Ruben Altidor was booked on attempted felony murder, aggravated child abuse and a probation violation after the Aug. 3 incident.
MARGATE, Fla. — Three separate allegations now define the legal case against a 36-year-old Florida man accused of attacking his sister with a machete as she slept beside her 1-year-old daughter: attempted felony murder, aggravated child abuse and violation of probation or community control. Ruben Altidor was arrested Aug. 3 after Margate police responded to the family’s home and found the woman suffering serious injuries.
The combination of charges reflects different parts of the police account rather than a single allegation described three ways. The attempted felony murder count concerns conduct police say placed the woman at risk of death. The child-abuse count follows investigators’ allegation that the woman’s 1-year-old daughter was beside her during the attack. The probation allegation arises from court supervision connected to an earlier aggravated battery matter. Each accusation has its own legal requirements, and none constitutes a finding that Altidor committed the offense. The case must proceed through the courts before guilt can be established.
Florida’s attempted felony murder statute is more specific than the shortened phrase “attempted murder” used in some summaries of the arrest. The law addresses intentional acts committed during the perpetration or attempted perpetration of another felony when the act could, but does not, cause another person’s death. Jail records cited in reports about Altidor list attempted felony murder as the charge. The available coverage does not identify a later charging document spelling out which underlying felony prosecutors intend to rely on, so the precise legal theory beyond the booking description has not been publicly established in the sources reviewed.
The aggravated child abuse count presents a different question. Police said the victim’s daughter, about 1 year old, was lying in the bed during the alleged attack. The girl was not physically injured, according to investigators, although authorities said she was found with her mother’s blood on her afterward. Florida’s child-abuse laws address intentional acts that harm children as well as certain conduct that could reasonably be expected to cause injury, with aggravated child abuse covering specified more serious forms of abuse. How prosecutors intend to apply those provisions to the evidence in this case has not been explained in a public charging document reviewed for this report.
The third allegation potentially places Altidor back before a court that had already imposed supervision in another matter. Jail information described a probation or community-control violation connected to an aggravated battery case. Florida law allows authorities to arrest people under supervision when there are grounds to believe they materially violated its conditions, with a court later deciding what consequence, if any, should follow. The reporting reviewed does not provide the underlying records from Altidor’s earlier case, so it does not establish the circumstances of that aggravated battery matter, the conditions of supervision or whether the alleged Aug. 3 conduct is the sole basis for the violation.
The events leading to those charges began with an emergency response to a residence near Northwest Fourth Place in Margate. Officers arriving at the property heard a woman screaming, according to accounts of the arrest report. She came outside and said someone was trying to kill her. Police described her as bleeding heavily from multiple wounds. A cousin identified Altidor as the woman’s brother and accused him of attacking her. Officers took him into custody at the scene rather than after a later search, according to the police account reported by local news organizations.
The woman later told an officer that she had been asleep when Altidor began striking her with a machete. Her young daughter was beside her in bed. The arrest report states that the woman attributed a chilling question to her brother during the incident: “Oh my God, why aren’t you dead yet?” Authorities have not announced a motive for the alleged attack. No verified account in the sources reviewed describes a confrontation immediately beforehand, and the woman’s statement that she was sleeping when it began leaves investigators’ publicly disclosed chronology without an explanation for why the violence allegedly occurred.
Police reported that the woman’s injuries included severe wounds to her hands and legs. One injury to the back of her right thigh was described as extending to the bone, while several hand injuries threatened or involved portions of her fingers. She was transported to a hospital. Those descriptions came from the arrest report and early news coverage, and no detailed subsequent medical report was located. The absence of a later update means it is not known from the reviewed material how long she remained hospitalized, what reconstructive treatment may have been required or whether doctors expect any permanent impairment.
Investigators also documented physical evidence inside the home. They said blood was visible in the bedroom and formed a trail into the hallway, toward a bathroom area and outside. A machete sheath was found in the kitchen. Police recovered a machete from beneath a bed in another bedroom and reported seeing what appeared to be red smudges on it. The public accounts do not say whether laboratory testing has since identified the substance or established a DNA connection. Those distinctions matter because initial police observations are evidence to be investigated, while laboratory conclusions require separate testing and documentation.
A residential surveillance recording captured part of what followed the alleged attack. Local 10 News reported that the footage contained screams and showed an injured woman fleeing from a man police identified as Altidor, who appeared to be carrying a machete. Another woman was seen with a child. The victim reached a neighboring house, where police said she rang the doorbell and collapsed. A neighbor told the station that she had come toward his front door asking for help. Neither the exterior recording nor the neighbor’s account was reported to show the initial violence inside the bedroom.
That evidentiary division could become important as the case moves forward. The victim can provide an account of what allegedly happened in the bedroom. Officers can testify about what they saw when they arrived and what they recovered during their sweep of the home. The cousin can describe the identification given to police, while the neighbor and video can address portions of the woman’s escape. Prosecutors may also seek to introduce physical or forensic evidence. The defense, in turn, can contest the admissibility, reliability or meaning of evidence. None of those courtroom steps can be assumed from an arrest report alone.
The reports reviewed do not identify a public statement from Altidor or a defense attorney addressing the substance of the accusations. That absence means there is no verified defense account to place alongside the allegations at this stage. It would therefore be inaccurate to speculate about whether Altidor disputes being present, challenges the identification, contests the nature of the weapon or intends to raise some other defense. Those are matters that would have to emerge through counsel, court filings or proceedings rather than assumptions based on the arrest itself.
The same caution applies to motive. Police had not publicly said why they believe a brother would attack his sister under the circumstances described in the arrest report. No reliable source reviewed established a dispute over money, housing, relationships or another subject. Investigators may possess information that has not been made public, but reporting cannot fill that gap. The known allegations concern what police say happened, the injuries observed afterward, the child’s presence and the evidence recovered; the reason for the alleged conduct remains unknown.
Early reports said Altidor was being held without bond at the Broward County Main Jail after his arrest. Law&Crime reported at the time that a next court date was not available, and the sources reviewed for this version did not establish a later conviction, acquittal or plea. The criminal allegations and probation matter therefore should be treated as unresolved proceedings. Future court filings may clarify the prosecution’s theory, the status of the probation allegation and any response from the defense, but those developments had not been verified in the material available for this report.
The legal process that follows will determine whether prosecutors can prove any of the accusations tied to the Aug. 3 incident. Until then, Altidor remains accused of conduct described by police, not convicted of it. The most firmly documented public facts are that officers responded to the Margate residence, the woman was taken for emergency treatment, her 1-year-old daughter was reported physically unhurt, investigators recovered a suspected machete and Altidor was arrested on the three listed allegations.
Author note: Last updated September 9, 2026.