Print, tech experts testify during ex-security guard’s murder trial

Testimony resumed Friday in the trial of a former Orlando apartment complex security guard accused of killing a resident in 2015.

Stephen Duxbury, 35, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Sasha Samsudean, 27, a resident of Uptown Place, just north of downtown Orlando on Orange Avenue.

Samsudean was found dead in her bed Oct. 17, 2015, after friends and family could not reach her and reported her missing.

The trial started Monday with jury selection. If convicted, Duxbury faces up to life in prison.

Samsudean’s family was in court Friday wearing different shades of red.

Two Orlando Police Department crime-scene investigators testified about a large amount of evidence they collected: her beige comforter and bedsheets, the purple shirt she was found in, cleaning supplies from under a sink, and fingerprints collected around the apartment.

One investigator, Carlos Nieves, testified about photos taken during a police search of Duxbury’s Port Orange apartment. There, investigators found sneakers they say matched a shoe print in Samsudean’s apartment.

Jurors also heard from a Florida Department of Law Enforcement shoe-print expert, who testified about a print found in Samsudean’s apartment that appeared to match a pair of Skechers sneakers Duxbury owned.

An Orlando Police Department digital forensics analyst spoke about Duxbury’s Android cellphone and Samsudean’s iPad. Duxbury’s cellphone had been reset to factory settings before the Orlando police investigator examined it. Duxbury’s attorney suggested Duxbury reset his phone because he didn’t like a recent software update and wanted to go back to an older version.

Jurors also heard from a latent print examiner, who said a thumbprint found on the toilet lid in Samsudean’s apartment matched Duxbury’s prints.

Jurors will return Monday. The trial will likely last until Tuesday, Judge Lisa Munyon said.