A man was pronounced dead at the scene of a stabbing near DeLand Thursday night, prompting deputies to shut down a stretch of road while they searched the area for evidence. No suspect was in custody as of early Friday, according to the sheriff's office.
Volusia County deputies responded to the area of West Beresford Avenue and South High Street, just off State Road 15A, according to a statement from the sheriff's office reported by WESH. An unknown subject stabbed the victim, and the man was pronounced dead at the scene. The entrance to West Beresford Road at S.R. 15A remained closed as deputies conducted their investigation, the station reported.
The location sits in an unincorporated pocket near DeLand's city limits, where State Road 15A — also known as South Spring Garden Avenue — functions as a western bypass around downtown, according to AARoads. That puts the case squarely under the jurisdiction of the Volusia Sheriff's Office rather than DeLand city police, with District 2 deputies based at 951 Singleton Drive typically serving as first responders for unincorporated neighborhoods in West Volusia, per the Volusia Sheriff's Office.
Detectives Canvass Scene as Circumstances Remain Unclear
Detectives were canvassing the area for evidence and investigating the circumstances of the stabbing, according to the sheriff's office statement carried by the station's report. What triggered the confrontation, and whether the attacker and victim knew each other, has not been disclosed. The sheriff's office has not released the identity of the man who died.
Homicide investigations in unincorporated Volusia County are typically led by Major Case Unit detectives, who coordinate scene processing and autopsies with the District 23 Medical Examiner's Office, per Volusia County government. Florida law requires that office to formally establish a cause and manner of death, a determination that has not yet been made public in this case.
A String of Recent Stabbings Across the County
This is not the first fatal or near-fatal stabbing Volusia deputies have investigated in recent months. Three weeks ago, deputies investigated a double stabbing on Avenue A in Ormond Beach after a fight escalated when a knife changed hands mid-brawl, as Hoodline reported in its story, knife fight turned Ormond Beach street into crime scene. In March, deputies also investigated a fatal domestic stabbing in Daytona Beach that ended with a suspect taken into custody following a dispute on a porch.
What Could Come Next Legally
Should a suspect eventually be identified and charged, Florida law lays out sharply different outcomes depending on intent. Second-degree murder under Florida Statute § 782.04 is a first-degree felony punishable by up to life in prison, while voluntary or involuntary manslaughter under § 782.07 carries up to 15 years, according to the Florida Senate. Separately, state statutes §§ 782.02 and 782.03 exclude justifiable self-defense and excusable homicide from prosecution, including killings committed during sudden combat or in the heat of passion without a dangerous weapon, per the Law Offices of Eric Reisinger. It remains unknown whether investigators are weighing any such claim in this case.
The Volusia Sheriff's Office has previously posted a violent crime clearance rate exceeding 50%, roughly double the statewide average of about 25.5% tracked by Florida agencies, according to the sheriff's office's own historical data. Anyone with information about Thursday's stabbing is asked to contact the sheriff's office's non-emergency line at 386-943-8276 or submit an anonymous tip through Crime Stoppers at 1-800-423-8477. The investigation remains ongoing and developing.
