A man who made a daring courthouse escape and went through two trials before he was convicted of murdering a woman in her Davie home nearly eight years ago was finally sentenced to life in prison Friday.
Dayonte Resiles, 27, had been found guilty in March of first-degree murder in the killing of Jill Halliburton Su.
At Friday's hearing, Su's husband and son both gave emotional testimony and spoke directly to Resiles.
"I found my mother stabbed 25 times in a hot bathtub. You can't describe what that does to a human being, what that does to see the most beloved person in your whole entire life treated like that," son Justin Su said.
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Resiles also spoke and proclaimed his innocence.
"They can hook me up to a polygraph test at any given time, ask me any question they wish, and my answer will remain the same. I did not kill Mrs. Su and that's all I have to say," he said. "To my family, I love y'all, I don't want y'all, don't cry for me, no matter what I gotta go through, I'll get through it."
Broward County prosecutors had announced last month that they wouldn't be pursuing the death penalty against Resiles in the case.
Prosecutors said Su interrupted Resiles as he was burglarizing her home on Sept. 8, 2014. Evidence showed the 59-year-old woman was bound at the hands and feet, forced into a bathtub and stabbed about 25 times, according to court testimony.
Resiles pleaded not guilty. While DNA evidence placed Resiles at the scene, defense lawyers questioned whether the evidence was contaminated.
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His first trial ended in a mistrial in December when jurors couldn't reach a unanimous decision.
The jurors initially said they'd reached a verdict but when they were polled about whether they agreed with the decision that was reached in the jury room, the first juror said she didn't.
After more deliberations, the jury quickly declared itself deadlocked.
Resiles also faces criminal charges from a 2016 escape from the Broward County Courthouse. Resiles unlocked his shackles and fled from a hearing at the courthouse, resulting in a six-day manhunt.
After he was recaptured, Resiles wrote the court insisting he fled because he is innocent.
Resiles' defense attorney, Michael Orlando, has said they would appeal the conviction.
