Coroner identifies 50-year-old woman stabbed to death in Bluffton domestic incident
Coroner’s staff have identified the victim of Tuesday afternoon’s fatal stabbing during a domestic incident at a Bluffton-area apartment complex.
Elisa Palacios, a 50-year-old from Bluffton, was pronounced dead at Novant Health Hilton Head Medical Center around 2:43 p.m. Tuesday from multiple stab wounds, according to a Wednesday afternoon release from the Beaufort County Coroner’s Office.
Deputies arrived at the Vista View Apartments shortly before 2 p.m. Tuesday to find Palacios “suffering from stab wounds,” according to a sheriff’s office alert. The woman was later pronounced dead despite life-saving efforts, police said.
The suspect was also hurt during the incident and was taken to the hospital, the sheriff’s office said. Department spokesperson Master Sgt. Robert Herlong said the 21-year-old remained hospitalized as of 9 a.m. Wednesday, but police planned to book him into jail on already-obtained warrants for murder and a felony firearms offense following his discharge.
Lt. Daniel Allen of the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Department said more information will be available about the suspect after he is booked.
Officials as of Wednesday afternoon had not disclosed the relationship between the homicide victim and the suspect. Herlong said he was unsure if the stabbing happened in Vista View’s parking lot or inside one of its units.
The Vista View Apartments are located at 39 Haigler Blvd. off May River Road, about a mile away from Old Town Bluffton.
This report will be updated as more information becomes available.
This story was originally published June 17, 2026 at 12:32 PM.
