Man Claims Friend Took Elevator Moments Before Fatal 25th-Floor Balcony Plunge, Say Police

In a tragic turn of events, a Florida man is facing serious charges after his friend fell to his death from a high-rise balcony. Corey Hutterli, aged 37, has been charged with second-degree murder following the death of 35-year-old Justin Zelin. The incident occurred on February 15 at the Akoya Condominium building, where Zelin plummeted from the balcony of Hutterli’s 25th-floor apartment.

Details from the incident reveal that Zelin made a distress call to 911 at 10:20 a.m., during which he was heard urging Hutterli to leave his apartment. The call, however, took a grim turn when Zelin suddenly went silent, and dispatchers captured the unmistakable sounds of a struggle.

During the call, Zelin was overheard pleading, “Get away from me, Sasha,” using Hutterli’s nickname. Despite his repeated requests for Hutterli to exit the premises, the situation escalated, and Zelin’s voice was no longer audible after the struggle began.

According to authorities, surveillance footage from the condominium recorded the moment Zelin tragically hit the ground outside the building at approximately 10:30 a.m. Police arrived within a minute and encountered Hutterli, who was visibly agitated and had apparently dashed outside without his shoes. In his initial interaction with officers, Hutterli reportedly exclaimed, “What’s going on? Somebody… he freaked out, attacked me.”

When questioned by the police about his whereabouts, Hutterli initially claimed uncertainty, saying, “No, I don’t know where he is. I kept telling him to relax.” Upon further inquiry about Zelin’s location, Hutterli misleadingly stated, “He went to the elevator.”

Police wrote in the complaint that Hutterli told them that he left Zelin’s apartment when he asked him to, but surveillance cameras showed him leaving the apartment one minute after Zelin’s body was seen falling outside.

When police searched Zelin’s apartment, they found it to be in “disarray” with the balcony doors open. On the balcony were Hutterli’s sandals and blood on the railing. Throughout the apartment, police found tufts of beard hair that was determined to belong to Hutterli. While executing a search warrant at the apartment later that night, investigators found Hutterli’s backpack, which also contained tufts of his beard hair, a find that police alleged was an attempt to “retrieve and conceal evidence from the scene.”

Investigators also allegedly found ketamine in Hutterli’s backpack.

Hutterli invoked his right to counsel after he was brought to the police station for an interview. Detectives said they observed cuts and lacerations on Hutterli’s hands, redness and scratches on his arms, and patches on his face where it appeared chunks of his beard were pulled out.

Months later, Hutterli’s DNA was allegedly matched to the blood found on the balcony railing; the blood found on Hutterli’s clothing was allegedly matched to Hutterli and Zelin.

Hutterli was arrested on Wednesday and charged with second-degree murder and burglary with assault and battery. He is being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, where his bond has not yet been set. His next court date was not available.

During a court appearance on Thursday, Hutterli’s defense attorney told the court, “There is no eyewitness to any alleged act that caused the decedent’s death. No statements or admission from Mr. Hutterli acknowledging any criminal conduct, no direct evidence establishing how or by whom the fatal injuries were inflicted.”