Florida police arrested a homeless man Saturday morning after he allegedly stabbed another homeless man to death with a sword.
The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office said police responded to a call Saturday afternoon about a bloodied man lying next to railroad tracks in Lake Worth, about 10 miles south of Palm Beach, according to ABC News.
Police arrived to find the man dead and covered in blood. A three-foot sword was lying near the victim, who had “visible injuries consistent with a violent attack.”
George Livingston, 51, was arrested that day after police interviewed him and other witnesses.
Livingston is charged with second-degree murder.
The sheriff’s office told the news station that Livingston got into an altercation with the victim, identified as David Beckett, 58. The altercation ended with Livingston allegedly attacking Beckett with the sword.
Both men reportedly resided in a homeless camp nearby.
The Palm Beach Post reports that Livingston has a previous criminal record.
In 1998, he was court-ordered to have no contact with a person “for protection against repeat violence.”
He violated the order and was convicted of aggravated stalking, then sentenced to five years in a state prison. After his release, he was again charged aggravated stalking in 2004, and sentenced to two years in prison.
In 2011, a mall security guard reported seeing a man in the children’s play area with a knife attached to his hip. Livingston was patted down and police found the knife on him, which, as a convicted felon, he was prohibited from carrying.
The case did not go to trial because Livingston was ruled incompetent. The charges were dropped three weeks later.
Livingston was ordered held without bail at a hearing on Sunday. According to the Palm Beach Post the suspect’s bail eligibility with by further examined at an upcoming hearing, but that court date is not yet known.
Florida man found dead and bloodied next to a sword; murder suspect was once found in a children’s play area with a knife
