FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A pre-sentencing hearing was held Friday for Dayonte Resiles who has been convicted of murder in the fatal stabbing of a 59-year-old woman in 2014.
The penalty phase of the trial could begin as early as May 2, or could be held off until May 16 due to another trial the prosecutor in the case is assigned to.
The defense and the state agreed that the penalty phase may take up to two weeks, due to testimony.
Resiles, now 27, chose not to take the stand in his own defense after the prosecution spent weeks building their case against him in the killing of Jill Halliburton Su nearly eight years ago.
Prosecutors said Resiles broke into Su’s home, but ended up getting into a struggle with her, stabbing her to death, tying her up and leaving her in a bathtub full of bloody water inside her Davie home.
During closing arguments, the state said DNA evidence put Resiles in the home and proves he was the murderer. While Resiles’ DNA was found on a knife inside the home, it was not found on the knife used in the killing.
Prosecutors, however, said his DNA was found on a bathrobe belt that was used to tie up the victim.
“The defense and I are not going to agree on a lot, but I think we will agree a crime was committed. That Mrs. Jill Su was brutally murdered in her home on September 8, 2014,” prosecutor Maria Schneider said. “Science tells you the defendant killed Jill Su.”
The defense tried their best to contradict the prosecution’s argument, poking holes in their case and trying to make room for reasonable doubt.
“They had 7 1/2 years to bring you all of the evidence, to test everything they needed to test, to bring you witnesses, to bring you concrete, credible proof, that he killed Jill Su. And 7 1/2 years were wasted because they did not do that,” defense attorney Allari Dominguez said.
A jury, however, ultimately found Resiles guilty of first-degree murder.