Corey Hutterli faces second-degree murder charges after his friend Justin Zelin fell to his death from a 25th-floor balcony in Miami Beach. Police allege a struggle preceded the February 15 plunge, based on a 911 call and surveillance footage. Hutterli was arrested this week following DNA evidence linking him to the scene.
On February 15, Justin Zelin, 35, called 911 at 10:20 a.m. from his 25th-floor apartment at the Akoya Condominium in Miami Beach, Florida. He told Corey Hutterli, 37, known as Sasha, to leave, saying, “Get away from me, Sasha.” Dispatchers heard a struggle, after which Zelin stopped speaking, though the line stayed open. Surveillance video showed Zelin's body hit the pavement at 10:30 a.m., with officers arriving a minute later to find Hutterli outside, shoeless and agitated. He told them, “Somebody… he freaked out, attacked me,” and claimed Zelin “went to the elevator.” Cameras, however, captured Hutterli exiting the apartment one minute after the fall. Police found the apartment in disarray, balcony doors open, Hutterli's sandals on the balcony, blood on the railing, and tufts of his beard hair throughout. A backpack containing more beard hair and ketamine was recovered, which investigators said showed an attempt to conceal evidence. Hutterli had cuts on his hands, scratches on his arms, and missing beard patches. Later DNA tests matched his blood to the railing and both men's blood to his clothing. Hutterli was arrested Wednesday on charges of second-degree murder and burglary with assault and battery. He is held without bond at Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center. During Thursday's court appearance, his attorney argued, “There is no eyewitness to any alleged act that caused the decedent's death. No statements or admission from Mr. Hutterli acknowledging any criminal conduct, no direct evidence establishing how or by whom the fatal injuries were inflicted.”