FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Detective Paul Williams took the stand on Monday in a Broward County courtroom during Dayonte “Moochie” Resiles’ trial for the Sept. 8, 2014 murder of Jill Halliburton Su, a relative of the founders of the Halliburton oil empire.
Her husband, Nan Yao Su, a University of Florida professor, was worried when he couldn’t see the feed of the home security system and asked his son Justin Su to check up on her. He found his 59-year-old mother dead in the bathtub and called 911.
“She was laying there; she was wearing only underwear. I noticed multiple stab wounds on her body. Her hands were by her chest. Her elbows clenched up. Her wrists were bound together with cloth, a belt to a robe. Her feet were tightly bound. Her ankles were bound by an electrical cord,” Williams said.
Investigators found Resiles’ DNA on the belt of the robe and a knife at the crime scene, according to the arrest warrant. Detectives suspected she was the victim of a burglary.
“I noticed that dresser drawers were open, some of them. I noticed that there was a pillow that was on the ground that had some blood on it,” Williams said.
Resiles had a criminal history that went back to before he was a teenager and included several burglaries in Palm Beach and Broward counties.
Resiles was 21 when he escaped during a pre-trial hearing on July 15, 2016, from Judge Raag Singhal’s courtroom on the fourth floor.
Surveillance video shows Resiles running down the stairs. He left his shackles and jumpsuit behind and wore a fake police uniform. Detectives later accused his girlfriend, friends, and relatives of helping him to execute a plan that he came up with.
His supporters used “#runmoochierun” on social media for days and a local rapper later made a song in his honor. His restricted freedom was short-lived. Deputies arrested the fugitive at a motel in West Palm Beach after a six-day manhunt.
Resiles is facing a charge of first-degree murder, which is punishable by death or life in prison. He pled not guilty. His defense attorney, H. Dohn Williams Jr., argued DNA evidence is insufficient.
Attorneys expect the trial to continue through December. Resiles’s sister Amelida Resiles believes in his innocence and plans to be there to support him.
“I know the man that I was raised with, so I don’t believe my brother is capable of something like that.”
Noon report