Sasha Samsudean's parents help others victims' families with grief

Victim's parents speak at National Crime Victims' Rights week event

ORLANDO, Fla. – Sasha Samsudean's parents spoke publicly for the first time Wednesday after their daughter was murdered by her apartment complex security guard in 2015 as part of an annual victims' rights breakfast at the Orange County Sheriff's Office.

Samsudean was murdered by Stephen Duxbury, in October of 2015. Duxbury was convicted in November and sentenced to life in prison.

"It hurts, it hurts a whole lot," Sasha's father, Ken Samsudean, said. 

Ken and Tara Samsudean still struggle with the grief more than two years after their daughter was killed. The couple is honoring their daughter's legacy by working  with the Orange County Sheriff's Office to help other families deal with the grief that comes with being a victim.

"Sometimes you don't know what you don't know," Ken Samsudean said. "We help ourselves by telling our story, but we also help them by listening to their stories."

Tara Samsudean said she struggled to go back to work as a trauma nurse after her daughter's death. She's channeling her grief toward those going through a similar situation as part of an annual victims' rights breakfast.

"They've already dealt with the loss of a loved one, that's enough in (and) of itself," said Sandara Williams, a victim advocate with the Sheriff's Office. "So, what we try to do is make sure they don't get re-victimized."

Learn more about the victim advocates program at the Orange County Sheriff's Office here.


About the Author:

It has been an absolute pleasure for Clay LePard living and working in Orlando since he joined News 6 in July 2017. Previously, Clay worked at WNEP TV in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where he brought viewers along to witness everything from unprecedented access to the Tobyhanna Army Depot to an interview with convicted double-murderer Hugo Selenski.

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