Nearly three years after the homicide of Emory University scholar Shannon Melendi, her physique has by no means been discovered. Her father, Louis, remains to be in search of a level.
“Every time I see a missing girl on the news, it brings back all kinds of bad memories,” Luis Melendi stated.
On March 26, 1994, 19-year-old Shannon Melendi was kidnapped on the Softball Country Club in Atlanta, the place she was a goalie. Emory college students have been the goal of huge searches.
“Our family has been crazy about this criminal for 27 to 28 years,” Luis Melendi stated.
Nearly 10 years after she disappeared, intercourse offender Colvin “Butch” Hinton, a former softball membership referee, was convicted of Shannon’s homicide. He was sentenced to life in jail with the potential of parole.
“We looked at Hinton and his prison life, which is not a life sentence because 80 percent of Georgia killers escape after 20 years,” Luis Melendi stated.
Melendi was dissatisfied by the Georgia court docket system that Hinton was eligible for seven years of parole. He will seem earlier than the board in 2025.
Defence lawyer Chinwe Foster stated Melendi’s finest hope of preserving their daughter’s killer behind bars was to share their considerations with the parole board.
“I think the detectives and cops in 1994 just didn’t have the tools they have today,” Foster stated. “If there are no bodies, there is no crime scene, and prosecutors are basically operating on circumstantial evidence.”
“I don’t think I’ll ever close. I really hope we survive. Me and my wife. My wife just died of Covid-19 and he’s still around,” Luis Melendi stated.
While Luis Melendi could by no means be utterly shut down, he inspired others, together with Gabby Petito’s household, to reject a plea deal and search the loss of life penalty.
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