A Ukrainian adoptee rescued from a prison-like orphanage by American parents has been charged with murdering them in Florida.
Dima Tower, 21, allegedly stabbed his adoptive parents Robbie and Jennifer Tower at their home in North Port, Florida, on Friday before leading police on an eight-hour manhunt that ended with his arrest Saturday morning.
Investigators have now charged him with the murder of the couple, who were found head-to-head in the living room surrounded by blood, the local news outlet said. WinkNews.
Tributes have been paid to the “caring” couple, who adopted Tower seven years ago from an orphanage where he was beaten and “bruised.”
While relatives say the deeply religious parents tried to shower him with love, Tower struggled to adjust and exhibited disturbing, violent behavior before the murders.
Dima Tower, 21, allegedly stabbed to death his ‘caring’ parents seven years after they adopted him from a prison-like Ukrainian orphanage
Robbie (left) and Jennifer Tower are said to have showered their adopted son with love and bought him “whatever he wanted or needed”
Police arrived at the scene of the Towers’ Florida home Friday night after a neighbor reported someone banging on her door and screaming for help.
When they opened the door, the woman was gone, but they found blood spatter on the floor.
After police arrived on the scene, they allegedly found Tower outside the house with blood on his clothes as he closed the trunk of his car.
Police allege he ignored their orders to pull over before getting into the car and driving off, chasing officers at high speed.
The daring escape nearly came to an end when he hit spike strips on I-75, but police say he fled on foot and hid in a wooded area. The suspect remained at large for nearly eight hours before being tracked down and taken into custody on Saturday morning.
Investigators found the couple, who both worked as real estate agents, seemingly facing each other on the blood-covered living room floor.
Robbie Towers’ uncle, Warren Rines, told the… New York Post that the couple were devout Christians who showered their adopted son with love.
“It just doesn’t make 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,” he said.
“These were two very good, caring people,” he added, noting that the couple traveled to Ukraine several times for Christian missions.
Relatives said Dima struggled to adjust to his life in America and that he picked fights at school because he wanted to “hurt” people
Investigators said there were several large pools of blood around the house, suggesting the attack had happened over a long, frenzied period.
Rines claimed the alleged murders are not the first time Towers has attacked his adoptive parents, claiming his cousin called the police three years ago after the Ukrainian left him with a black eye.
The incident prompted Robbie to send his son to relatives for a while, before insisting that he return home as “they forgive him for everything.”
They decided to adopt their alleged killer seven years ago to save the then 14-year-old from a prison-like orphanage, Rines said.
“He would have bruises in the orphanage,” he continued. “When they went out to dinner, he had six hot dogs. He didn’t get much to eat. These orphanages are like prisons for children.’
Despite his sad past, the couple believed they could help him by welcoming him into their family, but he reportedly struggled to fit in and often got into fights at school.
“When I first met him he was interested in boxing,” said Rines. But he didn’t want to box. He wanted to hit. He wanted to hurt.’
He added that their home in Florida wasn’t “all bad,” as the murdered parents constantly showered him with love despite Towers behaving.
“I think the boy had a lot of hatred in him before he came here. And I assume you take it out on those closest to you,” he said, adding that they would buy him “whatever he wanted or needed,” including the car he allegedly tried to get into. escape.
After police rushed to the family home in North Port, Florida, the suspect led police on a high-speed chase and remained at large for nearly eight hours.
Police have not revealed a motive for the murders, but investigators believe the attack may have lasted for some time as the house was filled with several large pools of blood.
According to local reports, blood was found in the master bedroom, the living room sofas, the inside of the front door and the kitchen.
The horror was discovered after a neighbor reported someone screaming for help outside her door. When the neighbor opened the door, she reportedly did not see the woman, but found blood splatters on the floor.
When police arrived on the scene, they found a suspect slamming the trunk of a car. After ordering him to be frozen, the killer, reportedly Tower, sped off in the car and led police on a high-speed chase.
He fled on foot to the nearby forest and was arrested eight hours later.