911 calls regarding Lido condo deaths describe altercation

Two men staying at a unit in the Chateau Village Condominiums on South Boulevard of the Presidents apparently killed each other with a knife during an argument early Tuesday morning, the Sarasota Police Department said. 

“The cause of death was from wounds inflicted by a knife,” Sarasota Police spokeswoman Cynthia McLaughlin confirmed Thursday.

The men, ages 32 and 50, whose identities have not yet been released by police, were in town for work and staying at the condo, police said.

In a 911 call logged at 8:46 a.m. Wednesday, a woman saying she was using the phone of a maid at the condo first reported the deaths. “There’s a young man dead, or just out of it. … It looks like he tried to break into a unit here,” she said. “Anyway, there’s a body here.” 

Another resident of the condo came on the line saying one of the victims was laying outside the condo. “He’s outside, near a black pickup truck which faces South Boulevard of the Presidents,” he told the 911 dispatcher. 

“Pretty sure he’s dead, because there’s no skin color, very pale.”

All names on the call were redacted by the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office, which handles 911 calls.

Three minutes later, another 911 call was received by a man who identified himself as the owner of the condo. He reported getting alerts from security cameras on the property at 12:30 a.m. Wednesday. 

The caller described two 10-second video clips which caught some of the confrontation as it apparently spilled out of the condo onto the front porch of the property. 

“Someone ran out of the house. He was breathing heavily in the video … the back of his head was bloody, he had blood on his shirt,” he said.

"The younger guy came out. … Then they got into a fistfight right in front of the place. … He fell over into the trees that we have … on the porch.”

No guns were recovered but "we have recovered a knife from the scene," McLaughlin said. She added it was not being considered a murder-suicide. 

This article has been updated to include the cause of death and to correct name of SPD spokeswoman Cynthia McLaughlin.