Date of Sentence: 10/20/95
Circumstances of Offense:
Michael Shellito was convicted
and sentenced to death for the murder of Sean Hathorne. During the
early morning hours of 08/31/94, Sean Hathorne, the 18-year-old victim,
died from being shot in the chest.
Near midnight on 08/30/94, 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 08/31/94, 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 08/31/94,
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
09/01/94, 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.
Additional Information:
In conjunction with the
First-Degree Murder of Sean Hathorne, Shellito was also charged with two
counts of Robbery with a Firearm on 08/31/94 for which he received two
35 years sentences. Furthermore, during the early morning raid of
Stephen Gill’s apartment on 09/01/94, Shellito committed aggravated
assault of a law enforcement officer when he tried to escape through a
window. Shellito was sentenced to 30 years for this offense.
Trial Summary:
09/01/94 Shellito was arrested.
02/09/95 Shellito was indicted on the following:
Count I: First-Degree
Murder
07/21/95 Shellito was found guilty on Count I of the
indictment.
08/21/95 Upon
advisory sentencing, the jury, by an 11 to 1 majority, voted for the
death penalty.
10/20/95 Shellito was sentenced as follows:
Count I: First-Degree
Murder – Death
Case Information:
Michael Shellito filed his Direct Appeal in the Florida Supreme Court on
12/01/95. He raised several issues on Direct Appeal. Shellito argued
that the trial court erred in admitting evidence of Shellito trying to
escape arrest, that the prosecutor denied him a fair trial by making
inflammatory remarks, and that the aggravating and mitigating factors
were improperly evaluated.
The Florida Supreme Court did not find
errors that warranted reversing the conviction or sentence and affirmed
the conviction and sentence on 09/11/97. Rehearing was denied on
11/26/97. A Mandate was issued on 12/29/97.
Shellito filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari in the United States
Supreme Court on 02/23/98. The petition was denied on 04/20/98.
Shellito filed a 3.850 Motion in the Duval County Circuit Court on
04/20/99. An amended motion was filed on 06/22/99, 03/31/03 and
03/04/05. The motion is currently pending.
Floridacapitalcases.state.fl.us
