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Attorney Of Suspected Murderer: 'I'm Shocked He Escaped'

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FORT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) – The fourth floor of the Broward County courthouse remained closed Friday afternoon – hours after a suspected murderer escaped from one of the courtrooms.

Dayonte Resiles' attorney Dohn Williams told CBS4's Carey Codd he never expected this in a million years.

Resiles faced a critical court hearing Friday over whether prosecutors could seek the death penalty against him for the murder of Jill Halliburton Su during a burglary of her Davie home in September 2014.

Williams said Resiles is a soft spoken polite young man who seemed optimistic about his chances of avoiding the death penalty. Williams said he was shocked by the news of the escape.

"On my way to court I learned that he escaped," said Williams.

The question is where did he go?

Court records show Resiles is no stranger to the criminal justice system.

Since 2013, he's been arrested six times in Broward County for charges including murder, several counts of burglary and grand theft from cases in 2014 as well as possession of ammunition by a convicted felon.

According to the court documents, in four of Resiles' criminal cases, investigators found his DNA on items inside the home that was broken into.

In the murder case, CBS4 News obtained crime scene video more than a year ago showing a knife at the home, a belt believed to have been used to restrain Jill Su and crime scene markers throughout the house.

At the time of his arrest, prosecutors said part of the case is built on Resiles' DNA.

"There's no explanation for the defendant's DNA to be inside a home that he does not live in or has no ties to," said a prosecutor.

Resiles is 21-years old, 5 feet 10 inches tall, 175 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. He has multiple tattoos on his arms and neck. He was wearing a white t-shirt and black shorts when he escaped after shedding his jail uniform and cuffs.

Codd spoke to one of the alleged victims of Resiles' burglary spree in 2014.

That victim – who did not want to be named – said he's concerned about Resiles' escape and how he was able to get out of his cuffs or shackles and get away from deputies here at the courthouse.

Attorney Williams simply cannot understand how this happened.

"I've never had a client escape like this in 43 years of practice," said Williams.

A longtime courthouse insider that Codd spoke with brought up some very good questions about how this happened. He said it's clear that Resiles almost certainly had to have a key to get out of his handcuffs or shackles.

But how did he get it? Was it smuggled in by someone? Was it provided by someone that works there? These are likely questions that investigators are trying to get answers to.

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