South Florida man accused of fatally beating golfer with club at course in Palm Beach Gardens
PALM BEACH GARDENS - A West Palm Beach man is facing a first-degree murder charge after an incident at a Palm Beach Gardens golf course.
Junior Boucher, 36, is accused of beating Brian Hiltebeitel, 65, with a golf club and choking him on the first hole of Sandhill Crane Golf Club on Monday afternoon.
He is being held at the Palm Beach County Jail after being medically cleared at Gardens Medical Center. A judge ordered him held on no bond Tuesday.
At 1:22 p.m., Palm Beach Garden Police responded to multiple 911 calls about one man attacking another man with a golf club.
They went to the first hole next to a body of water where they found Hiltebeitel motionless.
Boucher fled from the scene and was captured after using an electronic control weapon, also known as a Taser, police said.
Detectives met with a witness who said he had been playing golf on the first hole with two other people when they heard a man yelling.
They then found the victim fleeing from the suspect. The witness told officers the suspect was holding a golf club and swinging it toward the victim.
The witness told them that Hiltebeitel was yelling "he's trying to kill me" multiple times. At one point both men fell to the ground and Boucher began striking Hiltebeitel numerous times with the golf club, according to the witness.
After they separated, Boucher retrieved another golf club and again chased Hiltebeitel toward the pond, the witness said.
"Boucher continued to strike Hiltebritel (misspelled) in the head repeatedly with the golf club until they were in the pond," according to the police report. "Once in the water, Boucher jumped on top of Hiltebritel and appeared to be choking him. Boucher then got off of Hiltebritel who was no longer moving and retrieved a golf club and struck him repeatedly in the head."
Afterward, Boucher got out of the water and stripped his clothes off as he walked way, the witness said.
The witness identified him as the one who attacked the victim.
Other people witnessed the attack, police said.
Officers pulled Hiltebeitel out of the water. He had deep lacerations to the back of his head and elsewhere on his body. He was declared dead on the scene by Palm Beach Gardens Fire Rescue.
