Barefoot Suspect Tracked by K9 After Fatal Fayette County Stabbing

A murder suspect who fled a Fayette County home barefoot in the early morning hours — losing a sock along the way — was tracked down and arrested by a sheriff’s office bloodhound after a fatal stabbing at a mobile home park, authorities said.

The incident occurred around 3 a.m. Tuesday at Shiloh Mobile Home Ranch, where deputies later learned a 28-year-old man fled the scene on foot immediately after stabbing another man inside the residence. Bloodhound K9 Rufus was deployed and successfully tracked the suspect, Reginaldo Caal-Tiul, still within the Shiloh neighborhood.

According to the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office, the search marked K9 Rufus’s first homicide tracking case.

Deputies were dispatched at approximately 2:55 a.m. to a home in the 800 block of Broken Bow Drive after a woman called 911 asking for help, according to Major Ethon Harper with the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office. The call was initially classified as a welfare check and was complicated by a language barrier between the caller and dispatch.

Although the mobile home park carries a Peachtree City address, Fayette County Sheriff’s deputies responded because the property is located in unincorporated Fayette County, according to Lt. Chris Hyatt with the Peachtree City Police Department.

When deputies arrived about five minutes after the call, they found a 29-year-old man unresponsive in the kitchen area, suffering from what appeared to be a stab wound. Emergency medical personnel were unable to locate vital signs, and the man was pronounced dead at the scene.

Harper said investigators determined that two couples were present in the home and had been drinking prior to the stabbing. The victim and suspect were acquaintances, and witnesses told deputies there was no argument or physical altercation leading up to the incident.

“Right now, we have no indication there was any argument,” Harper said. “The witnesses on scene just said all of a sudden it happened.”

Investigators believe the stabbing involved a common household knife from inside the home. While it appears the victim may have suffered a single stab wound, Harper said the exact number and location of injuries will be determined by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

The suspect was located within the Shiloh neighborhood and taken into custody without incident.

No children were present in the home at the time of the incident. The victim’s name has not been released pending confirmation of family notification.

The Fayette County Sheriff’s Office said it does not determine or have information on a suspect’s immigration status.

Caal-Tiul is being held at the Fayette County Jail without bond and faces charges of felony murder, felony aggravated assault, and possession of a knife during the commission of a crime.

Harper said the canine team’s tracking, along with assistance from Peachtree City Police officers at the scene, led to the suspect’s location and arrest.

The investigation remains ongoing.