TAMPA, Fla. (Court TV) — A man accused of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a DoorDash driver took the stand in his own defense to tell the jury that he was actually in a relationship with the alleged victim.
Joseph Killins testifies on Aug. 13, 2026. (Court TV)
Joseph Killins, 41, is charged with sexual battery, armed kidnapping and attempted first-degree murder after allegedly attacking the victim while she was trying to deliver a pizza on April 18, 2023.
Killins took the witness stand on Thursday as the sole witness for the defense after the alleged victim testified earlier this week that the defendant held her at gunpoint and forced her to drive to an apartment complex and perform oral sex on him.
The defendant, who has nine prior felony convictions and three convictions for crimes involving dishonesty, told the jury that he had actually been in a relationship with the victim for several months and arranged to meet her on the day of the incident.
“When she actually seen me, she ran up and screamed and she put her arm around my neck and her legs wrapped around my waist and I hold her up a little bit with my two hands, placing on the left and right side of her buttocks and carried her a little bit,” Killins testified.
He said he couldn’t sit in the front seat because there were too many water bottles in the car, so he sat behind the alleged victim in the driver’s seat until they got to his grandmother’s house, where he disposed of the bottles before getting back into the car. Killins said he then told the alleged victim, “I don’t want to be with you no more,” but she begged him to stay, and he agreed — eventually falling asleep in the car.
Killins said when he woke up, they were at an apartment complex, and the alleged victim chose to perform oral sex on him. “Anybody in their right mind ain’t finna hold somebody at gunpoint and force them to perform oral sex on them,” Killins said. “That’d be kind of crazy.”
Assistant State Attorney Jessica Couvertier pressed Killins to admit he had forced the alleged victim against her will.
Couvertier: “And you use your right hand to force her head further down on your penis?”
Killins: “No, left hand.”
Couvertier: “OK, thank you for correcting me. So you use your left hand to force her head down further on your penis?”
Killins: “Yes.”
Investigators testified earlier in the trial that the alleged victim’s girlfriend, who had been on the phone with her while she was delivering the pizza, was able to track her location. The alleged victim’s girlfriend and the girlfriend’s twin sister arrived armed with a baseball bat. Prosecutors said that when they confronted Killins, he shot the girlfriend’s sister in the head. But Killins said he was actually the victim, and that the alleged sexual assault victim’s girlfriend had arrived with a gun. “She tried to shoot me, but she messed up and shot her sister,” Killins testified.
When Couvertier challenged Killins’ account, he yelled, “You tellin’ a lie!”
Killins is also charged with robbery after allegedly attacking a woman in the same apartment complex the next day. He denied those charges as well, saying, “I did not rob her, because I did not see her. Like, literally did not see her.”
Closing arguments are scheduled for Thursday afternoon.
