Shannon Melendi - ten years later

[angelmom]

I live in Atlanta and spent many nights at the Softball Country Club cheering on my boyfriend's team. Later, when Shannon was abducted (http://www.melendiphotography.com/Melendi_Web/News.htm) from the area, it was a chilling reminder of how vulnerable we all are.

I can't imagine the horror for Shannon's family as the tenth anniversary of her disappearance approaches (March 26) and her body has still not been found. Her killer has never been charged. In fact, the main suspect was released from prison just 2 months ago. (http://www.local10.com/news/2715127/detail.html)

This might make a good "case of the month" for March in recognition of the anniversary. All her parents want are some answers.

[Love_Mama]

I read this whole thing. Is there any current website for her where we could leave a message?
xxxxxxxxxooooo
mama

[angelmom]

I read this whole thing. Was her body ever found?


Not that I have ever heard of or found out on the web. I think these cases (where the person is never found) freaks me out worse than even the most horrible murders. I can't imagine trying to go to work or school and continue on with the business of life not knowing where your child or sister or friend might be. Ten years and still no answers.

I know how hard it was to go on with my life after the losses of our babies, but we knew what had happened to them and where they were. This is beyond my comprehension. It breaks my heart.

[Love_Mama]

I hope you don't mind me asking Angelmom.......but what happened with your babies? You can PM me if you like.

It seems that there are a great many people on this forum who have gone through some terrible losses in their families. Maybe that's why I too am here. I think that we who have lost a child feel such a huge empathy towards other's who have too. Death is death........but not knowing where their missing children are must surely be the most excruciating thing imaginable. Ten years.........not knowing! How does this family sleep at night!

If you hear anything more on this.........be sure and let us know.

xxxxxxxxooo
mama

[WasBlind]

http://doenetwork.bravepages.com/1126dfga.html

Lots of matches for Shannon on yahoo

http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=%22Shannon+Melendi%22&ei=UTF-8&fr=fp-tab-web-t&cop=mss&tab=

Love_Mama, there is a contact us page on their web site, you can reach the family that way, and I have more info if you need or want it, ok.

With love and hope, Lanie

[angelmom]

I hope you don't mind me asking Angelmom.......but what happened with your babies? You can PM me if you like.

It seems that there are a great many people on this forum who have gone through some terrible losses in their families. Maybe that's why I too am here. I think that we who have lost a child feel such a huge empathy towards other's who have too. Death is death........but not knowing where their missing children are must surely be the most excruciating thing imaginable. Ten years.........not knowing! How does this family sleep at night!

If you hear anything more on this.........be sure and let us know.

xxxxxxxxooo
mama

Sorry, hadn't checked this thread in a while. No big secret, we lost three babies to miscarriage. Luckily I was diagnosed with a luteal phase defect and treated; now we have three healthy children.

For the last ten years I have volunteered with the pregnancy and infant loss support group that literally saved my life. It is called SHARE Atlanta (http://www.shareatlanta.org). This is a very common way to lose a child, and everyone handles it differently. Our goal, besides support, is to let parents know their options. One of the most common comments we get is that they never knew there was a group and thought they were crazy for feeling intense grief. I hear that even from women who had a loss twenty+ years ago. I don't think it ever goes away completely.

I agree that people who have experienced some type of tragedy are more affected by the heartbreak of others. Part of what enrages me about Laci and Conner's deaths is that I know so many daddies who would do anything for their wife to be carrying a healthy baby to term. Their helplessness is agonizing in the face of that smarmy smile on Scott's face.

Thanks for the hugs... you can never have too many!

edited to fix link

[angelmom]

We were just talking about this and look what was in today's paper:

AJC (http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/dekalb/0404/01melendi.html)

I hope they can come up with something so this guy isn't walking around free. He has a similar history to the guy who took Carlie.

[smile22]

its so sad to hear about all these teens children and adults that go missing and sometimes le take there time when someone is reported missing becuse they assume its like a family dispute or a goodlooking runaway sometimes i wish they could trade places with a mother or father of someone missing and they could see what they go through im only 22 and recently missing people and crimal justace has intrested me i think of all these people and i go it can happen to anyone, is it normal to be scared sometimes im at home alone with the cat and dog i live behind woods and sometimes i get scared that something might happen to me

i hope the family has closure and finds her so that they can be at some peace

[findcarrie]

Shannon Melendi's family continues to look for her and I'm so glad that Dekalb County has decided to reopen the case after 10 years. I saw it on the news just the other night on Channel 2.
I wish that Clinton County Ohio would do the same for Carrie's case. SOmething has to be done to stop people from disappearing and also something needs to be done to insure that nobody forgets after a certain amount of time passes. All too often, after it's broadcasted on the news a few times, people dont remember. The family and those closet to them never forget. I hope that something comes of this case very soon.

FindCarrie
www.findcarrieculberson.com

[smile22]

its so sad that after 10 years no news their are some cases where family still has no news and its been 29 years and still no answers some people think im a little to over cauous but one can never be i tell my friends i can be here to day and gone tomrow and its not a joke i wish all the sick people who do these things would stop

[LP Moderator]

its so sad that after 10 years no news their are some cases where family still has no news and its been 29 years and still no answers some people think im a little to over cauous but one can never be i tell my friends i can be here to day and gone tomrow and its not a joke i wish all the sick people who do these things would stop

Smile, my family waited 11 years to get the bad news. Unfortunately my parents passed before my sister's remains were found. It was 20 years ago this past February that she disappeared. She was only 19 years old. Please do continue to keep this family and the others who are also missing loved ones in your prayers. I can tell you from experience that it helps.

[WasBlind]

8-31-2004
A DeKalb County grand jury on Monday indicted Colvin "Butch" Hinton III on charges connected to the murder of Shannon Melendi.

The two-count indictment, announced at an afternoon news conference in which the victim's father Luis attended, came down more than 10 years after Melendi’s disppearance. Her body has never been found.

Hinton was scheduled for a court appearance at the DeKalb County Magistrate Court Tuesday afternoon, but it was canceled. The court date was apparently unnecessary.

Hinton is in the custody of DeKalb County authorities. He has been charged with murder and felony murder. Officials said he would have been charged with an additional count of kidnapping, but the statute of limitations has run out.

“Shannon Melendi is going to have her day in court and the district attorney’s office is going to be her voice,” said Jeffrey Brickman, the DeKalb County District Attorney.

“Our main focus as a family is that he will not hurt another family again,” said Luis Melendi, Shannon’s father. “I don’t want any other family to go through what we’ve been through over the last 10 years.”

http://www.11alive.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=51226

My prayers are with the Melendi family and with those prosecuting this case. I pray for justice for Shannon....and that she is found, and soon.

With HOPE, Lanie

[mom-a-licious]

I read the whole story, including Hinton's sexual assault history going all the way back to age 16. Read how he was let go to do it again over and over, and again even after Shannon was abducted. It made me :furious: to read the following: "Melendi {Shannon's dad} tried to establish the Shannon Melendi Foundation. Its motto: 'Keep sexual predators behind bars. Save our Children'. However, there was too much resitance from criminal rights advocates." Who the heck are these "advocates", and why are they more powerful in influencing how sexual predators are handled by the justice system? :banghead:

[Zman]

Police named Hinton as a suspect when they discovered he had served a two year sentence for kidnapping and molesting a 14-year-old girl in 1982.


Are you kidding me. Two years!! Two hundred years would not have been enough. But he got nine years for trying to beat an insurance company.

[Jeana (DP)]

Another absolutely beautiful girl with her whole life in front of her taken way too soon. Thank God the investigation is still moving forward. I hope her parents get to see this thing through.

[turbosleuthing]

Judge enters not guilty plea for man accused of killing

http://www.gwinnettdailyonline.com/GDP/archive/article8C7D5D3B54DC4A70B7DA5B0E8B2302B0.asp

[mysteriew]

A DeKalb County judge has placed a gag order on family and friends of Shannon Melendi, an Emory University student who vanished in 1994, telling them to stop making public comments about the man arrested in the case last year.

"Any continued statements the victim's loved ones may make to the media regarding this defendant have the potential to fatally prejudice the prosecution of this case," Superior Court Judge Anne Workman wrote in an order signed Tuesday.

The judge said she acted to protect the right of Colvin C. "Butch" Hinton III to have his murder trial before a jury not prejudiced by pretrial publicity. Workman noted that Hinton's trial on a federal arson charge in 1996 was moved to another state because of publicity about his status as the suspect in the Melendi case.

