The widower of a woman who was allegedly stabbed to death by a homeless man at a Barnes & Noble store is suing the owners and managers of the Florida shopping mall where the incident occurred, along with the bookstore chain.
Jorge Loncharich filed a wrongful death lawsuit in Palm Beach County Circuit Court on Tuesday, claiming his wife, Rita, was killed following a series of troubling incidents at the shopping center.
Rita Loncharich, 65, was reading a magazine at the Barnes & Noble during a Christmas shopping trip when she was fatally attacked by a mentally ill homeless man on the evening of December 22, 2025, according to authorities.
Antonio Moore, 40 at the time of the incident, had arrived in Florida only days earlier, having traveled by bus from Georgia, as stated in an affidavit.
The Legacy Place shopping center’s Barnes & Noble, located in Palm Beach Gardens, had over 60 documented police incidents in less than five years, according to the lawsuit filed by Morgan & Morgan P.A. on behalf of Loncharich.
According to the lawsuit, these incidents included 16 calls for “Unwanted Guest,” 23 for shoplifting, nine for “Suspicious Person,” eight welfare checks, four suspicious incidents, and 14 general police calls, based on Palm Beach Gardens Police Department records.
The complaint alleges that both Legacy Place and the specific Barnes & Noble site had a persistent pattern of criminal activity, loitering, trespassing, and confrontations involving transient and homeless individuals.
“Defendants, their agents, employees, and/or servants, had actual or constructive knowledge of a history of criminal activity on and in the vicinity of the premises… and knew or should have known that there was a likelihood for criminal conduct,” the complaint asserts.
The lawsuit, which seeks damages exceeding $50,000 and a trial by jury under the Florida Wrongful Death Act, names four defendants: property owner LSREF6 Legacy LLC, property manager Trademark Property Company Florida, on-site property manager Ana Torres, and store operator Barnes & Noble, Inc.
Each defendant is accused of failing to ensure adequate security, not addressing known safety risks, and failing to protect invitees from foreseeable criminal acts.
“The Defendants knew or… should have known that their failure to implement and/or enforce adequate security measures could result in serious injury or death,” the lawsuit states.
On the morning of December 22, Moore was discovered sleeping in front of Total Wine & More at Legacy Place, prompting management to request his removal.
Property management contacted the police, but Moore left before they arrived. He later returned, entered Barnes & Noble, charged his phone, and made no purchase before the attack occurred.
Neither LSREF6 Legacy LLC, Trademark Property Company Florida, nor Barnes & Noble provided immediate responses to requests for comment.
An automatic email response from Ana Torres indicated that Legacy Place is now under new ownership and management, directing inquiries to the new property manager.
Moore admitted to not knowing Loncharich or having a specific motive for the attack, stating he stabbed her simply because she was the nearest person to him, according to court records reviewed by WPBF.
Despite being injured, Loncharich managed to call her husband and inform him of the stabbing before she was taken to a nearby hospital, where she was pronounced dead that night.
Moore was seen fleeing into nearby woods on the store’s surveillance footage and was quickly apprehended, according to the police.
Court records from last month indicate that the state will not pursue the death penalty against Moore, though he could face life imprisonment if convicted.
“I would guess that the reason why the state is not seeking the death penalty here is because the suspect’s mental health. It is unconstitutional to execute someone who is mentally disabled,” former Florida State Attorney Aronberg told WPBF at the time.
Moore is currently detained in the Palm Beach County Jail on charges of first-degree murder and has pleaded not guilty.
He is awaiting trial, but no date has been set.
