Butch Hinton, 61, is infamous for his role in the murder of Shannon Melendi as a convicted criminal. According to WKYC, he was an umpire at a softball game where Melendi was scorekeeping when he was charged with her murder after 10 years.
After receiving an anonymous phone call from a phone booth, in which they discovered Melendi’s rings wrapped in tape inside a bag, the detectives were able to link Hinton to the case.
Traces of cobalt were found on the tape, and an aeronautical scientist was able to determine that it came from an aircraft manufacturer or a repair facility based on their traces.
During his career as a pilot, Hinton was employed by Delta Airlines in Atlanta. Hinton is also a convicted arsonist who was convicted of arson and insurance fraud in 1995 and sentenced to seven years in prison. Who is Butch Hinton and where is he today: Know about his wife.
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Where is he now?
Hinton was sentenced to life in prison in 2005, but under Georgia law he is eligible for parole every seven years. He was up for release again in March 2020, but according to reports, he was denied.
“Thank God, and thank the paroles board. And thank those who have stood with us in this forever fight,” Melendi’s parents Yvonne and Luis Melendi said at the time, according to WKYC.
“We are so very grateful for the support from the community, for helping us continue to fight for justice for Shannon,” her sister Monique Melendi added.
After Hinton’s 2005 conviction, he completed all appeals and eventually admitted to the crime, telling ABC News that he had raped her twice as well.
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“She didn’t even try to scratch — no hitting. I kept telling her, ‘As soon as I get your car sold or rid of, I will let you go,’ and she said ‘All right,'” he told the media outlet.
On the night that he decided to kill her, Hinton said that “she didn’t even know I was standing there. I came over on top of her real quick. … I took the tie and put it around her neck. … I think I crossed it, and I strangled her right there.”
He then went on to admit that he had incinerated Melendi’s body and proceeded to take his wife out to dinner at an Olive Garden where he gave her one of the rings he took off of Melendi’s body but the guilt became too much to bear and his paranoia with police and the FBI began to grow.
Who was Shannon Melendi?
Melendi, who was born on October 20, 1974, was a highly engaged Emory University sophomore prior to her disappearance. She intended to pursue a law degree and join the Navy, according to reports.
“She wanted to join the Navy in the JAG Corps and her whole plan was to go to Washington. She had a dream to be on the Supreme Court. And I don’t doubt that she could have made it” her parents told 11Alive News in 2020.
She was previously the president of her junior and senior classes, the debate team captain, and a member of the soccer team at high school.
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