HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. — A 27-year-old man is facing a first-degree murder charge for fatally stabbing his roommate with a machete at a Hallandale Beach mobile home park on Sunday afternoon, according to police.
It happened at around 1:15 p.m. in the 300 block of Sea Esta Lane, within the Sea Esta Mobile Home Park, near the The Big Easy Casino, police said.
Investigators said surveillance video showed Edy Rivas Rizo chasing his roommate, whose name was redacted from an arrest report obtained by Local 10 News on Monday, stabbing him in the armpit area and then scuffling with him on the ground.
Two witnesses were able to get the knife out of Rivas’ hand, police said. Police said the footage showed the victim walking west for “approximately 15 yards” before collapsing. One of the witnesses called 911 and the victim was taken to HCA Florida Aventura Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
One of them later told police that he said he heard the victim say, “That guy just killed me,” motioning towards Rivas, immediately before collapsing.
Police said they obtained a search warrant for Rivas’ home and found “a large amount of blood” within and found the machete wedged between two doors in a storage area.
According to the arrest report, Rivas claimed that the victim had attacked him while he was drinking beers outside with two other men and claimed he went in and got the machete out of fear for his life.
Police said that Rivas claimed that the victim “accidentally fell on the blade” during the struggle and denied chasing the video.
But after being shown the surveillance footage, police said he “admitted to chasing him but stated that he meant to strike him with the broad side of the blade, not the sharp edge.”
Officers arrested Rivas afterward. As of Monday morning, he was being held without bond in the Broward County Main Jail.
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