FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - Tough testimony was made in a Broward courthouse, as a son recounted the moment he found his mother stabbed to death inside their home.
Justin Su sat in front of jurors on Thursday and described what he saw in his Davie home back in September of 2014 after, prosecutors said, Dayonte Resiles murdered his mother, Jill Halliburton Su.
“She’s just face down in this bathtub that’s just full of blood, and it smells like iron,” he said.
The then 20-year-old suspect was accused of attempting to burglarize Su’s home but not realizing she was home.
He allegedly tied Su up and stabbed her to death before her son, Justin Su, found her in the bathtub 11 hours later.
“It was literally a bloodbath — the water running, my mother’s head. You could only see the back of her head,” said Justin.
Police said they found the suspect’s DNA on the murder weapon and a belt.
“It was something no one should ever see in their life. It was horrible,” said Justin.
The case made headlines once again in 2016 after Resiles escaped from the Broward County Courthouse during a routine court hearing.
He was on the run for approximately six days before he was found at a motel in Riviera Beach.
The prosecution and defense both made their opening statements on Wednesday.
Justin said his first thought when he found his mother’s body was that she had killed herself.
“It started to click: her feet are bound, her hands are bound,” he said. “She couldn’t have done that to herself.”
Police questioned Resiles for 10 hours that day. They said they grew suspicious when he lied about where he was that morning.
“No one should be accused of killing their own mother, for hours,” said Justin.
Resiles’ attorney said Justin liked to throw parties when his parents were away, but when asked whether he’d seen Resiles’ before, the victim’s son said no.
Resiles is being tried with first-degree murder. If convicted, he could face the death penalty.
The trial is expected to continue into early December.
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