Facts of the Crime:
Michael Shellito was convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of Sean Hathorne. During the early morning hours of August 31, 1994, Sean Hathorne, the 18-year-old victim, died from being shot in the chest.
Near midnight on August 30, 1994, a group of people, including Shellito, had gathered at the home of Stephen Gill. Shellito left the gathering and returned approximately an hour later. Upon returning to Gill’s residence, Shellito showed a .9-mm-firearm to Ricky Bays, one of the other people at Gill’s residence. Kevin Keyes, who lived only a few miles from Gill, reported that a firearm was stolen from his automobile that night.
On August 31, 1994, around 4:00 a.m., Shellito and Gill drove Gill’s girlfriend home in a white truck that belonged to Gill’s mother. Near Gill’s girlfriend’s residence, Shellito wanted to get out of the truck because he needed to “talk to someone.” Gill stopped so that Shellito could get out and left to take his girlfriend home. About the same time, Michael Green heard a popping noise coming from in front of his home and looked outside. He observed the victim, who was standing near a white truck, turn, run, and then fall down. Green called the police. When, the police arrived, they found the body of Sean Hathorne near Green’s front fence.
Around 5:30 a.m., Shellito and Gill arrived back at Gill’s apartment. Shellito told Ricky Bays that he shot a man after concluding that the man did not have any money. Shellito did not indicate whether Gill was involved in the shooting.
On the evening of August 31, 1994, people again gathered at Gill’s residence. During this time, Shellito described the murder to several other people, including Lateria Copeland and Theresa Ritzer. Later that night, during the early part of September 1, 1994, the police raided Gill’s apartment. Shellito unsuccessfully tried to escape the apartment through a window. He then pointed a firearm at an officer, who shot and injured Shellito. The gun was taken from Shellito, and he was arrested. The gun was matched to a shell casing from the murder scene and to the firearm stolen from Kevin Keyes.
During the trial, however, Shellito said that Gill was responsible for the murder. Shellito’s mother also testified that Gill had admitted to her that he had killed Hathorne, and Shellito’s father claimed to have overheard this conversation. Shellito’s mother claimed to have told a court representative about this confession; however, no one could verify this claim.
Shellito was sentenced to death in Duval County on October 20, 1995.
Bookmarks