Ukrainian Adopted Son Weeps in Court During Murder Trial

A young Ukrainian adopted son broke down in court as his lawyer recounted the hardships leading to the alleged murder of his American parents.

Dima Tower’s sobs resonated in a Sarasota, Florida courtroom on Wednesday. His defense lawyer, Mark Gilman, acknowledged that Tower, charged with two counts of first-degree murder for the August 2023 deaths of Jennifer and Robbie Tower, isn’t claiming innocence.

“This trial is going to be a little different,” Gilman shared with jurors in his opening remarks. “If you’re expecting me to say Mr. Tower is innocent, you’re wrong.”

As Gilman discussed various murder charges, Tower, 21, covered his face and wept. Judge Thomas Klug allowed Gilman to continue, though he noted it was difficult for the court to ignore Tower’s emotional outbursts.

After Tower regained his composure, Gilman urged the jury to focus on the evidence of premeditation and consider convicting him of manslaughter instead of first-degree murder.

Tower is accused of attacking his parents with a steak knife while they were asleep in their Northport home on August 31, 2023. It is alleged that during the horrific incident, he lost the first knife, found a second one, and continued to stab Robbie Tower, 49.

Jennifer Tower, 51, attempted to intervene before fleeing, but Tower reportedly caught up with her, bringing her back inside and stabbing her multiple times.

A neighbor called 911 after hearing screams during the night. After trying to clean up, Tower fled, leading police on a lengthy chase before being apprehended, during which he attributed the attack to “anger.”

Having lost his mother at a young age, Tower was placed in foster care in Ukraine because his family “didn’t want to get involved.” Gilman mentioned that Tower was brought to America at 14 by two strangers while living in a war-torn country.

“I’m basically a nobody who came out of nowhere,” Tower reportedly said, per his lawyer.

Interestingly, police had previously been called to the Tower home due to incidents involving Dima attacking his adoptive parents. In one case, he allegedly assaulted his father and was briefly sent to live with a relative until Robbie took him back home.

Warren Lynes, Robbie’s uncle, commented in 2023 about the lengths they went to support Tower, noting, “They allowed him everything. Anything he wanted or needed, they bought him a car.”