HAINES CITY, Fla. — A man from north Florida is now being charged with first-degree murder after police said the elderly man he stabbed three times on Friday afternoon has died.
Haines City Police said 32-year-old Christopher Lynn King, from Madison, approached the 79-year-old victim, identified as Carlos Manuel Goitia, of Haines City, in a medical complex parking lot on Patterson Grove Road at 1:30 p.m. Police said King was wearing a black ski mask and used a foldable pocket knife with a four-inch blade to stab Goitia in the stomach.
King then took Goitia's keys and 2003 blue Toyota Matrix, police said, and drove north on U.S. 27. Officers said they found the vehicle on U.S. 27 near Posner Park in Davenport and, after a short pursuit, deputies with the Polk County Sheriff's Office used a PIT maneuver to disable the vehicle.
The vehicle came to a rest facing southeast and police said King made a run for it but was "quickly apprehended despite his attempt to fight law enforcement."
"To attack an unsuspecting elderly man is an unconscionable and cowardly act," Chief Jim Elensky said. "I applaud our officers and the deputies from the sheriff's office, who are always willing to help, for their swift actions and relying on their training. We wish the victim a full recovery and will see to it, for his sake and the sake of his family, that this coward pays for these horrendous crimes."
Goitia was flown to a hospital after the attack. According to police, he underwent multiple surgeries and suffered multiple heart attacks resulting from complications of the stabbing. He was pronounced dead just after 1 p.m. on Sunday.
"We mourn with the victim's family for this senseless murder," Chief Jim Elensky said. "We will work to provide the strongest case possible in collaboration with the State Attorney's Office to prosecute this killer to the fullest extent of the law."
King was treated at AdventHealth Heart of Florida for minor injuries after the crash then he was taken to the Polk County Jail, where he remains. He's charged with felony first-degree murder, aggravated battery on a victim 65 or over, armed robbery, grand theft auto, carrying a concealed weapon, fleeing to elude, driving without a valid license, resisting arrest with and without violence, wearing a mask in the commission of a felony and battery on a law enforcement officer.
Police said King was also issued multiple traffic citations.
Police said no law enforcement officers were injured.
