GUILTY FL - Dima Tower, 22, charged for murdering his 2 adoptive parents, North Port, 9 Sept 2023

[JoeFromLB]

On the CourtTV discussion of this case yesterday it was stated more than once that he overruled his lawyers who strongly discouraged him from taking the stand.

 

[whitelilac]

Human Behavior and Body Language Expert Susan Constantine breaks down Dima Tower’s body language.

(Court TV)

 

[Tricia]

Dima Tower snaps back at the judge CLICK HERE to watch

 

[AnyNameIWish]

@turaj your post gives so much perspective and I wish I could heart it more.

Your thoughts are exactly why I hope he can find a better appellate lawyer. The person he worked with seemed to be happy to just get it done. Even Taylor Schabusiness had a defense team that had her evaluated for mental issues.

This part might get deleted but I did NOT like the whole subtext by the prosecution and judge that somehow bringing children from Russia/Ukraine was to "give them a better life in the greatest country in the world". I'll find the time stamps if you want of what the prosecution and judge said/implied but adopting any child from any (what was then perceived as a "developing" or "war-torn" country) doesn't somehow make adoptive parents saviors or any more heroic. It is a struggle to adopt within our own country. I just didn't like this savior syndrome.... MOO

 

[Dotta]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1989455885039477232

Who is Oscar?
Who is Phil?



Or was he speaking in general terms?
Using random names?
It is difficult to understand
JMO

 

[turaj]

@turaj your post gives so much perspective and I wish I could heart it more.

Your thoughts are exactly why I hope he can find a better appellate lawyer. The person he worked with seemed to be happy to just get it done. Even Taylor Schabusiness had a defense team that had her evaluated for mental issues.

This part might get deleted but I did NOT like the whole subtext by the prosecution and judge that somehow bringing children from Russia/Ukraine was to "give them a better life in the greatest country in the world". I'll find the time stamps if you want of what the prosecution and judge said/implied but adopting any child from any (what was then perceived as a "developing" or "war-torn" country) doesn't somehow make adoptive parents saviors or any more heroic. It is a struggle to adopt within our own country. I just didn't like this savior syndrome.... MOO

agree 100% on savior syndrome. The idea that life is the best here for all people including adoptees is just wrong. Many immigrants that come here from other countries volunteer to go back home for many valid reasons.

 

[turaj]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1989455885039477232

Who is Oscar?
Who is Phil?



Or was he speaking in general terms?
Using random names?
It is difficult to understand
JMO

i think the judge was so biased and this case was decided before any testimony. I think at some point maybe at sentencing dima should have been allowed to do so during an allocution without being stopped. It was an odd trial.

 

[Serononin]

On the CourtTV discussion of this case yesterday it was stated more than once that he overruled his lawyers who strongly discouraged him from taking the stand.

Defendants taking the stand seems to be something that rarely goes well IMO

 

[tara83]

i think the judge was so biased and this case was decided before any testimony. I think at some point maybe at sentencing dima should have been allowed to do so during an allocution without being stopped. It was an odd trial.

This guy is no victim and it seemed clear from actual evidence that he brutally murdered his parents.

 

[Dotta]

IMO
This person seems to be mentally unstable the big way.
Full of rage, full of hatred, contempt for any kind of authority.
I mean,
interrupting the Judge with "You are talking foolishly..." is the next level

His body language is another symptom - being hunched, talking with eyes downward, not looking in the eye, interrupting others and rambling in aggressive and disrespectful way.

And, of course, terrible, sadistic murders of adoptive parents

Life without parole
is the only sentence that could be given IMO.

Horrific case.
My sincerest Condolences to Family of the poor Victims

JMO

 

[turaj]

This guy is no victim and it seemed clear from actual evidence that he brutally murdered his parents.

even the most heinous criminals have their chance to speak before sentencing...he is no exception.

