CHARLOTTE COUNTY: Opening statements began Monday in the trial of 48-year-old Scott Huss, who is accused of stabbing and killing his Russian-born wife 31-year-old Yana Huss in front of her son April 25, 2007.
Scott and Yana met online and married in 2003. Yana had a son, Peter, from a previous marriage, and the couple had a daughter, Katrina.
As the marriage deteriorated, there were several calls to Charlotte County deputies for domestic violence incidents.
April 11, 2007, Yana filed for divorce.
Barbara Demis, who went to church with Yana and the kids, testified that on Sunday, April 22, Scott went to church looking for Yana. Demis told him to leave and called the police.
Yana stayed at the shelter since Scott was looking for her.
A worker from the shelter testified Yana stayed there for several days before her death because she was scared of Scott. She even stayed there the night before her death.
Joyce Huss, Scott's mother, also testified. She said she went to Punta Gorda to help Scott find an apartment because Yana had a restraining against him. Joyce said she tried to have Yana evicted from her home.
Scott is facing second degree murder charges.
BACKGROUND- OPENING STATEMENTS
According to prosecutors, on April 25th, Yana left Katrina with a babysitter while she and Peter went to the house. They had pets and other belongings there.
When they arrived, Scott showed up and told Peter to go into the bathroom and not to come out. Scott had a gun and knife in his hand, prosecutors said.
In the laundry room, Scott stabbed Yana 11 times and her throat was cut, prosecutors said.
While this happened, Peter heard his mom scream and witnessed some of the attack, the prosecution said. Scott and Peter left the house, leaving bloody footprints leading to the car.
Scott drove to Longwood, Florida to his mother's house. He left Peter in the street in front of his mother's house with a suitcase, prosecutors said.
Joyce Huss thought it was odd that Scott just dropped Peter off.
Joyce testified that on April 25th, she knew Peter was outside of her house because she heard her dogs barking. Then, she saw him standing on the sidewalk.
When she got close to Peter she saw blood on his shirt. Prosecutors say that blood matches Yana's DNA.
Joyce went to the store and bought Peter clothes. When she opened his suitcase she found a letter from Scott. Joyce and Scott's brother Michael called deputies.
A well being check was conducted at the Rickover Street home and Yana's body was found around 3 or 4 p.m.
Around 11 p.m., Scott was located in Tallahassee near the Beer Barn. He had a bank bag with $2900 inside and a bus ticket to Dallas in another name, prosecutors said.
Inside his motel room, they found a police scanner, hair color kit, a watch with blood matching Yana's DNA, and in the car they found Yana's purse.
The defense claims Scott loved his wife despite the false allegations of abuse she made against him. He met Yana on a Russian dating website and traveled to St. Petersburg, Russia.
Yana received a Visa to come to the US to marry Scott and brought Peter with her. The defense said Yana's first husband was killed by the Russian mafia.
The defense said Yana disappeared for days on end and Scott even found her at a motel in Miami with her former boyfriend in 2003. Scott claims the men with Yana had dark SUVs.
The defense said Yana was part of a "green card" operation and the Russian mafia murdered her because she was reluctant to file for divorce.
The defense said Scott received a prepaid cell phone from Yana the day before her murder. She called him on that phone the day of her murder and was scared. When Scott went to the house to check to on her, he found two dark SUVs at the house. Inside the house, he found her body in the laundry room, according to the defense.
The defense claims Scott was afraid of the Russian Mafia so he took Peter to his mother's house in Longwood and he fled to Tallahassee.
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