Hinton was charged with Melendi's murder last year after authorities said they received new evidence. They would not elaborate


http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/dekalb/0305/31melendi.html

[LazyCat08]

I read the whole story, including Hinton's sexual assault history going all the way back to age 16. Read how he was let go to do it again over and over, and again even after Shannon was abducted. It made me :furious: to read the following: "Melendi {Shannon's dad} tried to establish the Shannon Melendi Foundation. Its motto: 'Keep sexual predators behind bars. Save our Children'. However, there was too much resitance from criminal rights advocates." Who the heck are these "advocates", and why are they more powerful in influencing how sexual predators are handled by the justice system? :banghead:

I totally share in your rage and disgust that there are people out there who value the "rights" of criminal sex offenders who prey on children - over the well being of all families, children and the general community. I don't know who they are - maybe family and relatives of criminals, or people who were wrongly convicted and vindicated....I still don't get it REALLY. In my opinion, these people lack the ability to exist peacefully in our society - once someone is proven to be a murdering sex offender - they should be put to sleep!!! If it can't be proven beyond reason or circumstanial evidence - they should at the VERY least be locked up or seriously monitored by authorities for the rest of their lives! This is something I feel SO strongly about.
It is OBVIOUSLY a problem, it's plain to see just by the amount of similiar cases that exist and continue to occur. How many children have to be robbed of their innocence - or their lives? How many families have to lose loved ones - AT THE HANDS OF CRIMINALS WHO HAVE RECORDS OF ABUSING CHILDREN before this society smartens up? We can't solve every problem in the world - but we can at least try to keep violent criminals locked up where they belong - if they do not have the ability to control themselves.....
:furious:

[angelmom]

U\UcTYWYWZV&urcm=y]Link may not work...password site (http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/dekalb/0805/melendi0802a.html?COXnetJSessionIDbuild86=CwNrkC85 1fWrfGG9IreIGZK19BdDb0TvjbnoPYM6kzsP8yIAkqjT!18342 25605&UrAuth=`NYNUOcNVUbTTUWUXUTUZTYU\UWU_U`UZU)


Prison talks may figure in Melendi murder trial

By DAVID SIMPSON
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 08/02/05
DeKalb County prosecutors hope to use Colvin "Butch" Hinton's prison conversations and the accounts of women who say he attacked them to help persuade a jury that Hinton killed Shannon Melendi, an Emory University student who vanished in 1994.

Melendi's body never was found, and the grand jury that indicted Hinton for murder last year said it was not known how she died. Prosecutors cannot say how they hope to overcome those obstacles, because they — along with Hinton's lawyer and Melendi's family and friends — are under a judge's gag order intended to limit publicity before jury selection begins Aug. 10. But recent court filings by the district attorney's office offer some information about prosecutors' plans.

The prosecution won permission from Superior Court Judge Anne Workman to bring five inmates of federal prisons to the DeKalb County Jail so they can testify. Lead prosecutor John Petrey said in court papers that Hinton, who served eight years in prison ending in 2004, made statements about the Melendi case to the inmates.

The court papers do not show what the inmates say they learned from Hinton. But a transcript of an earlier hearing before Workman shows that Petrey said the grand jury last year heard "evidence concerning Mr. Hinton's statements about that day [March 26, 1994, when Melendi disappeared]. There was evidence about disposal of the body concerning Ms. Melendi, but there was no evidence as to the cause of death."

Prosecutors also have sought Workman's permission to use testimony from five women who say Hinton, now 44, attacked them years before Melendi disappeared. Court papers listed those alleged incidents as an attempted rape in 1977, sexual battery in 1981 and three attacks in 1982: a rape, an attempted rape and an attempted murder.

In 1982, Hinton was imprisoned in Illinois for kidnapping and taking indecent liberties with a 14-year-old girl. About six years earlier, he underwent psychiatric counseling in connection with an attempted rape in Kentucky.

Court files do not indicate whether Workman has ruled on whether the alleged earlier attacks can be used at Hinton's trial.

Melendi, 19, vanished from her part-time job at a softball park near Memorial Drive and I-285. Police said that Hinton, a Clayton County resident, was working as an umpire at the park, and he was a longtime focus of their investigation.

He was indicted last year after the DeKalb district attorney's office said that new, undisclosed information had been uncovered.

Hinton is being held without bond. He was released from federal prison last year on a 1996 conviction for trying to burn down his house to commit insurance fraud.

[mysteriew]

And when the man accused of killing her goes on trial Wednesday, Emory will be watching.

"There's definitely interest here," said Kent Alexander, the school's general counsel. "Emory is such a safe campus and this was such an anomaly that the tragedy took on even greater proportions than it would have otherwise."

Colvin C. Hinton III faces murder charges in the death of Melendi, a 19-year-old sophomore from Miami who vanished March 26, 1994, after leaving the Softball Country Club, where she and Hinton worked. The 44-year-old former softball umpire and butcher has pleaded not guilty.

Hinton, who was accused three times previously of abducting women in Illinois and Kentucky, served 15 months in prison for kidnapping a 14-year-old girl from Neponset, Ill., in 1982. He was long considered a suspect in Melendi's disappearance, but was not charged until last year after new evidence was passed from the former prosecutor to his successor.

Among the evidence: federal prison inmates in North Carolina who say Hinton made statements to them about the murder case when they served time together, and phone calls made to police and a campus center from a man who claimed to have abducted Melendi.

Also, records show a bow saw, a set of butcher knives, masking tape and a vacuum cleaner bag were seized from Hinton's suburban Atlanta home. Police have not said how the items tie into the case. Prosecutors are also hoping to use the testimony of the women Hinton was accused previously of abducting. A judge has not ruled on the request.
http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/mld/ledgerenquirer/12326179.htm

[mysteriew]

DeKalb County police were suspicious of Hinton, a Clayton County resident. He had been an umpire at the now-defunct Softball Country Club off I-285, where Melendi was working part time when she was last seen alive on March 26, 1994. He had been accused of sexual offenses before.

But authorities lacked the evidence — including a body — to charge Hinton. He wound up in federal prison anyway, convicted in 1996 of trying to burn down his house to commit insurance fraud. He was released last year, and shortly thereafter DeKalb authorities said they had found enough evidence to charge him with killing Melendi. Hinton has been jailed without bond since his arrest.

Prospective jurors in the trial will be questioned Tuesday. The trial is expected to last four to six weeks and to receive national attention.

Vasquez, now the Sunday features editor of The San Jose Mercury News in California, wants people to know Melendi as the person she was, not merely a victim.
http://www.ajc.com/news/content/metro/dekalb/0805/14melendi.html

[Angel's lil sis]

Hello everyone. My name is Monique Melendi, Shannon's sister. A friend of mine was doing a search on Google for recent articles and came across this forum. She immediately contacted me and sent me the link. My parents and I were speechless. We had no idea this forum existed. I am unable to say much, as most of you are aware we are under a gag order, but I CAN say thank you for your support. You have no idea how much this means to my family and I. Please keep Shannon in your prayers.

[Angel's lil sis]

Shannon's story from a childhood friend's point of view

http://www.ajc.com/opinion/content/opinion/0805/15edmelendi.html

[KT Can]

Monique,

Welcome to Websleuths! I just want to say that I think of Shannon and your family often. Although I live in Houston, I have been familiar with your situation almost from the beginning. Shannon's story is one that sticks with me because I have been a softball player on a co-ed team for well over ten years. When this happened to Shannon I remember my mother calling me and endlessly questioning me about the safety of the softball park I played at. I was probably around 23 at the time and thought that she was just being a nagging overreacting mother. Now, as a mother myself, and as an adult who is more aware of the evilness that exists in the world, I think about Shannon every time I leave the ballpark and always take the upmost precautions. I will keep you and your family in my thoughts and prayers, especially through the difficult trial time that lay ahead.

Regards,
KT Can (Karen)

[lisag]

Monique,

Thank you for psoting. We are all praying that your family gets answers and justice.

[Lakergirl123]

Monique~

Shannon is such a beautiful girl! I hope you get justice.

I will be praying for you and your family.

Laker~

[emma l]

Hey Monique!!!

Thanks for posting. It always brings it smack-bang into reality when a family member or friend posts here.

I know you cant say much but please do comment/correct where you can. Also one thing we here at Websleuths are good at is blabbing-we are a bunch of big mouths!! so please feel free to give us a nudge if you need anything publicised for example!!!

We're also generally a pretty supportive bunch- theres always usually someone online if you fancy a chat.

I hope you find your sister and know that people do care.