 

[Charlot123]

Moo...they were not his parents, they adopted him at 14. It would be culture shock and loss of identity at that age. Maybe no emotional or cultural bond established. His age of adoption is problematic. I read many more stories where adoptive parents have no bond with the adopted child or children and torture or murder the children. So obviously adoption does have problematic issues that are frequently not understood...moo

Perhaps they expected to receive a 14-year-old-boy behaving like a son. But life in an orphanage is survival. Absolutely no prays before meals (it is not an Orthodox tradition anyhow), but you grab the meal as fast as possible because otherwise you may not get any... I think it was misunderstanding on both sides. At school, you show the kids that you are a macho, that you are not to be messed up with. You could see bits of this behavior in court - he hinted that some parents should not be the parents, but could not explain why and got flooded with emotions. I think that the Towers expected a son, who’d behave like a son, and he expected to get “a better place for survival”. I can imagine how badly any consequences would go down with him. He would’ve seen them not as consequences but as “downgrading” him.

Plus, he could have FAS which is a very peculiar behavioral problem. Sometimes even kids who are adopted young but suffer from it are problematic, behavior-wise. I am not sure he has it, but possible.

Plus, the worst age for any transition is adolescence. I would also want to know if his orphanage was in the city or outside.

I think that any transitioning for a teenager is very hard to start with. He definitely needed to be treated psychiatrically, here is where the police did drop the ball, because it is obvious he is not in control of what is going on in his head.

But the way I interpreted it, I didn’t think he disliked the US. He disliked not fitting in. He can’t admit that he failed at school. It was hard to learn another language at fourteen no doubt; there could have been an issue there. I can imagine that kids at school did not give him a break because he was an adoptee from another country. With kids, you either fit in or you don’t, and he probably didn’t. But I don’t think he planned or wanted to move back to Ukraine, and not only because of the war.

 

[AnyNameIWish]

@turaj

Exactly!

Even the most abhorrent statements by people like the killers of Maddie Soto and Ana Abulaban were said in court. Not completely off by the judge and dismissed and disregarded.

@Charlot123

We know nothing about how Dima did academically.... there was mention by the state accusing him that he quit high school because he was about to be expelled but no mention if it was due to academics of behavior. (At least in the Sciences and Maths, in my experience with students, children who arrive from overseas to the USA are far more advanced academically than American High School students.) No story about how he didn't fit in or how he felt isolated or anything was shared in this case.

 

[Charlot123]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1989455885039477232

Who is Oscar?
Who is Phil?



Or was he speaking in general terms?
Using random names?
It is difficult to understand
JMO

@Dotta

I suspect it could be "Joe Blow". Or "Jane Doe".

But, I do have a lot of questions. I strongly suspect that the parents were religious. Christians adopt. I have an acquaintance who adopted and raised ten kids (having his own) - if there is one thing that might bring me back to a church, it is the existence of the people like him and his wife. They did a great job.

However, I think that if one adopts a young child and raises him on own religion, it is a natural process. If someone wants to adopt a 14-year-old child raised in the atmosphere of "homo homini lupus est", both sides have to be counseled about what to expect from the process, and that it may be long and tortuous. And if the conversion doesn't happen fast or naturally, it is not "evil", they just have to use another path.

If anything, I wonder what Dima's cognitive status is. People who are smart would probably realize, "OK, let me play to their tune and get what I can from it". But I see him being obsessively stuck and sadly, the judge is quick to call him "evil". This is totally counterproductive because we all need to learn more about the adoptive process and how to make it fail-proof. Not questioning that Dima is very dangerous to the community and hence "life" term protects everyone from the killer, but what do we learn if we don't even listen to the criminals? He has the right for a statement. The judge obviously wanted him to say "I am sorry" and not inclined to listen to anything else.

 

[Charlot123]

I am trying to pull something from newspapers in Russian - in this case, Brighton Beach News.

In 2018, an attempt was made to commit Dima to a psychiatric hospital by the "Baker Act", but it failed. (Why?)

It seems that the biggest problem was always uncontrollable rage. Dima was expelled from school in 10th grade for constant fights. His biological mother died (I don't know at what age). His father was an alcoholic and left Dima in an orphanage.

