Jury selection is currently underway for a Florida man on trial for killing his adoptive parents.
Dima Tower, 24, is facing two counts of murder for the 2023 deaths of Jennifer and Robbie Tower. He’s also charged with fleeing from police.
Tower is currently on trial in Sarasota, where the defense offered a guilty plea to manslaughter Monday, in exchange for 40 years in prison, ABC 7 reports.
The prosecution rejected the 40-year prison request, and said they would accept the manslaughter plea but would push for life in prison.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, police arrested Tower in September 2023, after the victims were found fatally stabbed in their North Port home, in the 1200 block of Mallicoat Road.
The parents had adopted Dima from a Ukrainian orphanage when he was 14 years old.
Records from the North Port Police Department and Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office obtained by FOX 4 show multiple domestic violence calls involving Dima since 2018.
On December 8, 2018, officers responded to the family’s home because Dima had allegedly pushed Jennifer when she entered his bedroom, which he denied.
Dima, a teen at the time, had reportedly not spoken with his parents for several days.
Robbie wanted Dima involuntarily detained for mental health evaluation, but officers did not believe the situation met the criteria for that process.
No arrests were made.
Months later, around 7:30 p.m. on April 28, 2019, Jennifer called police to report Dima missing after he rode his bike away from home upset that he was grounded. Police found Dima and brought him back.
Jennifer called police just hours later, around 11 p.m., to report that Dima had again left the house. Police found him and brought him home.
Officers on July 29, 2019, took Dima into custody after being spotted walking near an elementary school carrying a BB gun. Dima told police he planned to shoot soldier toys, which were in his pockets. Police later released him.
Robbie called police on October 22, 2019, asking that Dima be removed for behavioral problems. The father reported that his son had been physically and verbally abusive.
Robbie also told police he slept with his bedroom door locked at night, afraid of what Dima might do.
A deputy attempted to speak with Dima, but he did not respond. The records do not show any indication of an eviction or attempt to seek an emergency protection order.
One year later, on October 22, 2020, sheriff’s deputies arrested Dima for domestic violence. An unnamed victim alleged that Dima had pushed him in the kitchen, resulting in multiple injuries to the victim’s head.
The victim alleged that Dima punched him repeatedly, smacked a phone out of his hands when he tried to call 911 and then continued the assault with several blows to his head and face.
Dima allegedly admitted to the assault and told a deputy that the victim was “mentally abusing his mother,” according to FOX4. Dima later pleaded not guilty to charges, which were eventually dropped.
On August 31, 2023, police found Robbie and Jennifer stabbed to death in their home, both face down on the floor, after responding to a call from a neighbor who reported hearing noises.
Dima fled in a vehicle when police arrived, according to WINK News. Deputies with the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office used stop sticks to get the car to stop. They apprehended him after he fled on foot into a wooded area.
Robbie’s Uncle, Warren Rines, previously told the New York Post that the Towers were kind-hearted people.
“These were two really good, caring people,” Rines told the Post. “It just makes no sense, none of us understand the hate. They were the only two people in his life who ever tried to help him. They treated him like their own son.”
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[Feature Photo: Tower family/Facebook]
Additional reporting by Jonathan Anderson
