Nude man beats neighbor, 76, after burglarizing her Sunny Isles Beach apartment, cops say

‘He really roughed her up terribly,’ victim’s sister says

SUNNY ISLES BEACH, Fla. – A 76-year-old Sunny Isles Beach woman was left battered and bloodied after a man who lives in her building broke into her unit while nude and beat her over the weekend, according to police.

Marco Tulio Russi, 43, is now facing a charge of burglary with assault or battery, a first-degree felony following his arrest in connection with Sunday’s incident, which happened at a building at 17000 N. Bay Road.

His case is separate from that of 37-year-old Serghei Tcaciuc, who’s also accused of burglarizing a Sunny Isles Beach condo in the buff. Police said the day before Russi’s arrest, Tcaciuc broke into a woman’s unit in a building along Collins Avenue and exposed himself to a woman who was sleeping with her 3-year-old son.

In Sunday’s incident, police said a naked Russi knocked on the victim’s door.

The woman didn’t know him.

“When she opened the door, it looked like what she thought was a woman,” the victim’s sister said. “And when she opened the door, he walked into the apartment and she said ‘Hey, what are you doing? Get out of here!’”

Marco Russi (WPLG)

The victim’s sister continued, “She started to scream and he grabbed her by the hair and he hit her head in the floor.

“Her eyes are black and blue, her face is black and blue. She got two stitches in her head. He really roughed her up terribly,” the victim’s sister said.

After beating the woman, Russi “ran out of the apartment and attempted to make entry into other apartments on that floor.”

“She’s 76 years old,” the victim’s sister said. “I am so thankful to God that she lives through this.”

“She’s 76 years old,” the victim’s sister said. “I am so thankful to God that she lives through this.”!” from a balcony — sans clothes.

Russi’s arrest report, which identifies him as an Ecuadorian national, states that investigators suspect he was under the influence of drugs at the time.

Russi faces a laundry list of charges, including burglary with assault or battery, indecent exposure, indecent exposure and resisting an officer with violence.

He’s being held without bond in the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center as of Tuesday.


About the Authors

Reporter Rosh Lowe has been covering news for nearly two decades in South Florida. He joined Local 10 in 2021.

Chris Gothner joined the Local 10 News team in 2022 as a Digital Journalist.

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