[angelmom]

Monique,

Thanks for posting. Shannon has been in my heart for a long time. I spent some time growing up in south FL and a lot of time in Atlanta. I hung out with a boyfriend at Softball Country Club around the time she disappeared (although I never had the chance to meet her and, luckily, never met Butch). I have never forgotten her story and always wondered if it would ever be solved. The op/ed piece in the AJC the other day was beautiful. I hope she keeps writing about Shannon as the case progresses.

Please know that your family is in our prayers. If you need anything in Atlanta, let me know and I'll do my best. Take care. :blowkiss: Jen

[Angel's lil sis]

Thank you all for your kind words. My mother and I will be flying to Atlanta on Sunday and my father will join us on Monday. The trial is set to begin Monday afternoon. Please keep Shannon in your prayers.

[Angel's lil sis]

If anyone is interested, Shannon's childhood friend, Anne Vazquez, will be doing a live interview with Rita Cosby (MSNBC) this Monday at 9 PM (EST).

[mysteriew]

There may not be a body or a crime scene linking Colvin "Butch" Hinton to the death of a 19-year-old Emory University student, but DeKalb County prosecutors say his own words prove his guilt.

"I didn't kill her, the demon inside me killed that girl," said Assistant District Attorney Mike McDaniel in his opening statement, quoting Hinton. "The police will never find her body because her ashes were scattered to the wind."

But Hinton's lawyer B.J. Bernstein reminded jurors that the alleged confessions did not come from the mouth of her client but instead, a number of jailhouse snitches who served time with him over an eight-year period.
http://www.courttv.com/trials/hinton/082205_ctv.html

[mysteriew]

A softball player testified Tuesday that in 1994 former umpire and current murder defendant Butch Hinton was so preoccupied with scorekeeper Shannon Melendi that he often looked at her when pitches were on the way to home plate.

Melendi vanished shortly after a game on March 26, 1994. Hinton is on trial for murder in DeKalb Superior Court.
http://www.ajc.com/news/content/metro/dekalb/0805/23melenditrial.html

[angelmom]

My heart just breaks reading these articles. I have always hoped that a trial would lead LE to find Shannon's remains, but today's testimony makes me wonder if there is anything to find. I just pray that there is enough evidence to know the truth and that the jury can return a verdict. It would add insult to injury if the murderer's willingness to butcher his victim this way made it impossible for justice to be served.

The Melendi family is in my prayers, as always. I hope justice comes soon. I hope it brings peace.

[Angel's lil sis]

I cannot even begin to DESCRIBE how sickenning it is to sit in that courtroom. All I can ask of you is to please keep Shannon in your prayers. And not just Shannon, but my parents as well. They need all the strength they can get to get through this. Once again, on behalf of my family and I, thank you for your love and support during this VERY difficult time. We truly do appreciate it from the bottom of our hearts. God bless.

[angelmom]

Angel's lil sis, I don't know how you are able to stand it. When I read in today's paper how they are attacking Shannon's character to defend that sick SOB I wanted to scream. I can't believe that pervert has the nerve to judge anyone else!!! I know you must be so torn between wanting to know everything and hating every word. I am wrapping you in prayer and sending thoughts of love and peace. :blowkiss:

[mysteriew]

The defense strategy for Colvin "Butch" Hinton in the Shannon Melendi murder trial began unfolding Tuesday as his lawyer asked Melendi's friends about the Emory University student's marijuana use and financial and academic problems.

Under questioning by prosecutors, Melendi's friends said she seemed to be coping well with her problems and continued to be outgoing and friendly. Davis described Melendi as a "very happy, energetic person who was very good-hearted, wanted to make the world a better place."

Also Tuesday, a softball pitcher testified that Hinton, the home plate umpire, was preoccupied with Melendi in a game shortly before she disappeared on March 26, 1994.

"I would be in the middle of the pitch and he would turn around and look at her," said Jerry Chastain of Byron. He said Hinton talked with Melendi between innings, lingering so long that players had to ask him to return to the game.

On cross-examination, Bernstein suggested that Hinton might have been helping Melendi, who was acting as a scorekeeper for the first time.

Another player, Robbie Sheppard of Thomaston, testified later that he heard Melendi ask Hinton one question about keeping the scorebook. And a park official testified that he asked both umpires to keep an eye on the scoring because Melendi was new.

Chastain and Sheppard also described seeing Hinton walk toward a parking lot and clubhouse area after a later game, with Melendi walking the same route a few minutes later.

Sheppard said he and Chastain stopped Melendi to ask if Hinton would umpire their next game. He said Chastain made an insulting remark about Hinton's umpiring. "She giggled and walked off," Sheppard testified.

Prosecutors say Melendi was never seen again.
http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/dekalb/0805/24melenditrial.html

[mysteriew]

Monique, I don't know if you are aware, but concernedperson has started a thread in the Trials forum, and that is where the articles about the trial are going. http://websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?p=780897#post780897

[angelmom]

(((Monique))) just wanted to send you a hug after reading today's paper about you and your mom having to testify. I can't imagine how hard that must have been...and how long you've waited to do it.


Today's AJC (http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/dekalb/0805/25a1melendi.html)

As she has done for 11 years, ever since her daughter disappeared, Yvonne Melendi fought through the tears.

Telling a too familiar story to a DeKalb County jury Wednesday, she identified a portrait of Shannon, frozen in time at age 19. She identified a ring her daughter "never took off." She wept at the memory of their last Christmas together, in Miami in 1993, and one of the last phone calls in which the Emory University student told her parents she loved them.

Superior Court Judge Anne Workman, presiding over the trial of the man accused of killing Shannon, offered to take a short break. Yvonne Melendi said she wanted to push on.

But the dam burst when she recalled the moment on Palm Sunday 1994 when she and her husband, Luis, realized something was horribly wrong.

They had gotten an urgent call to go to the home of her mother-in-law, she testified. They arrived to find the driveway thronged with relatives, including their other daughter, Monique. Luis Melendi instinctively knew the truth.

"My husband fell to his knees and said, 'Shannon! We'll never see her again!' " The mother's voice rose with her tears, and she turned away sobbing. In the back row, Shannon's father also cried.

Colvin "Butch" Hinton, who prosecutors say abducted Shannon from a DeKalb County softball park, sat straight and still, as he has through most of his trial this week.

The judge called a recess. Yvonne and Luis Melendi went into a hallway and hugged each other tightly.

Prosecutors can't discuss the case outside the courtroom because of a gag order, but Assistant District Attorney John Petrey's questioning of Yvonne Melendi helped make several points:

• The girl's mother rebutted defense suggestions that Shannon's disappearance might have been related to stress over money and school. She said her daughter was upbeat and happy in a phone call two days before she vanished.

• She offered a possible explanation for why no body or sign of violence was found and why it took 11 years for authorities to indict Hinton. She strongly criticized the way DeKalb police began their investigation, saying Shannon was dismissed as a runaway and that some police were preoccupied with avoiding media coverage. Other witnesses have noted that the police did not impound Shannon's car after her friends found it abandoned.

• Shannon's mother recounted the extensive campaign she and her husband waged to publicize the case, suggesting that if her daughter had gone anywhere of her own free will someone would have seen her and reported it.

Shannon Melendi vanished from her part-time job at the softball park on March 26, 1994. Hinton, who had served prison time for abducting a young girl, was an umpire that day on the same field where Melendi was keeping score.

Her parents flew to Atlanta within hours of getting the news of her disappearance and began giving interviews and distributing hundreds of posters seeking information. They later appeared on television with Oprah Winfrey, Maury Povich and John Walsh of "America's Most Wanted."

Yvonne Melendi is well versed in telling her family's story. But on Wednesday she achieved the long-sought goal of telling it to a jury.

After a recess, she returned to the witness stand with a thin, cried-out smile. She described the slow process of accepting that her daughter wasn't coming home, closing her checking account, and offering a reward for "information leading to her remains."

After about another hour of testimony, she was replaced on the witness stand by Monique Melendi, now 25. She fought tears of her own as she described a loving relationship with her sister, "my idol, my role model, my confidante, someone I looked up to, my friend."

Then she joined her parents in the back row, embracing them in turn.

Luis Melendi does not plan to testify.

[concernedperson]

I have been posting in the trial area about this case. But I have to say hearing from Shannon's mom sent me to oblivion. The pain was so raw and I haven't recovered yet. I want all crime victims to know that we follow and we speak when we can and you are never forgotten. We read and we add and we post sites and we do what we can.Just keep talking and we will dig further. It is about a world community and about a world community that cares. So, help us help you. Let us know.

