Investigators say the case moved from a fatal fall to a murder charge after investigators matched emergency audio, surveillance footage and blood evidence.

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — A Feb. 15 911 call from a 25th-floor condo became the first piece of a murder investigation after police said Justin Zelin was heard pleading with a friend to leave before he fell to his death.

Miami Beach police arrested Corey Hutterli, 37, of Parkland, on April 8 after nearly two months of investigation into Zelin’s death at the Akoya Condominium, 6365 Collins Ave. Hutterli is charged with second-degree murder and burglary with assault or battery. Police say the case turns on a short timeline inside the apartment, Hutterli’s statements to officers, the condition of the unit and later DNA results. Hutterli’s defense has challenged the case as circumstantial, while prosecutors say the evidence supports the charges.

The police account begins at about 10:20 a.m., when Zelin, 35, called 911 to report a disturbance in his apartment. Dispatchers heard him telling Hutterli to leave, according to the arrest complaint described in public reports. Zelin also told a person he called Sasha to get away from him. Investigators said Sasha was a name used by Hutterli. The call stayed open as Zelin stopped speaking. Police said dispatchers then heard sounds they described as a violent struggle. Within minutes, security cameras at the high-rise captured Zelin’s body striking the pavement outside the building. Police said that video placed the fall at about 10:30 a.m., after the 911 call had already captured the confrontation inside the unit.

Officers reached the apartment area moments after the fall and encountered Hutterli, who police said appeared distressed, agitated and in a rush. He had no shoes on, an observation that later mattered because investigators said they found his sandals on the balcony. Police said Hutterli told officers that Zelin had attacked him and that he had tried to calm him down. When officers asked where Zelin was, Hutterli first said he did not know. Police said he then told them Zelin had gone to the elevator. Investigators wrote that the building’s surveillance footage did not support that account because cameras showed Zelin falling outside before Hutterli left the apartment. Police also said Hutterli asked whether Zelin had jumped. That question became another detail investigators weighed as they compared his words with the video timeline and the emergency call.

The apartment scene gave investigators more evidence of a struggle. Police said the balcony doors were open, the unit was disordered and blood was found on the balcony railing. Tufts of beard hair were scattered through the apartment, according to the complaint. Detectives later said testing linked the hair to Hutterli. Officers also documented injuries on Hutterli, including cuts on his hands, scratches and redness on his arms, and missing patches of beard hair on his face. Police have not publicly released a full reconstruction of the physical movements inside the apartment, but they said the condition of the scene and Hutterli’s injuries supported an account of a fight before Zelin went over the railing. The medical finding publicly reported in the case listed blunt force trauma after the fall.

Forensic testing later strengthened the case, according to police. Investigators said Hutterli’s DNA matched blood found on the balcony railing. They also said blood on Hutterli’s clothing contained DNA linked to both Hutterli and Zelin. Police said they found Hutterli’s backpack during a later search warrant in the apartment. The bag contained more beard hair, investigators said, and police alleged its location and contents suggested an effort to recover or conceal evidence from the scene. Investigators also said ketamine was found in the backpack. Public reports have not established that the drug evidence explains the motive, and police have not publicly described why the confrontation began. Those gaps are expected to draw attention as lawyers review the discovery materials and prepare arguments over what the physical evidence can and cannot prove.

The charging decision came after police and prosecutors weighed the emergency call, the video timeline and the laboratory results. A second-degree murder charge in Florida does not require proof of premeditation, but prosecutors must prove an unlawful killing carried out with a depraved mind and without lawful justification. The burglary with assault or battery charge adds the claim that Hutterli entered or remained in the apartment while committing or intending to commit an offense. The arrest did not end the fact-finding process. It moved the case into court, where police reports, lab results, camera footage and witness testimony can be tested by both sides. The burden now shifts from probable cause to proof in criminal proceedings, a higher standard than the one used to justify an arrest.

The location also shaped the investigation. The Akoya is a tall oceanfront condominium tower on Collins Avenue in Mid-Beach, where lobby cameras, elevator records and exterior surveillance can help establish who moved through the building and when. Police have publicly emphasized camera footage showing the fall and Hutterli’s exit from the unit, but they have not released every recording or a complete map of the camera system. That means the public timeline remains a summary of what investigators say they saw, not a full exhibit list. Defense lawyers can seek the original footage, the dispatch recording, building access records and reports from every officer who entered the scene or handled evidence after the first officers arrived and secured the apartment.

Hutterli’s lawyer challenged the state’s theory during an early court appearance. The defense said there was no eyewitness to an act that caused Zelin’s fall, no confession and no direct proof showing who caused the fatal injuries. The defense also pointed to the limits of circumstantial evidence, saying the court should not assume the missing moments from the apartment. Prosecutors and investigators have not publicly filled every gap, including the exact nature of the relationship between the men and any clear motive. Those unknowns remain central to the next phase of the case, even as police say the evidence already supports the charges. Hutterli has not been convicted, and the allegations must be proven in court through admissible evidence and sworn testimony.

Zelin’s death also drew grief from people who knew him outside the police timeline. Local reports identified him as a Harvard graduate and a biotech professional. Amit Jolly, a friend, said Zelin had been “a big presence” in the Jewish community and the biotech community. Jolly said Zelin’s work had helped people and that his life should not be reduced to the final minutes captured by dispatch audio and cameras. “It’s very important to have Justin be remembered for something so much more than just those final moments,” Jolly said. Friends described the death as both shocking and difficult to understand because the public account still leaves questions about why the confrontation happened. Jolly said each new detail seemed to bring more questions for people close to Zelin.

The public record remains incomplete in several ways. Police have not announced a clear motive, and reports have not established whether the men had a dispute before the 911 call. The exact words heard after Zelin stopped speaking have not been fully released, and the case file is expected to grow as prosecutors disclose evidence to the defense. What is known is narrower but serious: Zelin called for help, the call captured a struggle, he fell from a high floor, and investigators later said Hutterli’s injuries, statements and DNA evidence tied him to the scene. Those facts will be tested against any alternate explanation raised in court, including any defense claim that the fall cannot be tied to a criminal act beyond a reasonable doubt.

Hutterli remained held without bond at Miami-Dade County’s Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center after his arrest. The next steps are expected to include filings, evidence exchange and hearings over the state’s proof, with the 911 call and balcony evidence likely to remain central.

Author note: Last updated May 4, 2026.