SARASOTA, Fla. (Court TV) — A 24-year-old man on trial for murdering his adoptive parents delivered shocking testimony admitting to the brutal killings, describing in disturbing detail how he stabbed Jennifer and Robbie Tower to death in their North Port, Florida home.
Dima Tower testified in his murder trial on Nov. 13, 2025. (Court TV)
Dima Tower took the witness stand in his own defense, confessing to prosecutors that he planned and carried out the August 31, 2023, murders using kitchen knives. In chilling testimony, Tower admitted he first attacked his adoptive father Robbie while he slept, then pursued his adoptive mother Jennifer when she fled to a neighbor’s house for help.
Tower testified that he stabbed Robbie in the neck first during cross-examination by prosecutor Karen Fraivillig. When asked if he intended to kill his adoptive parents, Tower responded affirmatively.
Tower testified that after Jennifer Tower escaped to seek help from neighbors, he forced her to return to their home. He told the court he had made her sit on the couch and explained what he had done to Robbie before stabbing Jennifer multiple times, admitting he intended to kill her as well.
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The defendant’s testimony provided a glimpse into the brutal double murder that shocked the North Port community. Tower faces two counts of first-degree murder and could receive a life sentence if convicted.
Police responded to the Towers’ home after a 911 caller reported a woman banging on her door, screaming for help. When officers arrived, they found Tower covered in blood, loading items into his car. He led police on a chase across county lines before fleeing on foot into the woods. He was arrested the next day at a gas station.
Inside the home, police discovered Jennifer and Robbie Tower lying face down in pools of blood. Blood evidence was found throughout the house, including on couches, the master bedroom, front door and kitchen areas.
DNA analysis presented during the trial confirmed that blood from Robbie Tower was found on one knife used in the attack, along with Tower’s DNA on the handle of the second knife used in the attack.
Tower was adopted by the couple from Ukraine in 2015 when he was 14 years old. Court records revealed a history of violence in the household, including incidents where Tower had pushed Jennifer and threats that led Robbie to sleep with his door locked out of fear.
During opening statements, defense attorney Marc Gilman asked jurors to consider a manslaughter conviction rather than first-degree murder, arguing Tower had been abandoned by his biological parents in Ukraine before his adoption.
The prosecution argued Tower attacked his parents as they slept, attempted to clean up the crime scene, and then fled – evidence of premeditation required for a first-degree murder conviction.
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