New surveillance and body camera videos show the events surrounding the death of a man who police said was thrown from the 25th floor of his Miami Beach condominium building.
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The videos obtained by NBC6 on Tuesday show some of the moments before, during and after the Feb. 15 death of Justin Zelin at the Akoya Condominium at 6365 Collins Avenue.
The suspect in his death, 37-year-old Corey Hutterli, is facing second-degree murder and other charges in the incident.
One surveillance video shows what appears to be the two men entering the building days earlier, on Feb. 12.
Another surveillance video shows Zelin falling to the ground next to the building before a man approaches to check on him.
Police body camera footage shows officers responding to the scene as Zelin’s body is seen on the ground nearby.
Miami Beach Police said Zelin, who lived on the building’s 25th floor, had called 911 to report a disturbance in the apartment.
On the call, Zelin was heard repeatedly telling Hutterli to leave, and a struggle could be heard between Hutterli and Zelin, police said.
A short time later, surveillance video showed Zelin’s body hitting the pavement on the ground floor of the building, an arrest report said.
Officers responded and Hutterli was seen leaving Zelin’s apartment “in what appears to be an excited state” wearing socks but no shoes, the report said.
“What’s going on? Somebody, he freaked out, attacked me,” Hutterli told an officer, according to the report.
The officer asked Hutterli if he was alone and he responded “No, I don’t know where he is I kept telling him to relax,” the report said.
Hutterli later spontaneously said “What is the situation? Did he jump?” the report said.
Hutterli was detained and allowed to call his mother, and the conversation was captured by an officer’s body worn camera. According to the report, Hutterli said he was leaving the apartment after Zelin asked him to leave.
Zelin’s apartment was found in disarray and Hutterli’s sandals were found on the balcony, where what appeared to be a small smudge of blood was found on a railing, the report said.
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Clumps of what appeared to be Hutterli’s beard hair were found scattered in the living room and his bucket hat was found on a couch, officials said.
The report said Hutterli’s backpack also contained a large chunk of beard hair and a jacket with a small baggie of ketamine in the pocket.
Hutterli wouldn’t speak with a detective, who noticed he had a laceration to his right thumb, a small cut on his left hand, scratches on his cheek and bicep and several patches of beard missing, the report said.
Authorities said small droplets of suspected blood were found on Hutterli’s shirt and the jacket he was wearing when he left the apartment.
Investigators later determined a violent altercation occurred between Zelin and Hutterli and that Zelin suffered fatal injuries due to the altercation, police said.
“During said physical altercation defendant Hutterli caused for victim Zelin to perish due to blunt force trauma from decent from height (victims apartment located on 25th floor),” the report said.
But court records filed by defense attorneys last week paint a different picture of what happened in the apartment.
The attorneys wrote that Hutterli was an overnight guest at his friend’s Miami Beach apartment, referring to Zelin as “JZ.”
“In the morning, JZ came out of his bedroom screaming at Hutterli, who had slept on the couch in the living room,” the court records said.
The attorneys wrote that after a few seconds, Zelin called 911.
“Initially, JZ sounds calm and coherent with the 911 operator. However, after a few seconds, for no apparent reason, JZ starts screaming in what can only be described as a complete break with reality,” the court records said. “JZ can be heard ranting, claiming that he was killed by a homeless person, and insisting that he is dead.
“During this mental break, JZ ran in and out of the apartment, and then he went over the balcony of his 25th floor condo and fell to his death.”
The attorneys wrote that Hutterli was “in an obvious state of shock” so he grabbed his belongings and left the apartment, and that’s when he was detained by police.
Hutterli, who has been jailed since his arrest in April, appeared at a hearing on Tuesday and has another hearing scheduled for Wednesday as he’s seeking pre-trial release.
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