Apopka man charged with first-degree murder claims he was fending off home invaders

APOPKA, Fla. — A 47-year-old Apopka man was in jail Wednesday on charges that he killed a woman who came to his home to give him a massage.

Charles Aikens claimed that he thought the woman who came to his home in March 2016 was a massage therapist, but he started to feel uneasy and asked her to leave.

The woman sent someone a text message, and Aikens said two men kicked down his front door moments later.

“I saw his gun,” Aikens said. “He tossed something to (the woman). I didn’t wait, I just ran and got my gun and came back and just started shooting.”

The woman, Jasmine McAfee, died as a result of the shooting, investigators said.

Aikens was initially arrested and charged with second-degree murder, but the charges were dropped in January.

He thought the ordeal was over, but investigators refiled new charges and Aikens turned himself in on Wednesday.

Aikens said he believes he was within his rights to defend himself.

“I had some people with the police department saying I was well within my rights,” he said. “Stand your ground, Castle Doctrine, things like that.”

Aikens is facing charges of first-degree murder, false imprisonment, shooting within a building, receiving for the purpose of prostitution and tampering with physical evidence.

Prosecutors did not release any information about why the charges against Aikens were dropped and then refiled.

Cox Media Group