Sasha Samsudean's ripped blouse, a man's thumbprint on the top of her apartment's toilet lid and surveillance video are among the evidence that led investigators to her alleged killer: her complex's security guard.
On Friday, Orlando police said Stephen Michael Duxbury, a security guard at Uptown Place Apartments, strangled 27-year-old Samsudean to death after she returned home about 1:45 a.m. Oct. 17.
Her cause of death was strangulation, court records show.
Duxbury, 33, was arrested about 10:30 a.m. Friday in Volusia County by U.S. marshals, police said. The married Port Orange man, who has no prior criminal history in Florida, is being held at the Volusia County Branch Jail in Daytona Beach on charges of first-degree murder, sexual battery and burglary.
Duxbury was employed by Vital Security and Investigations, according to police, and had worked at Uptown Place Apartments at 911 N. Orange Ave. for five months.
"As a security guard, he used his access to prey on someone who was very vulnerable," Orlando police Chief John Mina said Friday during a news conference.
Mina called Samsudean's death "absolutely, completely random."
"Our hearts go out to Sasha's family," Mina said. "Our thoughts and prayers are with them, and we hope this will bring a little bit of closure."
Orlando police Sgt. Dan Brady said there was no indication that Samsudean had a relationship with Duxbury.
"He was their only security officer," Brady said. "He worked there about four nights a week."
None of the residents at Uptown Place Apartments was ever alarmed by Duxbury, police said.
Attempts to reach the security company and the apartment complex were not immediately successful.
Sasha Samsudean murder suspect
Stephen Duxbury is accused of killing Sasha Samsudean when he was working as a security guard at the Uptown Place apartments in downtown Orlando. (OPD)
Samsudean worked for Pearson, an education company that provides services to teachers and students and which released a statement Friday about her death.
"Everyone at Pearson continues to keep Sasha's loved ones in their thoughts and in their hearts during this very difficult time," Pearson spokeswoman Laura Howe said. "Sasha was a highly respected member of the Pearson family and her colleagues miss her presence greatly."
'I'm not supposed to go into apartments'
Testimony from witnesses and Duxbury, along with surveillance video and physical evidence, detailed the moments before and after Samsudean was found dead in her bed inside her apartment Oct. 17.
The night before, Samsudean was with her friends at the Attic Bar at 68 E. Pine St. in downtown Orlando. About 12:30 a.m., according to her friend, she left the bar and went home.
That friend tried to contact her through text messages and social media to make sure she made it home safely, but she never responded.
Later that day, two of Samsudean's friends went to her apartment and knocked on the door several times. After receiving no response, they called police.
When officers arrived at the apartment, court records show, they found Samsudean's body wrapped in a comforter on her bed. As investigators continued searching the apartment, they found the toilet seat up, which police thought was strange because she lived alone.
The white pants Samsudean was wearing in the surveillance photo, her underwear and her brown purse were missing. A condom wrapper was on the floor near her bed. Also, her blouse and bra had been ripped.
"There was also discoloration on the bedding which appeared to be caused by some type of bleach mixture, possibly a cleaning product that included bleach," the arrest affidavit said.
At 2:16 a.m. Oct. 18, police interviewed Duxbury, who said he tried to help Samsudean because she couldn't remember the key code to get into her third-floor apartment.
He also walked her to the garage because she thought her keys might have been in her vehicle.
"Um, I'm not supposed to go into apartments," Duxbury said when police asked whether he went inside her apartment unit.
Surveillance video captured Samsudean and Duxbury laughing and walking together down a stairwell at 2:25 a.m., police said.
They walked to the first-floor garage and returned into the building about 20 seconds later.
They walked back up the stairwell. At this point, about 2:27 a.m., Samsudean kept bumping into the walls ? appearing intoxicated.
At 6:36 a.m., Duxbury exited the second floor of the building with two trash bags. He walked into the second floor of the parking garage, where his vehicle was parked, and returned into the building at 6:38 a.m.
His shift ended at 6 a.m. But, police said, he didn't leave the property until 6:39 a.m.
On Oct. 23, police received a search warrant for Duxbury's home in Port Orange. They found a pair of shoes that matched the shoe print found inside Samsudean's apartment. Three days later, police learned that the thumbprint found on top of Samsudean's toilet matched the right thumb of Duxbury.
"The fresh injuries to his forearms appear to be a bite mark and defensive wounds possibly caused by Ms. Samsudean in an attempt to fight off her attacker and save her own life," the affidavit said. "Stephen Duxbury took advantage of Sasha Samsudean when she was in a most vulnerable state instead of providing security for her against a potential would-be attacker."
Recently became security guard
Duxbury completed his 40-hour unarmed security training at S2 Safety & Intelligence Institute, records show. He received his certificate of completion April 2. An attempt to reach the institute Friday was unsuccessful.
Duxbury's license as an unarmed security guard expires April 22, 2017, according to state records.
On his security-officer application, Duxbury said he's never been diagnosed with a mental illness and does not have a history of substance or alcohol abuse.
Florida has about 140,000 unarmed security guards, including about 23,000 with state firearm permits.
Unarmed security guards must pass a 40-hour course in legal knowledge.
Armed guards must pass an additional 28 hours of firearms training. They must also score at least 80 percent on a shooting test by firing 196 bullets at targets ranging from 9 to 75 feet. Armed guards must qualify every year.
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