My feeling is that it is mostly "nature" but, all neurological tests (seizures?), psychiatric tests and perhaps, genetic studies need to be done. His height is 154 cm.

Parents were supportive. Bought him a car, did their best.

 

[whitelilac]

I am trying to pull something from newspapers in Russian - in this case, Brighton Beach News.

In 2018, an attempt was made to commit Dima to a psychiatric hospital by the "Baker Act", but it failed. (Why?)

It seems that the biggest problem was always uncontrollable rage. Dima was expelled from school in 10th grade for constant fights. His biological mother died (I don't know at what age). His father was an alcoholic and left Dima in an orphanage.

My feeling is that it is mostly "nature" but, all neurological tests (seizures?), psychiatric tests and perhaps, genetic studies need to be done. His height is 154 cm.

Parents were supportive. Bought him a car, did their best.

2018 is 7 years ago. So he was only 15 (if he is indeed 22 now). For some reason I assumed his rage and anti social behavior began more recently
They adopted him at 14. So he was seriously in trouble pretty immediately. His poor parents must have gone through hell for several years then, trying to raise him. So heartbreaking, I'm sure they tried their best.

 

[Dotta]

Some info from 2023:

"How caring Christian couple welcomed Ukrainian orphan Dima Tower into their family ​

with holidays, birthday parties and game nights."​

How Christian couple welcomed Ukrainian orphan into their family

A Ukrainian adoptee who has been charged with the murder of his American parents was welcomed into the Christian family with open arms, social media posts reveal.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[OneLove]

Who are Oscar and Phil that Dima mentioned in his statement before it was cut off? And what stepfather??

 

[Dotta]

"An emotional, raw, and unforgettable impact statement."

A video

https://twitter.com/x/status/1989396038126649826

 

[Chimera]

@turaj your post gives so much perspective and I wish I could heart it more.

Your thoughts are exactly why I hope he can find a better appellate lawyer. The person he worked with seemed to be happy to just get it done. Even Taylor Schabusiness had a defense team that had her evaluated for mental issues.

This part might get deleted but I did NOT like the whole subtext by the prosecution and judge that somehow bringing children from Russia/Ukraine was to "give them a better life in the greatest country in the world". I'll find the time stamps if you want of what the prosecution and judge said/implied but adopting any child from any (what was then perceived as a "developing" or "war-torn" country) doesn't somehow make adoptive parents saviors or any more heroic. It is a struggle to adopt within our own country. I just didn't like this savior syndrome.... MOO

Yes, agreed --if that's what transpired here ?
Have read about that 'savior syndrome' although sometimes referred to as 'white savior syndrome', and as of right now it sounds more like the judge said/implied it, and not the adoptive parents of Dima ?

The parents are the only victims, imo, in this tragic case; so I don't want to victim blame, where no blame is due -- if that makes sense.
Wondering here if Dima was badly affected by his years in the orphanage and already capable of much violence, just not enough information given to his adoptive parents ?

Did the orphanage let Robbie and Jennifer know of any previous red flags ?
Or was he misrepresented to them ?
Am seriously wondering how much they knew about him before bringing him into their homes.
Imo.

2018 is 7 years ago. So he was only 15 (if he is indeed 22 now). For some reason I assumed his rage and anti social behavior began more recently
They adopted him at 14. So he was seriously in trouble pretty immediately. His poor parents must have gone through hell for several years then, trying to raise him. So heartbreaking, I'm sure they tried their best.

At this time, I've only read that the adoptive parents were good to him.
If Dima says otherwise, I'll take it with the proverbial grain as they're deceased and cannot defend themselves.
It looks as if they documented a lot of their new family life on social media and it seems they tried to give him the best life ?

Rest in peace, Robbie and Jennifer !
Thank you for trying and for caring enough to give this teen a decent opportunity in life.
As an adult, he could have moved back if he was unhappy.
There was no need to murder anyone.
Senseless.
Omo.