Jury to hear closing arguments in case of security guard accused of killing resident

ORLANDO, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - After five days of presenting testimony and evidence, state prosecutors rested their case against Steven Duxbury.   

The former apartment complex security guard is accused of killing a resident of the building that he was tasked to protect.  

Assistant state attorneys played the interviews detectives conducted with the defendant at the time of the crime.

“She was wandering around aimlessly, then she was confused,” Duxbury said on the police recording.  

Sasha Samsudean, 27, was found deceased in her bed, rolled up in her comforter. Duxbury told detectives that Samsudean was drunk that night, didn’t have her keys, and after being locked out of her apartment complex, she followed another resident into through the security gate.  

In the recorded police interview played for the jury, Duxbury said after he watched her fail to get the code right to get through her electronically-locked door, she somehow got inside her front door after he had walked away.  During the interview, he also told detectives that he might have seen her again that night.

“I think I saw her again at some time, later on in the evening.  Nothing suspicious about what she and the gentlemen I saw her with were doing,” Duxbury told the detective. 

With the lead detective on the stand, the state allowed the jury to hear part of the interview where the detective appears to not be buying what he is being told.  

"Did you ever to into apartment 345?" the detective asked.  "I’m not supposed to go into apartments," Duxbury replied. "But did you?" the detective pressed Duxbury, to which he replied, "No." 

On cross examination, the defense questioned evidence that was processed by the Orlando Police Department. 

“Several gentlemen, Ms. Samsudean’s sex partners, did you ask all of them for DNA samples?” asked the prosecutor.  “Yes,” answered Detective Toyd  Montfort.  “Shoe samples?” asked the prosecutor. “No,” testified Det. Montfort.  

Before resting their case, the state reminded the jury that police found two finger prints belonging to Duxbury inside Samsudean’s apartment -- one on her toilet and the other on her nightstand.  That’s an apartment Duxbury said he’d never ever been in, prosecutors wound up using his own words against him.  

“She did not invite me into her apartment,” Duxbury could be heard telling the detective in the taped interview.  

The state immediately rested its case.   The defense asked the judge to for an acquittal, but the judge denied the request. With Duxbury's consent, the defense rested without ever presenting a defense or calling a single witness.

Closing arguments begin Tuesday morning.