Where Is Colvin "Butch" Hinton Now? 'Dateline' Has Answers

More than a decade after she disappeared, authorities in spite of everything got a confession from Shannon Melendi's killer. So, where is Colvin "Butch" Hinton now?

In March 1994, Shannon Melendi was once living in Atlanta, Ga. where she attended Emory University. It was once a hop, skip, and a leap clear of her youth home in South Florida, but the distance was once great sufficient to allow Melendi to really feel as though she was once on her own for the first time. The 19-year-old school student had friends, an lively social life, and a role at the Softball Country Club, where she would on occasion paintings with Colvin "Butch" Hinton.

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Hinton was once an umpire and Melendi was the scorekeeper. By all accounts they have been friendly, however handiest in the way in which one is with a coworker they see occasionally. All of that modified on March 26, 1994, when Melendi never returned to her dorm after work. Soon, Hinton would be implicated in her disappearance, but it would be years sooner than somebody knew what in fact happened.

Where is Colvin "Butch" Hinton now? A Dateline special has answers.

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Where is Colvin "Butch" Hinton now? He could be soon granted parole.

According to WXIA information, in March 2020, the family of Shannon Melendi was notified by way of the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles that the parole board "denied parole for Shannon's murderer, Butch Hinton. Hinton will stay in prison." The letter additionally informed the Melendi circle of relatives that, through law, Hinton would be "eligible for parole again at the board's discretion."

In September 2005, 15 years prior, Hinton used to be convicted of Melendi's homicide. At the time, he used to be sentenced to life in prison however could be eligible for parole each and every seven years. Because Melendi's body was by no means discovered and the crime scene was free of evidence, prosecutors opted to not seek the dying penalty.

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What came about to Shannon Melendi?

On Monday, July 17, 2006, ABC News reported that Hinton after all confessed to the homicide of Shannon Melendi. Evidently his guilt, or perhaps the fact that he was once out of appeals, stuck up with him. In graphic element, Hinton informed a Georgia prosecutor and the detective who led the investigation exactly what he did. "If I have to stay in a cell for 23 hours a day for the rest of my life, at least I can breathe,'' Hinton said. "She can not.''

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The day of Melendi's disappearance, Hinton invited her to lunch after paintings. Melendi agreed and whilst en path to this lunch, Hinton faked taking a unsuitable flip then headed for his house in Rex, Ga. At some point, he pretended to get a cramp in his leg and requested Melendi to pressure. Hinton then grabbed a hidden knife from the backseat of his automotive and compelled Melendi to drive to his area.

Hinton's spouse and kids have been away, allowing him to tie Melendi up while he drove her automobile to a gas station, leaving it with the keys in the ignition. Later he would repeatedly rape Melendi, ultimately strangling her to loss of life with a necktie. Next, he set fireplace to Melendi in his own backyard, utterly incinerating her frame.

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When the FBI started wondering Hinton, he set fireplace to his home in 1995 out of sheer paranoia. This would result in an arson and fraud conviction, which landed Hinton in prison till 2003. While Hinton was in prison, FBI endured investigating him, accumulating enough evidence to convict him together with testimony from various jailhouse informants who claimed Hinton implicated himself in the crime. That plus the proof was once enough to land him in jail.

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Hinton had prior sexual assault convictions.

Hinton's legal professional, B.J. Bernstein, printed a long historical past of sexual assault that went way back to the early Seventies. In 1977, whilst in Kentucky, Hinton was once charged with "criminal attempt to commit rape after he and his brother attempted to kidnap their boss' wife." Because they had been juveniles, this used to be handled in juvenile court docket. Hinton went via counseling after this incident.

Five years later in Illinois, Hinton plead "in charge but not mentally ill" to "charges of unlawful restraint and indecent liberties with a child for kidnapping Tammy Singleton, a 14-year-old who was dating his brother." Apparently, Hinton lured the young lady to a cemetery under the guise of splitting lottery winnings. Similar to Melendi, Singleton used to be tied up in his basement after he abducted her however was once set free when his first wife walked in on them. For this, he was once sentenced to 4 years in jail but most effective served two.

Tune into Dateline on Friday, Aug. 12 at 10 p.m. ET on NBC for more information about this harrowing story.

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