[mysteriew]

I have been posting in the trial area about this case. But I have to say hearing from Shannon's mom sent me to oblivion. The pain was so raw and I haven't recovered yet. I want all crime victims to know that we follow and we speak when we can and you are never forgotten. We read and we add and we post sites and we do what we can.Just keep talking and we will dig further. It is about a world community and about a world community that cares. So, help us help you. Let us know.

Well said cp. I know you speak for me, I think you speak for all of us.

[angelmom]

I have been posting in the trial area about this case. But I have to say hearing from Shannon's mom sent me to oblivion. The pain was so raw and I haven't recovered yet. I want all crime victims to know that we follow and we speak when we can and you are never forgotten. We read and we add and we post sites and we do what we can.Just keep talking and we will dig further. It is about a world community and about a world community that cares. So, help us help you. Let us know.

ITA
:clap: :clap: :clap:

[angelmom]

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/0805/26melendi.html

Witness recounts grisly statements in Melendi trial

By DAVID SIMPSON
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 08/26/05

In a trial of many emotional moments, Allen "Buddy" Howell looked an unlikely witness to evoke tears in the courtroom.

The 56-year-old man came to the witness stand Thursday in the orange uniform of the DeKalb County Jail, his temporary home. His permanent home of the past five years is the federal prison in Butner, N.C., where he is serving more than nine years for a drug conviction and where he was friends with inmate Colvin "Butch" Hinton.

Prosecutors brought Howell to DeKalb to testify about statements he claims Hinton made to him about the 1994 disappearance of Shannon Melendi. Hinton is accused of killing the 19-year-old Emory University student, whose body has never been found.

Howell said Hinton, then serving a sentence for burning down his house to commit insurance fraud, asked him questions in 2004 about what might be left behind after a body burned. Howell said he replied that perhaps new technology could do a better job finding burned human remains. "He said that was the only thing that could get him," Howell said.

Howell had no difficulty relating those details. But when defense lawyer B.J. Bernstein asked him why he called the FBI to talk about Hinton, Howell turned more somber as he said he saw a news story about the Melendi case on television last year.

"I saw the young lady's parents on there," he said, halting a moment before continuing, "and it bothered me."

Soft sniffles came from the back row of the courtroom where Melendi's family was seated.

A few minutes later, assistant district attorney John Petrey asked Howell why the news show affected him. "It just bothered me," he said. That ended the questioning, and Howell wiped his right eye.

Also Thursday, a softball player who worked with Hinton in aircraft maintenance at Delta Air Lines said he saw Hinton walking away from the gas station where Melendi's car later was found. The testimony of Ryan Richard supports the prosecution theory that Hinton took Melendi's car when he abducted her at a softball park and abandoned it at the gas station before walking back to the park.

The trial was adjourned until Monday.

[Bobbisangel]

I wonder if the car was ever fingerprinted. That creeps fingerprints had to have been in the car. This LE sounds about as bad as some of the others that I have been reading about on this site. It really is discouraging when LE doesn't do their job. They sit around waiting for the public to catch the killer or they expect a blood trail to lead them to the murdered person. The typical statement is "she probably just took off to get away from everything." I'm sick of the attitude of most LE.

I'm also sick to death of defense attorneys. I can't stand them. I can't imagine how they sleep at night or look themselves in the eyes in the mirror each day. How they justify trying to get cold blooded killers set free is just beyond me. And I especially despise female defense attorneys who defend killers...rapist/murderes and child sex offenders. What is wrong with these women?? I don't care about each person convicted deserving a fair trial. Most of these defense attorneys try and make the victim look like a horrible person and that makes me so angry :furious: There is such a thing as integrity and the darn defense attorneys have none.

Monique, I know how that feels to sit in a courtroom with the killer. It takes everything in you not to jump the back of the seats and strangle that non-person. You feel so much rage...I remember just shaking inside. If looks could kill and eyes could send fatal lazor beams every defendant would drop dead the first day of a trial or sentencing. It is so emotionally draining.

I will pray for you and your family...Shannon is in God's arms...safe and sound and happier than she ever was in life..but that doesn't help your pain..I know.
As the parent of a murdered daughter I too wish that no other family ever had to go through such a horrible nightmare. There is no such thing as closure...we just learn to live with the loss in order to go on in this life.

Shannon was such a beautiful girl...inside and out. She deserved to finish school and to see her dreams fulfulled. She deserved to live to be an old old lady with grandchildren at her feet. She was robbed of everything and this killer has to pay the price for taking it all away from her. I believe he will be convicted and never get out of prison. His past, the things he told the other prisoners, and the way he watched Shannon will impact the jury. He won't get away with this. This scum doesn't deserve to breathe the same air that we breathe. When this is all over and this killer is put behind bars you will eventially be able to put him behind you. He will hold no more power over you.
That is the way I felt anyway and I hope it is the same for you. You never forget the killers but they don't control your life anymore. I hope that makes sense.

You and your family have waited a long time for this trial. Soon it will be over.
Just remember that there are people who are keeping all of you in our prayers.

[angelmom]

I wonder if the car was ever fingerprinted. That creeps fingerprints had to have been in the car. This LE sounds about as bad as some of the others that I have been reading about on this site. It really is discouraging when LE doesn't do their job. They sit around waiting for the public to catch the killer or they expect a blood trail to lead them to the murdered person. The typical statement is "she probably just took off to get away from everything." I'm sick of the attitude of most LE.

If I remember correctly, Shannon's friends found her car and the police never even impounded it or did any forensics on it at all. This is where the breakdown started, and no magic wand could ever turn back time to fix it. I know the defense likes to complain when the police have a gut instinct and fixate on a suspect from the first moment, but protecting that evidence can go both ways. If the car had been impounded and Butch's fingerprints/hair/DNA was nowhere on it, that would be exculpatory. But we will just never know if it was there or not.

I know that it isn't like CSI where everything gets done in an hour and all the cases are magically solved. I know the backlog and the budget issues are huge. I don't know the answer, but there has to be something better than this. Eleven years just for a trial is torture.

[oceanblueeyes]

I live in Atlanta and spent many nights at the Softball Country Club cheering on my boyfriend's team. Later, when Shannon was abducted (http://www.melendiphotography.com/Melendi_Web/News.htm) from the area, it was a chilling reminder of how vulnerable we all are.

I can't imagine the horror for Shannon's family as the tenth anniversary of her disappearance approaches (March 26) and her body has still not been found. Her killer has never been charged. In fact, the main suspect was released from prison just 2 months ago. (http://www.local10.com/news/2715127/detail.html)

This might make a good "case of the month" for March in recognition of the anniversary. All her parents want are some answers.

My daughter and son-in-law live in the area and have played ball in that very park many times during 93-96. My daughter who too is a very beautiful young woman did not like Butch Hinton, he gave her the creeps and neither did my son-in-law, BH simply couldnt umpire when she was keeping score. He yapped his mouth to her right in the middle of plays, winking at her, flirting. Of course my daughter kept her distance and tried hard to ignore him. Her husband even had a run in with him and told BH, he needed to keep his eye on the ball, not his wife. Of course Butch just laughed and walked off. She never came there alone, thank goodness.

When Shannon went missing M walked in and told my daughter that day. "Butch took that girl, I just feel it." He was the first person everyone thought of, he was a pervert and seemed to be proud of it. Then when he burned the house they knew for sure he had murdered this beautiful, innocent young woman.

I had begun to think that Shannon would never get her due justice but it just shows.......no matter how long it takes ...justice prevails.

My prayers are with the Melendi family.

IMO

Ocean

[angelmom]

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/dekalb/0805/30melendi.html

Waitress links Hinton to Melendi phone call

By DAVID SIMPSON
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 08/30/05
Prosecutors on Monday worked to tie Colvin "Butch" Hinton to the few pieces of physical evidence in the 1994 disappearance of Emory University student Shannon Melendi.

Hinton, a longtime suspect who was charged only last year, is on trial for murder, although no body was ever found. The prosecution contends that Hinton abducted Melendi, 19, on March 26, 1994, from a DeKalb County softball park where he was an umpire and she was the scorekeeper on the same field.

On April 6, 1994, a caller to Emory University claimed that he had kidnapped Melendi and said he would make demands later. The call was traced to a pay telephone in McDonough, where authorities found a ring belonging to Melendi enclosed in a bag and wrapped in tape.

Prosecution witness Teresa Conner said she frequently waited on Hinton at a Waffle House near the pay phone. On cross-examination by defense lawyer B.J. Bernstein, she acknowledged that she did not know Hinton by name at the time and identified him in 1994 from a single photograph shown to her by an FBI agent, rather than from a lineup of men.

