Disclaimer: This article contains mentions of murder. Reader discretion is advised.
“Shannon’s Story” is an episode of Dateline NBC that will air on Saturday, May 25, 2024, at 9 p.m./8 p.m. CT. It will follow the disappearance of Shannon Melendi and how her murder was solved, leading her killer to be charged with her death more than a decade after she vanished.
On March 26, 1994, Shannon Melendi, a 19-year-old college sophomore at Emory University, went missing. She was last seen going to lunch from her part-time job at the Softball Country Club, where she was taking score at a softball game. Melendi’s roommate, Athena Perez, reported the disappearance, claiming that the victim had not arrived at her dorm room that night. She also discovered Melendi’s car, a black Nissan 240 SX before she contacted authorities and the parents were made aware, as per a report by CBS News.
It took more than a decade after Melendi’s disappearance for Colvin “Butch” Hinton, an umpire at the softball game, to be charged with her murder. NBC News reported that Hinton, who had never met Melendi before, struck up a conversation with her and asked her to go for lunch with him. He later attacked and abducted her. He reportedly murdered her at his residence. Hinton was arrested in 2004, but Shannon Melendi’s remains had never been recovered.
NBC Miami reported that Hinton was convicted of killing Shannon Melendi in 2005. He was then sentenced to life in prison. He was, however, made eligible for parole multiple times since his sentence began. His next parole hearing is scheduled for 2025. The victim’s family is reportedly gathering signatures to request the parole board not to consider Hinton’s release from prison, CBS News reported.
How was Shannon Melendi’s murder case solved?
Shannon Melendi’s father, Luis Melendi, reportedly told authorities soon after the disappearance that his daughter had been kidnapped. However, the police allegedly suggested that she might have run away and would come back by herself. The police were reportedly dismissive of the case and didn’t invest in it adequately. Luis Melendi reportedly went on to start his own efforts to find his daughter. The parents raised thousands of dollars and stuck missing posters of Shannon around Atlanta, promising a $10,000 reward for anyone with legitimate information.
On April 6, 1994, Emory University’s counseling center received a caller phone from an anonymous male. The man reportedly left a message claiming that the victim was with him and that she was doing okay. He also said that he would be calling again to make demands. The FBI then got involved and traced the call to a payphone. The caller reportedly left some evidence wrapped in masking tape.
Authorities found a bag inside the wrap. The bag contained Shannon Melendi’s blue topaz ring, which her grandmother had given her. Authorities then spoke to pitcher Jerry Chastain, who pitched the game where Shannon was last seen. He told them that the umpire was distracted that day and kept looking at the scorekeeper every now and then.
When authorities questioned the umpire, Colvin “Butch” Hinton, his alibi didn’t align with what the people around him stated. He was put through a lie detector test, which he failed. However, authorities did not have enough evidence against him to keep him arrested. They then found out that the bag in which they found Shannon’s ring was a product only used by Delta Air Lines. Hinton worked at the machine shop at the Delta Airlines Technical Operations Center at that time.
What did Colvin “Butch” Hinton confess about Shannon Melendi’s murder?
During a search through Hinton’s house, authorities found several sweaters and other garments belonging to women who were not his wife nor Shannon Melendi. Digging into his record revealed that Hinton had kidnapped and sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl in 1982 and was sentenced to 4 years in prison owing to mental illness. He reportedly served less than two years. Even though the evidence against him wasn’t very substantial at that time, Butch Hinton was taken to trial in 2005.
As per a report by ABC News, Hinton, despite claiming to be innocent, admitted to killing Shannon Melendi to his father during a prison visit. He reportedly approached the victim before they both went to a Burger King for lunch. On their way back to the softball field, Hinton pretended to have taken a wrong turn and headed towards his home. He then claimed that his leg was cramped and asked the victim to drive. He made his way into the backseat, where he got hold of a knife. Hinto held the knife to the victim’s neck and coerced her to drive to his residence.
After he tied her up at his home, Hinton allegedly told her that he only wanted to steal her car and drove off to the softball game in her car. He then left the car abandoned at a gas station where he hoped it would get stolen and he would not be suspected. Hinton admitted to attacking and raping Shannon Melendi. He then admittedly handcuffed her to a bedpost and strangled her with a necktie. Hinton started a bonfire in the backyard of his home and burned Shannon’s body.
The Dateline NBC episode “Shannon’s Story” will be aired on May 25, 2024, at 9 p.m./ 8 p.m. CT.
