A man is accused of kidnapping his estranged then-wife and planning to kill them both in a murder-suicide. Trevor Steven Summers, 45, stands trial in Hillsborough County, Florida. You can watch in the player above.
Summers allegedly kidnapped his wife in March 2017, authorities said in local reports. He tricked his children into letting him into her home, authorities have said, according to Fox 13 News.
“This was a man I trusted,” daughter Arden Summers said, according to the outlet. “This is a man who I thought could do no wrong and just to know that he used me to do what he wanted to do hurts more than anything.”
But no one was going to die in this case. The wife, now known as Alisa Mathewson, survived and remarried. She is expected to testify against her ex-husband.
UPCOMING TRIAL begins Aug. 22.DEFENDANT IS REPRESENTING HIMSELF. FL v. Trevor Summers. @LawCrimeNetwork will bring you gavel-to-gavel coverage. Summers charged with kidnapping, sexual battery, attempted murder among other chrgs against his estranged wife (at the time, now ex). pic.twitter.com/R7JvKvpqAu
— Cathy Russon (@cathyrusson) August 16, 2022
Summers was expected to represent himself at trial, having gone through all his attorneys. He ostensibly split with his last one over difference of opinion on legal strategy, but he ended up on Monday walking back his decision to go pro se.
BREAKING: Defendant #TrevorSummers has decided NOT to represent himself just moments before jury selection was to begin. https://t.co/iRKpVX1avg pic.twitter.com/gREnhNgkET
— Cathy Russon (@cathyrusson) August 22, 2022
Mathewson had anticipated having to face cross-examination from the person she said terrorized her.
“As a victim, it’s a little scary, it’s a little intimidating,” she told the outlet in a previous report. “I have a lifetime protective order against him, and he’s going to be right in front of me, questioning me about the crimes he committed against me.”
Note: Summers walked back his decision to represent himself.
[Mugshot via Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office]