Two of Hinton's supervisors at Delta Air Lines said he could have slipped away from his maintenance job for up to two hours without being missed. Previous witnesses have said they could not find Hinton at Delta around midday on the day of the phone call.

But Hinton's direct supervisor at the time, Mike Smith, said on cross-examination Monday that he would have known if Hinton had left work on weekdays as often as Conner said she saw him at Waffle House.

Several witnesses have said the bag that held Melendi's ring matches those commonly used at Delta. The prosecution has said that a scientist will testify that metal fragments found on the tape around the bag match unusual alloys used to maintain planes at Delta.

Trial testimony resumes today.

[Angel's lil sis]

As always, I cannot comment due to the stupid gag order. I just want you all to know that I am reading your posts and sharing them with my parents. Your words mean so much to us. It's nice to know so many good people are pulling for Shannon. Thank you all...

With love,

Angel's lil sis

[Bobbisangel]

Monique...what is this killer being charged with..1st degree or 2nd degree?
How many years does the Pros think that the killer will get?

I don't know what the laws are like where you live but my daughter was murdered on Sept 27, 1993 in Washington state. When they caught her killer 8 yrs later they had to try him by the 1993 laws. He got 27 yrs. If he could have been tried by the laws of 2002 he would have gotten LWOP or the death penalty.

I think that law is so wrong. I think killers should be tried using the laws in affect when they are caught. Otherwise it is like rewarding them for not getting caught. I'm curious to know how that is working in your sister's case.
Which year's laws they are going by.

Take care....the trial will be over soon. Love and prayers to you and your family.

[angelmom]

As always, I cannot comment due to the stupid gag order. I just want you all to know that I am reading your posts and sharing them with my parents. Your words mean so much to us. It's nice to know so many good people are pulling for Shannon. Thank you all...

With love,

Angel's lil sis

Hugs to all of you. Shannon has not been forgotten. She never will be.

[angelmom]

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/dekalb/0905/08melendi.html

Melendi jury told of previous attacks

By DAVID SIMPSON
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 09/08/05
Colvin "Butch" Hinton pleaded guilty to kidnapping in 1982, so his 14-year-old victim never got the chance to tell her story to a jury.

Until Wednesday.

And the story of a long-ago night of terror in Illinois came with higher stakes for Hinton, now on trial for murder in the 1994 disappearance of another young woman, Emory University student Shannon Melendi.

Melendi's body was never found, and much of the prosecution case against Hinton is circumstantial. But the Illinois victim unflinchingly portrayed Hinton as a man capable of "evil."

Now a 37-year-old woman, the victim took a long, steady look at Hinton after she pointed him out to the jury. Her voice never faltered, even at the explicit language she said he used in demanding sex and her description of being sexually assaulted. She said Hinton had a "Jekyll and Hyde element in his personality" on the night he abducted her.

"I saw what I would describe as the presence of evil in his eyes," she said.

Hinton, then 21, admitted to police at the time that he lured the girl, a friend of his younger brother, to a cemetery on the pretense of a meeting with her brother. The DeKalb jury was told he explained to officers that he suddenly had an "instinct to go out and do bodily harm to someone."

He admitted to binding her hands and feet and locking her in his basement. The victim and Hinton's wife at the time, Gale Rodgers, testified Wednesday that the girl's screams attracted Rodgers, who freed her as a near-catatonic Hinton looked on.

Over defense objections, Superior Court Judge Anne Workman ruled Georgia law allowed the DeKalb Superior Court jury to hear the woman's testimony as a "similar transaction" that could be used to demonstrate a possible motive in the Melendi case.

The woman's testimony also included a detail which might bolster the prosecution's sparse physical evidence against Hinton. She said he bound her with "some type of wires" in addition to tape and rope. Police who dug up Hinton's property in Clayton County after Melendi's disappearance found wire ties, which are sometimes used by police to bind suspects.

Hinton told Illinois police that he didn't understand what happened to him, adding, "I've never been this way before."

However, another witness testified Wednesday that Hinton attacked her in her Kentucky home in 1977 and ordered his younger brother to tie her up. She was able to persuade him to leave after promising not to tell.

Hinton was 17 at the time of the first attack and entered counseling. After the second attack, he pleaded guilty but mentally ill to kidnapping and enticing a minor and was sentenced to four years in prison. Neither of the victims who testified is being identified by The Atlanta Journal- Constitution.

Hinton, now 44, is accused of abducting Melendi, a 19-year-old Emory University student from Miami, on March 26, 1994. Hinton was umpiring on the same softball field where Melendi was last seen working as a scorekeeper, and authorities focused on him early on because of his criminal record. But he was indicted only last year, shortly after his release from prison on an arson conviction.

Melendi's parents appeared shaken by the testimony of the Illinois victim, who told of Hinton alternately showing kindness, then violent rage and, finally, contrition.

When Hinton's wife briefly left her alone with Hinton after freeing her, she recalled, Hinton asked if she would forgive him.

"Amazingly, I said that I would," she said. A few minutes later, she walked calmly from the courtroom, again looking directly at Hinton, who reached for a cup of water.

[Usher737]

DECATUR, GA (CBS4 News/AP) Jury deliberations are underway -- following closing arguments -- in a Georgia court in the trial of a man accused in the disappearance and death of Miami college student Shannon Melendi.

Thirteen days of testimony in the murder trial of 44-year-old Butch Hinton are over. He is charged with murder, felony murder, and kidnapping.

Let's hope that the jury sees Hinton for the murderer that he is!

FYI - No verdict yet, jury is off until Monday!

[Bobbisangel]

Are they going for 1st degree murder? Oh how I hope they hang this guy. I wish CTV would have followed this trial. They did a little on it today. I can't see the jury letting him go. For the family's sake this guy has to get his just dues and Shannon has to have justice. It won't bring her back but it does help when you know that the person who took your loved one's life is behind bars where life isn't a picnic.

[fourboys]

Jury convicts Hinton of murder in death of Emory student

September 19, 2005
Decatur, Georgia-AP

A DeKalb County Superior Court jury has found Butch Hinton guilty of murder in the death of missing Emory University student Shannon Melendi.

Jurors deliberated for three days in the case. Hinton was accused of abducting and killing the 19-year-old Melendi, who disappeared eleven years ago.

Her body has never been found.

Melendi disappeared after a softball game at a complex where both she and Hinton had been working.

Hinton was considered a suspect shortly after Melendi disappeared, but authorities did not officially charge him until last year.

The jury spent an hour and 15 minutes last week listening to court reporters read transcripts of the testimony by two men who had been in prison with Hinton, Adonis Cornwell and Ronson Westmoreland.

Cornwell, who remains in federal prison for bank robbery, had testified Hinton once awoke crying and sweating and told Cornwell, "I didn't kill her. The demon inside of me killed her."

http://www.wistv.com/Global/story.asp?S=3868220&nav=0RaP

[concernedperson]

Sentencing at 1:30 PM, mandatory life in prison for murder in Georgia. Will keep on the lookout for final sentence.

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/dekalb/0905/19melendi.html

[Angel's lil sis]

On behalf of my family and I, THANK YOU!!! Your kind words of love and encouragement really helped us through this. Nothing will bring back Shannon, but justice has been served. We're still in shock, but it's sinking in slowly but surely.

With love,

Monique, Yvonne, and Luis Melendi

[fourboys]

Hinton guilty, gets life sentence

Jury convicts him of murder in Melendi disappearance

By DAVID SIMPSON
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 09/19/05

Colvin "Butch" Hinton was today sentenced to mandatory life in prison for the murder of Emory University student Shannon Melendi.

DeKalb Superior Court Judge Anne Workman sentenced Hinton on two counts of murder, one alleging he deliberately killed Hinton and the other that he killed her during the commission of another felony, kidnapping.

The 19-year-old Melendi disappeared from a DeKalb softball park March 26, 1994. Her body was never found.

During a brief sentencing hearing, Shannon Melendi's mother and sister spoke directly to Hinton.

"This is the first and last time I will ever speak to you," said Yvonne Melendi, Shannon's mother. "You murdered Shannon, but you did not kill her spirit. She will live in our memories forever."

Monique Melendi, Shannon's sister, told Hinton, "You robbed a child of her hero. ... When you killed my sister, you also killed a part of me."

Hinton looked straight ahead while the two women spoke. Moments later when Workman asked him if he wanted to speak, he said quietly, "No."

His voice dropped to a whisper as he answered two more questions from the judge to say that he understood the sentence.

