded to the Sandhill Crane Golf Club located at 11401 Northlake Boulevard, after multiple 911 calls.
Palm Beach Gardens Police Chief Dominick Pape says police found the victim, Brian Hiltebritel, 65 on the fairway of the first hole.
The probable cause affidavit states that officers located the suspect, identified as Junior Boucher, 36, fleeing from the scene. Officers were able to take Boucher into custody after they used an electronic control weapon.
“This appears to be a random act of violence where Boucher used the victim’s golf clubs as weapons and viciously attacked the victim, ultimately killing him. At this time it does not appear that Boucher had any legitimate purpose for being at the golf course,” said Dominick Pape, Palm Beach Gardens Police Chief.
WPEC asked Chief Pape what the motive was for the attack.
“Not sure. We’re still looking through the leads, we’re still interviewing people at the scene. We don’t know yet,” Chief Pape said.
Detectives met with a witness who saw Boucher’s attack on the victim and stated that they heard two men yelling at each other on hole one. The witness continued to state that they then saw Boucher holding a golf club and swinging it at the unarmed victim.
The victim allegedly screamed, “he’s trying to kill me,” multiple times throughout the attack.
The report states that Boucher continued to attack the victim, grabbing another golf club and striking him in the head repeatedly until both men were in the pond near hole one.
When both men were in the pond, Boucher reportedly got on top of the victim and began to choke him. The witness told PBGPD that they saw Boucher get off the motionless victim, grab a golf club, and strike him again in the head with the club.
Boucher then got out of the water, stripped off his clothes, and began to leave the scene.
According to PBGPD, when officers pulled the victim out of the pond, they noticed deep lacerations to the back of his head and across his body.
At his initial court appearance in West Palm Beach Tuesday morning, Boucher made a startling comment.
“I truly believe that I was a victim of witchcraft,” Boucher said.
The horrific fatal attack stunned golfers on the course.
“Definitely not something that should happen on a golf course or ever,” said Sean, a golfer who would not give his last name.
“It’s just crazy that it happened so close to, we actually live right down the road so, and we’ve been here so many times, it’s crazy that it happened somewhere close by where you don’t even think that that’s possible,” said Alejandro Soto, another golfer.
This isn’t the first time Boucher has had a run-in with the law; WPEC previously covered Boucher in 2022 when he attempted to choke and gouge the eyes out of a police K-9 used to detain him.
Boucher was charged with first-degree murder and held without bond.
