VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – After a Leesburg man was arrested in 2021 for fatally attacking his coworker with a metal bat, he now faces life behind bars for his crimes, according to court records obtained by News 6.
Daytona Beach police originally said that they were called to the Richie Autos Cadillac Dealership because of a fight on Nov. 23, 2021.
In a release, prosecutors said that the man — identified as Steve Tilbury, 30 — had driven up to the maintenance department of the dealership where he and the victim worked.
“When he got out of his vehicle, he grabbed a metal bat, walked into the maintenance bay, and then came up from behind one of his co-workers, who was sitting at a desk doing paperwork, and struck him in the head with the bat,” the release reads.
[BELOW: Ocala police chief shares new details in man’s fatal shooting]
Investigators said that the victim — identified as 50-year-old Charles Cummings of Deltona — died from the blunt force injury at the hospital a week later.
Tilbury claimed that the night before, he had offered to help Cummings fix a car, but Cummings supposedly tried to stab him with a knife instead, detectives said.
“(Tilbury) stated he told (Cummings) to back off,” an affidavit reads. “He stated he climbed back in his truck and left.”
Regardless, Tilbury was convicted last month of second-degree murder, and he was sentenced this week to life in prison.
“For his murderous rage, the defendant deserves to spend the rest of his life in prison,” State Attorney R.J. Larizza said about the case.