Shannon Melendi disappeared from the Softball Country Club on North Decatur Road. Searches and a nationally publicized appeal for information failed to turn up any sign of her, but authorities quickly focused their attention on Hinton, who was an umpire on the field where Melendi was the scorekeeper.

Prosecutors said Hinton, 44, abducted her from a DeKalb softball park and then killed her.

Hinton, now 44, had served prison time for kidnapping and enticing a minor in 1982. Earlier, he had been sent by a Juvenile Court to counseling after attacking a woman in 1977, when he was 17. Both victims testified before the DeKalb jury last week.

Hinton later went back to prison on a 1996 arson conviction, and some of his fellow inmates testified he made statements to them about how to dispose of a body and his worries about being linked to the Melendi case.

Other witnesses testified Hinton came back to the softball park for no apparent reason after Melendi vanished, which the prosecution says was an attempt to establish an alibi.

But because authorities never found a body or any blood or other remains, the only physical evidence is a small, taped-up bundle found near a pay phone in McDonough where someone placed a call to Emory on April 6, 1994. The caller claimed he had Melendi and would make demands later.

Behind the outdoor phone, an FBI agent found a taped-up bag containing a ring that had belonged to Melendi.

That type of cloth bag was commonly used to hold small parts at Hinton's then-workplace, a Delta Air Lines' maintenance facility.

The manufacturer said Delta was the only purchaser of the bag in Georgia but acknowledged the bag was used at many other places across the country.

Prosecutors said metal particles found stuck to the adhesive tape around the bag by a private laboratory last year provide a strong match to the Delta facility.

The jury spent an hour and 15 minutes last week listening to court reporters read transcripts of the testimony by Adonis Cornwell and Ronson Westmoreland. Cornwell, who remains in federal prison for bank robbery, had testified Hinton once awoke crying and sweating and told Cornwell, "I didn't kill her. The demon inside of me killed her."

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/dekalb/0905/19melendi.html

[Usher737]

Another monster off of the street, so he can never hurt another young girl again! Justice has been served for Shannon. Prayers to her family.

[angelmom]

On behalf of my family and I, THANK YOU!!! Your kind words of love and encouragement really helped us through this. Nothing will bring back Shannon, but justice has been served. We're still in shock, but it's sinking in slowly but surely.

With love,

Monique, Yvonne, and Luis Melendi

Hugs to all of you. I'm so glad the trial is finally over and that the jury could see beyond all of BH's plans to erase Shannon. I guess he has never loved or been loved enough to know that she can not be completely taken as long as there are so many who remember. I know I will never forget.

I hope there is some peace in your hearts today.

[Angel's lil sis]

Once again, thank you. Unfortunately the fight is not over. We already have to begin writing letters to the Parole Board so when his time comes to appeal, his file will be filled with letters. If anyone would like to help us keep this monster in jail where he belongs, I will forward information as soon as I get it.

How ironic that a "life" sentence is appealable after 14 years.

[Bobbisangel]

Once again, thank you. Unfortunately the fight is not over. We already have to begin writing letters to the Parole Board so when his time comes to appeal, his file will be filled with letters. If anyone would like to help us keep this monster in jail where he belongs, I will forward information as soon as I get it.

How ironic that a "life" sentence is appealable after 14 years.


I think that any sentence can be appealed but it usually doesn't go anywhere.
Hopefully the Prosecutor was careful and made sure that all of his/her eyes were dotted and tees were crossed. These creeps can appeal all that they want but unless their attorney can find a technicality of some sort the appeals go nowhere. Wait a minute...didn't he get life w/out parole? That should mean that he never gets out. That's odd. Are you in Canada by any chance? I can't remember.

My advice for what it is worth...I believe that God had His hand on this trial and that that creep was found guilty because that was the way it was supposed to turn out. Write your letters but try to put the whole thing in God's hands. It isn't easy but it gives a person some peace to just say "here Lord, you take care of this appeal stuff. It's in your hands now."

I'm really not crazy..lol. When my daughter's killer was on the run for those 8 years that is what I had to do. I had to give it to God otherwise it would have driven me crazy. I figured the killer would be caught in God's time...not when I wanted it to happen. Our lead detective and I talked about it and we wondered if God wasn't waiting until my grandaughter was older so that she could attend the trial and give a victim impact statement. The killer was caught when she was 13 yrs...sentenced when she was 14 yrs and giving her victim impact statement...directed to her father...impowered her and helped with her healing.

You and your family take care and try not to worry. If you want some letters written I would be glad to write one to the board. Let me know what I need to do....RememberShelley@peoplepc.com. I'd be happy to help in any way that I can. Barbara

[christine2448]

Great post in this thread, thought some might like to read, supposedly an actual juror posted here:


http://websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=28070

[maddie]

Since the jury was never shown in the media, if Angel's Lil Sis posts again, she can probably confirm that I was actually on the jury. There were two white females on the jury. I'm the one with the dark hair (the other was an alternate), in the front row. Oh, no! Now I've really outed myself!

[Angel's lil sis]

I think that any sentence can be appealed but it usually doesn't go anywhere.
Hopefully the Prosecutor was careful and made sure that all of his/her eyes were dotted and tees were crossed. These creeps can appeal all that they want but unless their attorney can find a technicality of some sort the appeals go nowhere. Wait a minute...didn't he get life w/out parole? That should mean that he never gets out. That's odd. Are you in Canada by any chance? I can't remember.

My advice for what it is worth...I believe that God had His hand on this trial and that that creep was found guilty because that was the way it was supposed to turn out. Write your letters but try to put the whole thing in God's hands. It isn't easy but it gives a person some peace to just say "here Lord, you take care of this appeal stuff. It's in your hands now."

I'm really not crazy..lol. When my daughter's killer was on the run for those 8 years that is what I had to do. I had to give it to God otherwise it would have driven me crazy. I figured the killer would be caught in God's time...not when I wanted it to happen. Our lead detective and I talked about it and we wondered if God wasn't waiting until my grandaughter was older so that she could attend the trial and give a victim impact statement. The killer was caught when she was 13 yrs...sentenced when she was 14 yrs and giving her victim impact statement...directed to her father...impowered her and helped with her healing.

You and your family take care and try not to worry. If you want some letters written I would be glad to write one to the board. Let me know what I need to do....RememberShelley@peoplepc.com. I'd be happy to help in any way that I can. Barbara
Thank you for your kind words. No, he was sentenced to just life (w/ parole). I do agree putting it in God's hands, but I also feel that by being given the opportunity to fight this is by doing just that.

No, I do not live in Canada. I live in Miami, FL.

[Angel's lil sis]

Since the jury was never shown in the media, if Angel's Lil Sis posts again, she can probably confirm that I was actually on the jury. There were two white females on the jury. I'm the one with the dark hair (the other was an alternate), in the front row. Oh, no! Now I've really outed myself!Hi Maddie,

I know exactly who you are. ;0)

[christine2448]

Maddie...please don't think I didn't believe you were on the jury. I think maybe I posted my statement wrong :slap: and I apologize if I offended you in anway. I wanted to direct people to your posts because I found them incredibily interesting and informative. I send you love and hugs for all that you have done! :blowkiss:

I too am in Metro Atlanta and my thoughts and prayers have been with the family and all involved, including jurors throughout.

Kindest regards,
Christine


Since the jury was never shown in the media, if Angel's Lil Sis posts again, she can probably confirm that I was actually on the jury. There were two white females on the jury. I'm the one with the dark hair (the other was an alternate), in the front row. Oh, no! Now I've really outed myself!

[maddie]

Maddie...please don't think I didn't believe you were on the jury. I think maybe I posted my statement wrong :slap: and I apologize if I offended you in anway. I wanted to direct people to your posts because I found them incredibily interesting and informative. I send you love and hugs for all that you have done! :blowkiss:

I too am in Metro Atlanta and my thoughts and prayers have been with the family and all involved, including jurors throughout.

Kindest regards,
Christine
Hi Christine,

I wasn't offended in the least. This community has impressed me with its kindness and its supportive nature. You people really are fabulous!

With the Internet you never know for sure who's posting. Since I know Monique is here and that her family hadn't been able to hear anything at all about what the jury was thinking (and if I were in their position, I would find that beyond frustrating), I realized she deserved to know the post was the real thing.

[christine2448]

Hi Christine,

I wasn't offended in the least. This community has impressed me with its kindness and its supportive nature. You people really are fabulous!

