John Jefferson
Left inset: Brian Hiltebeitel (WPTV). Right inset: Junior Boucher (Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office). Background: The golf course where Hiltebeitel was killed (WPLG).
A Florida man allegedly struck a golfer repeatedly with the victim’s golf clubs and held his head underwater in a pond — killing him — in front of terrified witnesses at a golf course in a random attack.
Junior Boucher, 36, faces a charge of first-degree murder in the death of Brian Hiltebeitel, 65, authorities said.
The bloodshed happened at the Sandhill Crane Golf Club in West Palm Beach, an arrest report said.
The killing happened on Monday. Police responded at 1:22 p.m. to multiple 911 calls involving a man attacking another man with a golf club at the Sandhill Crane Golf Club at 11401 Northlake Blvd., in Palm Beach Gardens, authorities said.
Officers found Hiltebeitel, whose name is spelled “Hiltebritel” in the arrest report, dead near a pond as the suspect — who was allegedly naked — ran away. He was told to stop multiple times and was eventually stunned with an electronic device and then taken into custody, court documents said.
A witness golfing there told police a man was yelling and retreating from another man, later identified as Boucher, who held a golf club and was swinging it toward Hiltebeitel, according to court documents.
“The witness stated that Hiltebeitel was yelling ‘he’s trying to kill me’ multiple times,” the documents said.
At one point, both men fell to the ground, and Boucher began hitting the victim numerous times with the golf club, court documents said. The two separated, and Boucher allegedly retrieved another golf club before chasing Hiltebeitel toward the pond.
Boucher repeatedly struck Hiltebeitel in the head with the golf club until they were in the pond, court documents said. Once in the water, Boucher allegedly jumped on top of Hiltebeitel and appeared to be choking him. Boucher then got off of Hiltebeitel, who was no longer moving, retrieved a golf club and struck him repeatedly in the head, the documents said the witness told police.
The witness said Boucher then got out of the water, stripped his clothes off and began to walk away.
Officers pulled the victim out of the water to try to save his life, but he had multiple deep cuts to the back of his head and body and was declared dead at the scene, according to court documents.
Boucher was taken to the hospital before being booked into jail. At the hospital, he immediately said he wanted a lawyer, according to court documents.
In a press conference, Palm Beach Gardens Police Chief Dominick Pape said it appears Boucher did not have any legitimate purpose for being at the golf course and that his family had reported him missing to authorities an hour before the attack.
He said Boucher has a criminal history that includes arrests for drug possession, domestic battery, and eluding and resisting arrest, a charge from 2022, Pape said.
“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,” Pape said.
Boucher is being held without bond at the Palm Beach County Jail. He is set to appear in court on Dec. 26, online court records show.
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