MARGATE, Fla. — A 36-year-old man is accused of repeatedly attacking a woman with a machete inside the bedroom of a Margate home and asking her, “Why aren’t you dead yet?” as she suffered severe injuries, according to police.
The suspect, identified by Margate police as Ruben Altidore, was arrested Monday, investigators said.
As officers responded to a home in Margate, they said they heard a woman running and screaming that someone was trying to kill her.
Police said the victim was covered in blood and had numerous large cuts to her legs and hands.
They said a cousin of the victim told investigators that Altidore, who was known to the woman, struck her with a machete. Officers then took Altidore into custody, according to his arrest report.
Investigators said while conducting a protective sweep of the home, they found a large amount of blood inside the victim’s bedroom that trailed into the hallway, to a bathroom door and then outside the home.
Police said they found a machete sheath in the kitchen and recovered a machete with what appeared to be “red smudges” beneath a bed in a bedroom.
According to the arrest report, while being transported to a nearby hospital, the victim told an officer that Altidore struck her several times with a machete.
The report states that she said Altidore told her, “Oh my God, why aren’t you dead yet?” during the attack.
Investigators said the victim suffered a 10-inch wound that reached the bone on the back of her right thigh, a four-inch laceration to the back of her right hand with the possible amputation of at least four fingers, a near amputation of her left index finger and thumb, and a cut to her left palm with a near amputation of her left thumb.
They said the victim’s 1-year-old daughter was lying in bed during the attack. The girl was not physically injured but was covered in the victim’s blood, according to investigators.
Authorities did not disclose the relationship between Altidore and the victim in the report, and a motive for the attack remains under investigation.
According to jail records, Altidore faces one count each of attempted felony murder, aggravated child abuse and violation of probation.
As of Tuesday morning, he was being held without bond at the Broward County Main Jail.
Copyright 2026 by WPLG Local10.com - All rights reserved.