With the Internet you never know for sure who's posting. Since I know Monique is here and that her family hadn't been able to hear anything at all about what the jury was thinking (and if I were in their position, I would find that beyond frustrating), I realized she deserved to know the post was the real thing.I think you sharing with her, and all of us, your story while serving on the jury is GREAT. We appreciate it! Insider information such as what you are able to share is rare. Thank for taking the time to share with Monique and all of us here at WS. This IS an awesome group of people! I love WS and all of the wonderful people I have met here. I hope you stick around an get involved in some of our other forums.

[maddie]

Thanks! I'll admit I had originally only intended to post about this trial, but since then I've been reading through the other topics, and I think I'm hooked! And as I said, the people here are wonderful!

[christine2448]

Thanks! I'll admit I had originally only intended to post about this trial, but since then I've been reading through the other topics, and I think I'm hooked! And as I said, the people here are wonderful!
LOL! It's easy to get hooked! WELCOME and ENJOY.

[Bobbisangel]

Thank you for your kind words. No, he was sentenced to just life (w/ parole). I do agree putting it in God's hands, but I also feel that by being given the opportunity to fight this is by doing just that.

No, I do not live in Canada. I live in Miami, FL.


I couldn't agree more. I don't understand why he was given Life w/parole though. The murder was premeditated I would think. He knew what he was going to do when he followed her and abducted her. Was that the only choice the jury had aside from finding him not guilty?

Won't you guys be able to attend the parole meeting? I think it is very rare when a person gets paroled the first time they go up for parole. If he refuses to admit that he murdered Shannon he won't ever get paroled. The parole board expect a person to admit what they did and to feel remorse about it.

Here in Washington state they don't have parole boards anymore. Now a person is sentenced to a certain amount of years and they have to do so many of them. My daughter's killer was sentenced to 27 yrs and it is mandatory that he do 20 yrs. So we are screwed in trying to keep him in there the full 27 yrs. That is upsetting to me. If the judge sentences a person to 27 yrs they should have to do the full 27 yrs. If we are lucky someone will do him in before the 20 yrs are over :bang: Take care.

[mysteriew]

Thanks! I'll admit I had originally only intended to post about this trial, but since then I've been reading through the other topics, and I think I'm hooked! And as I said, the people here are wonderful!

Maddie, I welcomed you in trials. I read your post there and really appreciate the info you gave. I hope you do stick around. This board is amazing in that you can not only find the most updated info in cases (ususally), but that you can also discuss the ones that interest you with others. Your experience as a juror in a high profile case would be very much appreciated and provide a nice balance.

Angel's lil sis. I hope that you will continue to come back to us. There is much that can be done in spreading info about the missing, keeping them in the media, and supporting families who come here. Your personal experiences could be very helpful to someone else. And we care- about your sis and about you too. Thank you for being here, helping to keep us updated and so forth. I hope that you are able to go forward in your own life now. You are living for two, so make her proud.

[maddie]

I couldn't agree more. I don't understand why he was given Life w/parole though. The murder was premeditated I would think. He knew what he was going to do when he followed her and abducted her. Was that the only choice the jury had aside from finding him not guilty?

The jurors were not told the sentence before deliberations, and were, in fact, told that we were not to concern ourselves with the sentence. After the verdict, the judge told us that the sentence was a mandatory life sentence. I don't know the criteria for "life" vs. "life without parole," but this case was based on circumstantial evidence, and that might have had something to do with the sentence. It's apparently the first conviction in Georgia in which there was no body and no crime scene. Legally, it's a huge problem not to have a crime scene or body, not only for lack of evidence, but for jurisdiction of prosecution. I would not be surprised to see that used as grounds for appeal.

The charges we were to decide were "malice" murder, felony murder, and kidnapping (the latter only if we found him not guilty of the two aforementioned charges). We found him guilty of the first two.

[angelmom]

The jurors were not told the sentence before deliberations, and were, in fact, told that we were not to concern ourselves with the sentence. After the verdict, the judge told us that the sentence was a mandatory life sentence. I don't know the criteria for "life" vs. "life without parole," but this case was based on circumstantial evidence, and that might have had something to do with the sentence. It's apparently the first conviction in Georgia in which there was no body and no crime scene. Legally, it's a huge problem not to have a crime scene or body, not only for lack of evidence, but for jurisdiction of prosecution. I would not be surprised to see that used as grounds for appeal.

The charges we were to decide were "malice" murder, felony murder, and kidnapping (the latter only if we found him not guilty of the two aforementioned charges). We found him guilty of the first two.

I think there is also something about the law when the crime was committed. We just had this discussion when BTK was sentenced...something about the maximum penalty under the law at the time. It was infuriating. The law has come a long way as far as LWOP in 11 years.

[Bobbisangel]

The jurors were not told the sentence before deliberations, and were, in fact, told that we were not to concern ourselves with the sentence. After the verdict, the judge told us that the sentence was a mandatory life sentence. I don't know the criteria for "life" vs. "life without parole," but this case was based on circumstantial evidence, and that might have had something to do with the sentence. It's apparently the first conviction in Georgia in which there was no body and no crime scene. Legally, it's a huge problem not to have a crime scene or body, not only for lack of evidence, but for jurisdiction of prosecution. I would not be surprised to see that used as grounds for appeal.

The charges we were to decide were "malice" murder, felony murder, and kidnapping (the latter only if we found him not guilty of the two aforementioned charges). We found him guilty of the first two.



Thanks for that info. I'll never understand or figure out the judicial system.
Scott Peterson's trial was all circumstancial and he got 1st degree murder x 2 and then the death penalty. Circumstancial evidence can be pretty powerful.
Can you explain "malice" and "felony" murder please? It seems like they could have went for 1st degree murder (premeditated) and kidnapping.

Hopfully it will take years before he can find an attorney to file an appeal. Those things seem to take forever. By the time that might take place he will be up for parole. He won't get parole on his first try. Hopefully never.

[Bobbisangel]

I think there is also something about the law when the crime was committed. We just had this discussion when BTK was sentenced...something about the maximum penalty under the law at the time. It was infuriating. The law has come a long way as far as LWOP in 11 years.


You are so right and I should have thought of that. I forgot that this happened 10 yrs ago. My daughter's killer only got 27 yrs because he murdered her in 1993. He was on the run for 8 yrs and it is like he was rewarded for not getting caught for 8 yrs. If they had used today's laws he would have gotten LWOP or the death penalty.

I emailed one of our senators and asked how a person goes about getting a law changed. She said that it would probably never happen because the
AELU or whatever that organization is would fight it because of the criminal's rights!! I say to heck with their rights. They shouldn't get rewarded for not getting caught. I guess every state has the same law as I live in Washington state. I still want to see what I can do about this law.

[angelmom]

You are so right and I should have thought of that. I forgot that this happened 10 yrs ago. My daughter's killer only got 27 yrs because he murdered her in 1993. He was on the run for 8 yrs and it is like he was rewarded for not getting caught for 8 yrs. If they had used today's laws he would have gotten LWOP or the death penalty.

I emailed one of our senators and asked how a person goes about getting a law changed. She said that it would probably never happen because the
AELU or whatever that organization is would fight it because of the criminal's rights!! I say to heck with their rights. They shouldn't get rewarded for not getting caught. I guess every state has the same law as I live in Washington state. I still want to see what I can do about this law.

ITA!! I understand the concept, and I agree with it to a certain extent. We don't want the government getting carried away with their power. For example, if a law were passed making robbery a capital crime, you wouldn't want them to be able to round up robbers on old charges and put them all to death. (Unless it was your house they robbed, and then you might feel differently. :innocent: )

But I agree that it seems like they are being rewarded for not getting caught for so long. Something is seriously wrong with that. Especially for murder.

I guess the thing is, if they had been caught right away they would have had those same laws anyway, so the way the government is looking at it is that the criminal shouldn't be punished more harshly b/c they couldn't make the case until now. Otherwise, if someone committed a crime and the public felt that the sentence wasn't harsh enough, charges could be withheld until a new law was passed making the penalties more severe. That could get out of hand.

Okay, constitutionally I get it. As woman and a mother, though, I want BH to rot in jail until he dies. I'm conflicted. What else is new?

[fourboys]

Missing Student Remembered At Alma Mater
Man Convicted In Woman's Death; Her Body Is Never Found

UPDATED: October 17, 2005

MIAMI -- Shannon Melendi's alma mater is honoring her today.

Her father, Luis Melendi, will attend an assembly with the senior class of Southwest Senior High School this morning. Shannon Melendi disappeared 11 years ago while attending Emory University in Atlanta.

