Oct. 20, 1974: Shannon Denise Melendi was born in Miami.
1994
March 26: Melendi, a 19-year-old Emory University student, vanishes during a lunch break from her part-time job at a DeKalb softball complex.
Credit: Family photo
Credit: Family photo
April 6: A caller to Emory claims he is holding Melendi. The call is traced to a pay phone in McDonough, where authorities find a ring belonging to Melendi enclosed in a bag and wrapped in tape.
April 12: Police search the Clayton County home of Colvin C. “Butch” Hinton III, who was an umpire at the softball field where Melendi was last seen. Hinton has a criminal record for sexual assaults.
Sept. 8: A fire damages Hinton’s home.
1995
Jan. 14: Authorities return to Hinton’s home with cadaver-sniffing dogs. They dig up large sections of the property but find no link to Melendi.
June 21: A federal grand jury indicts Hinton for arson and other charges in the fire at his home, which the indictment contends was an attempt to collect insurance money.
1996
Jan. 17: Hinton is convicted of arson. He is sent to federal prison.
2003
Dec. 18: Hinton is released from federal prison.
2004
Aug. 30: DeKalb authorities arrest Hinton under a grand jury indictment charging him with murder in Melendi’s death.
Credit: AJC File
Credit: AJC File
2005
Aug. 22: Testimony begins in Hinton’s trial in DeKalb Superior Court.
Sept. 19: A jury convicts Hinton of murder. He is sentenced to life in prison.
Dec. 6: Hinton is moved to a Georgia prison.
2006
June 12: The Georgia Supreme Court upholds Hinton’s conviction.
July 17: Hinton confesses to kidnapping, raping and murdering Shannon Melendi.
2021
May 19: Yvonne Melendi, Shannon’s mother, dies from COVID-related pneumonia
2024
March 19: Southwest High School in Miami hosts The 30th Shannon Melendi Commemorative Senior Safety Assembly
About the Author