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Suspect Held Without Bond in Fatal Palm Beach Gardens Barnes & Noble Stabbing

Police cite the suspect’s claim of an “internal buildup” as the only explanation so far.

Overview

  • Rita Berenice Loncharich, 65, was stabbed inside the Legacy Place bookstore on Dec. 22 and died during surgery that night at St. Mary’s Medical Center.
  • Police say a fixed-blade knife was found lodged in her back and that she said “He stabbed me,” according to the arrest report.
  • Using eyewitness accounts and in-store surveillance, officers located 40-year-old Antonio Roderick Moore about 1,500 feet from the store in a wooded area and detained him without incident.
  • Moore told investigators he had no prior contact with Loncharich, had arrived in the area by bus about a week earlier, was homeless, and had gone into the store to charge his phone.
  • A judge found probable cause, ordered Moore held without bond, and appointed a public defender as the shopping center boosts on-site security and friends launch a fundraiser for funeral costs.