A Florida jury reached a verdict on Friday, convicting a Ukrainian man who lost his parents at a young age of first-degree murder for the brutal stabbing of his adoptive parents, who had taken him in at the age of 14.
The court sentenced 24-year-old Dima Tower to life imprisonment for the 2023 killings of his adoptive parents, Robbie and Jennifer Tower, as reported by WWSB.
During his trial on Thursday, Tower testified in his own defense, repeatedly claiming he was “temporarily insane” at the time he fatally attacked his adoptive parents, stabbing them over 140 times, according to CrimeOnline.
In his testimony, Tower recounted his difficult childhood in Ukraine, where he lived with various relatives following his mother’s death before turning 10. He stayed in an orphanage until the Tower family adopted him at 14, relocating him to Florida despite his lack of English proficiency. He dropped out of high school in the 10th grade and admitted to having a tumultuous relationship with Robbie Tower.
According to Tower, Jennifer revealed that her husband was initially reluctant to adopt him.
The tragic events unfolded on August 31, 2023, when Dima attacked his parents with a steak knife in their North Port home. He first targeted his father in their bedroom, and when Jennifer attempted to seek help from neighbors, Tower pursued her, forced her back, and stabbed her in the neck 38 times.
The defense pushed for a manslaughter charge and temporary insanity, claiming that Tower’s longstanding trauma impaired his judgment, and that the killings were not premeditated. Police, however, said the defendant attempted to clean up the crime scene before loading his personal items into a vehicle and fleeing.
During a high-speed chase, deputies with the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office used stop sticks to get Tower’s car to stop. They apprehended him after he fled on foot into a wooded area.
After the jury’s verdict, Judge Thomas Krug sentenced Tower to two consecutive life terms in prison plus five years for the police chase, according to WWSB.
“You seem to be an evil spirit,” Krug told him.
Read more on Dima Tower’s case here.
