Man charged in 2019 killings of 2 women at luxury Miami highrise takes the stand

Nearly six years after two women were found slashed and brutally murdered inside a luxury condominium complex in Miami's Edgewater neighborhood, the killer confessed to the crimes in open court while testifying in his own trial and claiming it was done in self-defense.

Franklyn Delanoy Williams, 51, is facing two second-degree murder charges for stabbing his girlfriend Sophia Simpson, 35, and her cousin, 27-year-old Gabrella Griffith, amid an argument back on May 7, 2019.

"I told her 'I am leaving you' and she got mad. She slapped me and she said 'you are not leaving me,'" Williams said during his testimony Thursday, while describing what Simpson supposedly told him before fighting.

While trying to convince jurors of his version of the story, Williams went on to explain he had become concerned about their 10-year long relationship after learning his girlfriend married another man with the hope of addressing her immigration status. Williams said he felt their trust was violated and felt cheated.

According to how Williams described the argument, Simpson then grabbed a knife and stabbed him first.

"She grabbed the knife and I was sitting on the bed," he said. "She came and stabbed me. I held up my hands and I had gotten cut."

Amid the tussling, Williams got control of the knife. Around the same time, Griffith supposedly surprised him from behind and placed him in a chokehold.

Claiming self defense, Williams said he began stabbing both women back and forth.

"I couldn't breathe," said Williams. "It's like I felt my neck was going to snap."

Prosecutors, however, do not believe this is a case of self-defense.

Simpson was found with more than 50 wounds while her cousin was found with 10 wounds.

While questioning Williams, prosecutors highlighted how he did not call police nor an ambulance.

"You didn’t call the police when they weren’t breathing?" said an attorney.

"No. I was in a panic," Williams said.

"You didn’t call an ambulance?" the attorney said.

"No," Williams said.

"You didn’t call anyone for help?" said an attorney.

"No," Williams said.

Williams failed his attempt to commit suicide, went to his mother's house in Fort Lauderdale, and turned himself into police five days after the fatal stabbings.

Jurors could begin deliberating on whether or not the deaths were in self-defense or if they were second-degree murder on Friday.