Half-naked man murders golfer on Florida golf course, attacking him with clubs and drowning him in pond in ‘random act of violence’

A career criminal is accused of murdering a golfer on a Florida golf course in a “random act of violence” that resulted in him beating the victim with golf clubs and drowning him in a pond.

Junior Boucher, 36, is currently being held without bail in the Palm Beach County Jail on first-degree murder charges in connection with the death of 65-year-old Brian Hiltebeitel at Sandhill Crane Golf Club in Palm Beach Gardens, WPT reports.

Police said they arrived at the scene just before 1:30 p.m. on Monday after receiving reports of a madman attacking another man with a golf club.

When officers arrived at the golf course, they found Hiltebeitel’s body in the fairway of the first hole and Boucher, naked, running from the scene.

When he then refused to stop, Palm Beach Gardens police said they were forced to use an “electronic control weapon” on him to stop him.

During the investigation, police spoke to one witness who said he was playing golf with two other people – including Hiltebeitel – on the first hole when they heard Boucher scream: according to WBPF.

Hiltebeitel then tried to move away from Boucher, who was “holding a golf club and swinging it at Hiltebeitel,” the police report states.

“Hiltebeitel shouted ‘he’s trying to kill me’ multiple times,” the witness told police.

Both men soon fell to the ground, at which point Boucher allegedly began striking Hiltebeitel repeatedly with a golf club.

He then allegedly chased the victim toward the pond on the first hole, hitting him “repeatedly” in the head with a golf club, and when the men reached the water, Boucher jumped on Hiltebeitel and “appeared to choke him.”

Hiltebeitel eventually stopped moving, at which point Boucher allegedly retrieved one of the victim’s golf clubs and struck him repeatedly in the head.

Boucher then got out of the water, undressed and started walking away, the witness said.

Police who later arrived at the scene found Hiltebeitel suffering from “deep lacerations to the back of his head” and, despite taking life-saving measures, he was pronounced dead.

They said it did not appear that Boucher had a motive to attack Hiltebeitel.

“At this time, it does not appear that Boucher had any legitimate purpose for being on the golf course,” Police Chief Dominick Pape said at a news conference Tuesday afternoon.

“It appears this was a random act of violence in which Boucher used the victim’s golf clubs as a weapon and brutally attacked the victim, ultimately killing him.”

Hours before the brutal attack, his relatives, Anna and Kevin Boucher, asked police to help remove him from a bedroom in their home, citing domestic violence, erratic behavior, mental health, aggressive behavior and insults.

It is unclear whether Boucher was under the influence of any substances at the time of the attack.

However, on Tuesday, the judge refused to grant Boucher bail because the suspect claimed he was a victim of witchcraft. Local reports 10.

Boucher has a criminal history dating back to at least 2006, when he was arrested for possession of drugs with intent to distribute near a park or school in Westport, Massachusetts. NBC Miami reports.

Boucher was then arrested again for drug possession in 2008, and was arrested again in 2009 and 2011 for failure to appear.

In 2018, Boucher was arrested again for domestic battery and in 2022 for fleeing and eluding, battery on a law enforcement officer and resisting violence.

Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office deputies said that after a chase through Okeechobee Park, they deployed one of the agency’s K9 units and tried to “gaze” the dog. according to WPTV.

Boucher ultimately pleaded guilty to the charges and spent approximately 230 days in the Palm Beach County Jail and completed 115 hours of community service after enrolling in the nonprofit’s program.

Meanwhile, Hiltebeitel’s longtime girlfriend, Dina Lauro, said she is struggling to understand what happened.

She described it to WPTV as “just such a good, good person.”

Lauro further added, “It was exciting with him, always in a good mood, never depressed” and “woke up happy.”

They met in their shared apartment building in Philadelphia, and when Lauro moved to Florida to work as a chef, Hiltebeitel followed her. Together they opened Chunkie Dunkie and Dina’s Vegan Deli and Desserts.

Lauro said that on a typical day before work, Hiltebeitel would go golfing in the morning, but on Monday morning he was busy helping a friend and had to postpone his golf game until the afternoon when Boucher allegedly attacked.

Lauro’s family stated that they also adored Hiltebeitel.

“Dina said one day, ‘I’ve never been so happy,’” said her mother, Nancy Lauro. “He just made us happy; he was simply the best guy in the world.”

Dina said the best way to describe how she feels now is “numb.”

“I don’t know how I feel,” she confessed. “I’m just taking it moment by moment, that’s what I’m going to do, that’s the plan.”