Sasha Samsudean

Who was Sasha Samsudean?

Sasha Samsudean was born on July 4, 1988, in New York, United States. Upon graduating from the University of Florida, Sasha worked as a social media manager for a real estate and apartment company.

Sasha Samsudean Disappears

Sasha worked hard during the week and liked to go out on weekends, exactly what she did the night she went missing. On October 17, 2015, Sasha went to the Attic Bar on 68 East Pine Street with some of her friends. At 12.30 am, Sasha decided to call it a night and headed home to her apartment. However, when Sasha arrived home at her apartment complex, security guard Stephen Duxbury wouldn’t let her inside since she didn’t have her access key or cell phone, even though he had seen her before.

Two witnesses noticed that Sasha was alone and intoxicated, so they decided to help her get home from the bar. They said they saw her sneak into the building behind another tenant after the security guard refused to help her. That was the last time anyone saw Sasha Samsudean alive.

The following day Sasha was meant to meet up with her friends for breakfast. But she didn’t show. Her friends began calling and texting her, but they received no response. This was very unlike Sasha. She was very into her social media and texting. It was unlike her not to respond.

Concerned, they decided to head to her apartment building to check on her. They knocked on her door and called out to her, but yet again, they received no response. Finally, after calling the hospitals and jails in the area to make sure she wasn’t there, Sasha’s friend Anthony called the police to report her missing.

They Found Sasha Samsudean

Police arrived at Sasha’s apartment soon after the call was placed to do a welfare check. Initially, everything looked normal, but then they saw her. An officer entered her bedroom, where he saw hair and an arm sticking out of the comforter. It was Sasha. There were marks on her neck, an obvious sign of strangulation, and the apartment smelt of cleaning supplies. Police also came across a shoe print and a condom wrapper. Sasha Samsudean was deceased.

Investigation

Police immediately began their search for Sasha’s killer. The apartment complex had security cameras on all floors, in the halls, and near the exits. They also took the surveillance video from the street cameras. On the surveillance video, they see Sasha intoxicated, making her way home, and the two women who helped her. They also see her talking to security guard Stephen as she tried to find her key to enter the building and a concerned resident asking her if she was okay.

Investigators interviewed Stephen Duxbury, the Port Orange security guard on duty that night. He said that he saw Sasha that night when she was trying to get into the building and that she was intoxicated and didn’t have her cell phone or key fab. After a while, he told her he had to return to work and couldn’t help her, and he didn’t see her again.

A medical examiner ruled Sasha’s cause of death as strangulation, and foreign male DNA evidence was found on her body.

Suspects

Strangulation is commonly a crime of passion, so police decided to investigate two of Sasha’s ex-boyfriends.

The first to be questioned was a man named Taylor. He said he was working that night as a bartender and let them take a DNA sample. He was ruled out.

The second was a man named Ben. His DNA also did not match and was ruled out as a suspect.

The third and final suspect was Port Orange security guard Stephen Duxbury. He said he left work at 6 am, but surveillance footage showed he was still at the apartment complex at 6.36 am. In the footage, he was carrying two garbage bags, the same plastic garbage bags found in Sasha Samsudean’s apartment. It was not Stephen’s job to take out the resident’s trash. Stephen took a polygraph test which he failed, and the police took a DNA sample. Stephen’s DNA matched the foreign DNA found on Sasha’s body. Stephen also had bite marks on his forearm, assumed to be defensive wounds inflicted by Sasha as he brutally assaulted her.

Stephen Duxbury is Arrested

In 2017 Stephen Duxbury was found guilty of first-degree murder, attempted sexual battery with physical force, and burglary of a dwelling with assault and battery. He received two life sentences for first-degree murder and rape and an additional 15 years for burglary. Stephen Duxbury had no previous criminal history.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Where is Stephen Duxbury now?

A. Stephen Duxbury was quickly found guilty of first-degree murder, which so much evidence against him. As a result, he was sentenced to two life sentences for first-degree murder and rape. On top of this, he received an additional 15 years for burglary. Stephen Duxbury is incarcerated at the Graceville Correctional Facility in Jackson County, Florida.

Q. Who killed Sasha Samsudean?

A. Stephen Duxbury, a security guard at Sasha’s apartment complex, was convicted of her murder in 2017. He was placed at the crime scene with forensic evidence when his DNA matched that found on Sasha’s body at the crime scene.

Q. What happened to Sasha Samsudean?

A. Sasha was murdered in her apartment complex by security guard Stephen Duxbury after a night out with friends. Police found her in her bedroom later that day. She had been stranguled.