(José Niño, Headline USA) A peaceful evening of browsing turned deadly when 65-year-old Rita B. Loncharich was fatally stabbed by a complete stranger while reading a magazine inside a Palm Beach Gardens bookstore just days before Christmas.
According to a WPTV report, the horrifying incident unfolded around 7:53 p.m. on Monday, at the Barnes & Noble located at 11380 Legacy Avenue within the Legacy Place shopping center. Palm Beach Gardens Police Department officers rushed to the scene following reports of a stabbing and discovered Loncharich inside the store with a knife still lodged in her back, per CBS 12 News.
Despite immediate lifesaving measures by responding officers and emergency transport to a local hospital by Palm Beach Gardens Fire Rescue, Loncharich died during surgery that evening. In her final moments after the attack, she managed to call her husband on her cellphone to tell him she had been stabbed, authorities reported.
Antonio R. Moore, 40, now faces first-degree premeditated murder charges in connection with the slaying. ABC News reported that the suspect fled the scene immediately after the stabbing but was quickly tracked down by police officers who found him hiding in nearby woods approximately 1,500 feet from the bookstore. Multiple eyewitnesses and surveillance footage from inside the store aided in his identification and capture.
According to the arrest affidavit, Moore confessed to investigators that he had been sitting inside the Barnes & Noble charging his cellphone when he approached Loncharich and stabbed her in the back with a pocket knife. He acknowledged having no prior interaction with his victim and stated there was no motive whatsoever for the attack.
Per ABC News, Moore told police he experienced an “internal buildup” that triggered a “fight or flight response,” and that Loncharich was simply the closest person to him at that moment, investigators revealed. The suspect also recalled hearing his victim say “He stabbed me” and noted she appeared to be in shock from the assault.
According to the arrest report, Moore had arrived in Palm Beach Gardens approximately one week before the incident, traveling by bus from Georgia, and was experiencing homelessness. Per CBS12 News, Loncharich’s husband later told reporters that police informed him the alleged attacker was a mentally ill homeless person who had been living in the woods.
CBS12 reported that Moore was booked into Palm Beach County Jail at approximately 5:30 a.m. on Tuesday and is being held without bond. During his first court appearance on Wednesday before Judge Donald Tafel, the judge characterized the case as “tragic.”
Legacy Place shopping center released a statement expressing sadness over the “tragic death of a customer following an incident on property.” According to CBS 12, Barnes & Noble declined to comment on the ongoing investigation.
José Niño is the deputy editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/JoseAlNino