Just last month, convicted sexual predator Calvin "Butch" Hinton was found guilty of kidnapping and murdering the 19-year-old.

She disappeared in March 1994 from a DeKalb County softball park, where she was a scorekeeper and Hinton was an umpire.

Her body has never been found.

Melendi's father, Luis, a Miami photographer, worked diligently for 11 years keeping his daughter's case in the public eye.

http://www.local10.com/news/5105892/detail.html

[fourboys]

CBS News 48 Hours Examines Melendi Case

Jan 20, 2006
Troy Roberts' Reporters Notebook On Melendi case

(CBS) MIAMI When Shannon Melendi, an ambitious 19-year-old sophomore at Emory University in Atlanta, disappeared in March 1994, authorities believed she had run away. Police even thought it might be a college prank. Nearly two weeks later, a mysterious phone call changed the course of the investigation.

Melendi grew up in a high-profile Miami family. Her parents say she was born to be a leader and dreamed of becoming a Supreme Court Justice. While at college, Melendi worked as a scorekeeper at a softball park, which was the last place she was seen.

Melendi’s roommate, Athena Perez, says she became worried when her friend didn’t return to the dorm room the evening of March 26. The next day, Perez and her friends found Melendi’s abandoned car with the keys in it and called police. Perez says the officer who came to the scene took information, but was very laid back about the incident and told her to drive Melendi’s car back to campus.

Deeply concerned about her roommate, Perez called Melendi’s parents, who immediately left Miami for Atlanta. The Melendis say the police told them they thought their daughter ran away, not to worry and that she’d return. The Melendis insisted to police that their daughter would never run away.

Continued:

http://cbs4.com/topstories/local_story_020211650.html

[michelle]

I am watching it now on 48 hrs.......

[michelle]

this story is so sad, is anyone else watching it?

[altruist1000]

48 Hours did a tremendous job covering this story on tonight's show.

Sexual predator's need Life without Parole sentences to PROTECT THE PUBLIC. The tragedy of this beautiful young woman DEMANDS the justice system recognize that Justice is not delivered by them what is to be delivered by them is the PROTECTION of the citizenry from the knowledge that FUTURE VICTIMS are not pleasures for these animals that are plagueing our country. Justice is delivered by the creator WE DEMAND PROTECTION BE PROVIDED BY OUR GOVERNMENT - OUR JUDICIARY - OUR LEGISLATURES.

The criminal advocates will state that only a small percentage of these predator's REOFFEND, to that I say BS. The missing persons lists demonstrate the REOFFENSES of these creatures.

Here's an idea: The passing of a law which enables the giving of sodium pentathol to Convicted Murderer's to ascertain if they are SERIAL KILLERS. All indicator's with Hutin are THAT HE IS.

[mysteriew]

I thought that 48 hrs. also did a good job detailing everything that the LE didn't do at all or did wrong in the investigation. And it does look as though they are starting to take responsibility for that. Recognition is the first step in making sure it doesn't happen again. Action is the second step, and I hope they have made some changes in their treatment of missing persons.

[michelle]

I thought that 48 hrs. also did a good job detailing everything that the LE didn't do at all or did wrong in the investigation. And it does look as though they are starting to take responsibility for that. Recognition is the first step in making sure it doesn't happen again. Action is the second step, and I hope they have made some changes in their treatment of missing persons. i cant believe how LE was, they need to step up to the plate...I couldnt believe that they let her friend drive her car home...

[CrimeHater]

I also want to say what a great job 48 hours did. Its sad how LE didn't take it seriously and let so much evidence go. That was 10 years ago. If anything like that happened now it would be all over the news!
I was also very curious weather Butch disappeared from the game for a while, or what happened.
Its sad- they found so many women's clothing in the burn pile and none belonging to his wife or Shannon. So many other unknown women out there were killed by this psycho!

[mysteriew]

Shannon Melendi was a 19-year-old college sophomore at Emory University when she disappeared without a trace on March 26, 1994. Shannon’s parents immediately told police their daughter had been kidnapped but authorities dismissed that theory until a mysterious phone call and a clue would take this investigation to a whole new level.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/01/18/48hours/main1219166.shtml

This is the transcript for the 48 hrs. piece.

[dannyodie]

Shannon Melendi was a 19-year-old college sophomore at Emory University when she disappeared without a trace on March 26, 1994. Shannon’s parents immediately told police their daughter had been kidnapped but authorities dismissed that theory until a mysterious phone call and a clue would take this investigation to a whole new level.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/01/18/48hours/main1219166.shtml

This is the transcript for the 48 hrs. piece.
I wonder if he buried her remains somewhere at or near the airport? he would have exclusive knowledge of the area and had access to many areas of it.

[Angel's lil sis]

My family and I thought 48 Hours did an excellent job. For those of you who don't know me, I'm Shannon's little sister. My family and I were so embarrassed that we didn't inform you guys about the program. You all were so wonderful to us throughout the trial. For those of you who missed it, 48 Hours will rerun the segment sometime next month. I will keep you posted as to the date and time.

[Angel's lil sis]

Hi Everyone,

Please help us keep Shannon's murderer behind bars.

When it is time for Hinton to go before the Parole Board in thirteen years, they will look at his file. Letters in his file asking to keep him behind bars and serving his full life sentence for the murder of Shannon Denise Melendi will be looked at during the analysis. The letters should be sent more than once a year, we need to fill his file.

Here is the information that you need to write and help us keep him off the streets so he may never hurt another family.

Victim Services Office
State Board of Pardons and Paroles
2 M.L. King, Jr. Drive, SE
Suite 458, East Tower
Atlanta GA 30334

REF: GDC ID#0001201616 (Colvin C. Hinton, III)

The telephone number of the Victim Services Office is 404.651.6668; their email address is VictimServices@pap.state.ga.us.

Should you want any further information on Hinton or the prison (Georgia State Prison in Reidsville) go to www.dcor.state.GA.US (http://www.dcor.state.GA.US) under Dept. of Corection Info. choose Georgia Inmate Query a dialog screen will appear and you will need to press I agree to the terms as stated under Select Identifier: choose GDC ID Number in Enter Number: type in 0001201616 and press Next A picture of Hinton will appear with information on him and the name of the prison

God bless,

The Melendi Family

[Angel's lil sis]

(CBS4/AP) ATLANTA The man accused of killing Shannon Melendi has been convicted of the crime, but the case is still not over for the Melendi family. Now, the man convicted of murdering the 19-year-old Emory University student is appealing his case.

Colvin "Butch" Hinton was sentenced to life in prison for the 1994 murder of Shannon Melendi, and is serving his time in a Georga state prison. He says he should not be there, because the jury which convicted him should not have been told about his criminal past.

The appeal also says the jury should have been told of F-B-I speculation that the Emory sophomore might have been killed by an unknown drug dealer or a boyfriend.

Hinton's appeal will be the first decided by the Georgia Supreme Court in which authorities never found the victim's body or a scene where a killing took place.

Hinton is accused of abducting Melendi after a softball game at the complex where they both worked. Hinton had been a suspect for years, and was even convicted of setting fire to his home in what police believed was an effort to eliminate evidence of the murder.

Police and Melendi’s family still do not know what happened to her body.

http://cbs4.com/topstories/local_story_039074817.html (http://cbs4.com/topstories/local_story_039074817.html)

[bykerladi]

According to the Georgia Supreme Court's website, they haven't granted cert yet. I hope they throw his appeal out, since its clearly a load of rubbish. For starters, prosecutors can bring in past offenses if it shows a pattern of behavior. And, based on the posts from the juror, that's what he did. Second, if the defense really thought that someone else did it, they had plenty of opportunity to bring that up at the trial. If they didn't, then too bad for them. The appeal based upon inadequate assistance of counsel rarely wins. The attorney literally has to sleep through the whole trial or not show up, and even then its a hard sell.

This guy makes me so mad. I hear so much about the internal prison social caste system. So why is this guy still alive? I think they ought to open a can of prison justice on his behind.:furious:

[christine2448]

Hinton said today that he gave Melendi a ride to Burger King to have lunch. Then tricked her into driving his car by faking a leg cramp. Once she was behind the wheel, Hinton said he pulled a knife and forced her to drive to his home in Clayton County. He said he raped her and held her there for about 12 hours. He then strangled her with a necktie, then burned Melendi's body in his yard and scattered the ashes.

http://www.wsbtv.com/news/9529525/detail.html?treets=atl&tml=atl_break&ts=T&tmi=atl_break_1_02170207172006

[southcitymom]

http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/dekalb/stories/0717hinton.html