Miami Beach man accused of killing mother has history of violence, including attacking a tourist and arson attempt – WSVN 7News | Miami News, Weather, Sports

MIAMI BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) – A man accused of killing his mother in his Miami Beach apartment has a rap sheet of past run-ins with law enforcement, according to court records.

Miami Beach Police officers conducted a welfare check at the Blackstone Apartments Saturday night when they found bloodstains on the floor. Following a trail of blood stains on the floor, they arrived at a trash chute, where they would locate the body of Elizabeth Caruso.

Elizabeth is 40-year-old Anthony Caruso’s mother. Detectives said she was found with severe neck injuries, almost to the point of decapitation.

Anthony appeared before a judge Monday morning, but it isn’t his first time being before a judge.

Last year, he was accused of randomly attacking a Canadian tourist and spitting on them in downtown Miami.

“You told me you spit on him, sir?” an officer asked Caruso on body camera video.

“Yes, I did,” Caruso responded.

When officers confronted Caruso, they were forced to use their tasers as he attempted to run away.

“I’m asking you to stop. I’m asking you to stop,” an officer told Caruso before he tried escaping.

Despite being tasered, Caruso can be seen running towards a Miami Police officer and kicking her in the stomach.

“This is my first day in Miami,” the tourist told officers after Caruso was detained.

Months after that, Caruso got out of jail and was arrested again, this time for setting fire to part of a Miami restaurant and attacking a man with a hammer in the same day, according to police reports.

Surveillance video captured Caruso running away from the man he had just attacked with a hammer.

Nearly a year later, Caruso was still on probation for the alleged arson when officers in Miami Beach found a grisly scene inside of his apartment and a bloody trail leading to the trash chute.

“The investigation revealed there was a trail of blood coming from that apartment unit to the trash chute and subsequently down a trash chute inside of a waste container,” said Miami Beach Police Public Information Officer Christopher Bess.

“The knife was in the sink and there was blood around that sink. The knife appeared to have been cleaned,” a detective told Judge Mindy S. Glazer, describing the scene investigators found.

Authorities said his mother was visiting him to check on him when she was killed.

Video, obtained by 7News, showcased the moments detectives arrested Anthony after he barricaded himself in his apartment for eight hours.

They said his mother flew in from New Jersey after she was concerned for her son’s well-being. She stayed with him at his apartment along 800 Washington Avenue in South Beach for a time before, police say, her son-in-law began to worry.

“She flew in from out of state to check on her son, who, we believe, suffers from mental illness, and unfortunately, the conclusion wasn’t a happy one,” said Bess. “The complainant who called in a welfare check was actually [the] son-in-law of the victim, and the reason why he contacted police is because he had not heard from his mother-in-law in a couple of hours.”

Anthony Caruso was transported to Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on Sunday following a brief hospital stay due to a police dog taking ahold of his arm during his standoff.

In bond court, detectives pointed the finger at Anthony.

“Who do you believe killed the victim?” Glazer asked the detective.

“Mr. Caruso,” the detective told her.

The judge told Caruso he would remain behind bars.

“There’s probable cause for second-degree murder and, sir, I am holding you with no bond,” Glazer told Caruso.

Caruso faces a second-degree murder charge and is expected to appear back in court on Tuesday.

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