Steve Tilbury Convicted for 2021 Daytona Beach Murder

Steve Tilbury was convicted of second degree murder for a 2021 killing at a car dealership in Daytona Beach. The 30-year-old Leesburg resident was charged with murder after he reportedly inflicted fatal wounds on Deltona resident Charles Cummings. The jury reached their verdict on Wednesday after over four hours of deliberation. Having been convicted of second degree murder instead of his initial charge of first degree premeditated murder, Tilbury would've been sentenced to mandatory life in prison. Now, Circuit Judge Kathryn Weston will have the ability to impose a lesser sentence on January 12th. According to reports about the incident, Tilbury was working with Cummings at Ritchey Cadillac on Nova Road in Daytona Beach when the incident occurred. He'd been employed there around five months. On November 23rd, 2021, he was shown on surveillance video hitting Cummings in the head with a baseball bat while Cummings was at a computer. One week after the attack, Cummings succumbed to his injuries. He was initially awake and alert when hospitalized. According to testimony from Volusia County Associate Medical Examiner Mary Ripple, Cummings suffered a long linear fracture to the skull. Tilbury contested that Cummings had attempted to stab him. Prior criminal charges brought against Tilbury in Volusia County include petty theft, resisting an officer, illegal carry of a concealed weapon, and accessory after the fact to a first degree felony. "For his murderous rage, the defendant deserves to spend the rest of his life in prison," said State Attorney R.J. Larizza in a statement following Tilbury's conviction. Assistant State Attorneys Andrew Urbanak and Erica Kane led the prosecution.