SerpApi.Org
RUSKIN, Florida (Court TV) — A 52-year-old Florida man is on trial for allegedly killing his “best friend” when he shoved him onto a dock, causing a serious head injury, and then pushed the victim into the water.
Kamal Padowski faces a first-degree murder charge in the May 25, 2024, death of Melvin Jimenez in Ruskin, which is near Tampa. The trial began on Tuesday and is expected to wrap up with closing arguments Wednesday.
Kamal Padowski, in white, allegedly shoved Melvin Jimenez onto the dock, killing him in Ruskin, Fla., (WFLA/YouTube).
A witness who walked past Padowski on the dock after the incident testified about what the defendant told her, according to a courtroom report from local NBC affiliate WFLA.
“‘I think I just killed my best friend,'” the witness recalled Padowski saying.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Padowski and Jimenez were drinking at a nearby restaurant when the suspect invited the victim back to his sailboat, which was named “All That Jazz.” But once they were out on the sailboat, the night apparently turned violent when Jimenez allegedly made a rude remark toward Padowski’s girlfriend.
Cops arrived at the scene and recovered Jimenez’s body before taking the suspect into custody.
In an interview after receiving his Miranda rights, Padowski allegedly claimed he kicked Jimenez off the boat and never saw him again.
But a video from the docks, which jurors saw Tuesday, showed otherwise.
It apparently depicted Jimenez walking off the boat and onto the dock. He was putting on his sandals when Padowski approached the victim in an “aggressive manner,” the affidavit said. Padowski allegedly shoved Jimenez, who fell and hit his head on the dock. Padowski then apparently grabbed the victim by the ankles and pushed him in the water.
“The victim appears motionless and sinks under the surface of the water,” cops wrote.
Padowski threw Jimenez’s sandals in the water as well.
“At the end of the day, what this case comes down to is the video,” Assistant State Attorney Rebekah Kaufman said during opening statements, per the Tampa Bay Times. “You came into this court with common sense. You are allowed to use it throughout the trial.”
Defense attorney Alex Stavrou put the onus on Jimenez, according to the Times. He said the victim was loud and “increasingly unpredictable” and made “serious threats” toward Padowski and his girlfriend. Stavrou also noted that the dock video contained no sound, which made it impossible to determine each man’s intent.
