Not Guilty Plea In Fatal Stabbing Of 68-Year-Old Palm Springs Man

PALM SPRINGS, CA — A 22-year-old man suspected of fatally stabbing a 68-year-old man in Palm Springs pleaded not guilty Wednesday to murder.

Evan Charles Steele also pleaded not guilty Wednesday afternoon at the Larson Justice Center in Indio to one felony count of burglary and denied sentence-enhancing allegations of using a weapon during a felony.

His next court appearance was set for April 8.

Officers responded shortly after 9 p.m. Sunday to reports of a domestic disturbance in the 500 block of Tiki Drive, according to the Palm Springs Police Department. The older man, identified by the Riverside County coroner's office as Robert Detulio of Palm Springs, was found outside a home with stab wounds.

Detulio succumbed to his injuries at 9:50 p.m. after being taken to Desert Regional Medical Center, according to the coroner's office.

Based on a preliminary investigation, police said Steele and the victim had recently been in a relationship.

"Eyewitnesses, including a vigilant neighbor, reported hearing an altercation and observing the suspect fleeing from the premises," Palm Springs police said in a statement. "Based on this information, PSPD officers, in collaboration with Riverside Sheriff's Office Star 9, combed the vicinity for the suspect."

Steele was subsequently arrested in the area of North Riverside Place and booked into the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility in Banning, where he remains held without bail, according to inmate records.

Anyone with additional information on the fatal stabbing was asked to call Det. Michael Delgado at 760-323-8145.