Jury hears closing arguments in case of missing Emory student

<p>Prosecutors called the man on trial for murder in the death of Emory University student Shannon Melendi a "demon" on Wednesday, asking a jury to convict him for a crime they said was driven by his sexual perversions.</p><p>Colvin "Butch" Hinton is accused of abducting Melendi, 19, an Emory University sophomore, after a softball game at the complex where they both worked in March 1994. Hinton _ who was accused three times previously of abducting women in Illinois and Kentucky and served 15 months in prison for kidnapping a 14-year-old girl from Neponset, Ill., in 1982 _ was considered a suspect since shortly after Melendi's disappearance, but was not officially charged until last year.</p><p>He is facing charges of murder and kidnapping.</p><p>"Make sure the days of blaming inner demons is over," prosecutor Mike McDaniel told a DeKalb County Superior Court jury in closing arguments. "Butch Hinton is the demon."</p><p>McDaniel was referring to testimony by an inmate in jail with Hinton, 44, who said the defendant had once screamed, "I didn't kill her. The demon inside me killed that girl."</p><p>Thirteen days of testimony in the murder trial ended Tuesday. The jury began deliberating about 2:45 p.m. Wednesday.</p><p>Defense attorney B.J. Bernstein repeatedly reminded the jury of the lack of hard evidence related to a murder. She even questioned whether DeKalb County was the appropriate place to hold the trial, since prosecutors offered no evidence where a murder occurred.</p><p>"No body. No crime scene. Nothing tangible about the whereabouts of Shannon Melendi," Bernstein said. "This is not some cute, clever technicality to try to get out of something; it's a cold hard fact."</p><p>Bernstein acknowledged Hinton's criminal history, but urged the jury not to convict her client of murder based on suspicion alone.</p><p>"He may be one unlikeable guy, but that does not convict you," she said.</p><p>Prosecutors hung much of their case on circumstantial evidence. A phone call to an Emory clinic taking responsibility for Melendi's abduction was traced to a pay phone near a restaurant where employees said Hinton regularly ate.</p><p>A package left at the pay phone containing one of Melendi's rings was wrapped in tape similar to tape found in Hinton's car and in a bag bought from a company with only one customer in Georgia _ Delta Air Lines, where Hinton worked at the time.</p><p>Prosecutors also argued that metal particles found on the tape matched unusual alloys that were used in the shop where Hinton worked.</p><p>Prosecutors recounted the evidence in sometimes emotional arguments. At one point, assistant district attorney John Petrey turned to directly face Hinton, pointing at him and arguing in a raised voice.</p><p>"He did a damn good job of covering his tracks," said Petrey, calling Hinton a "sadistic pervert whose lust had led him to a pattern of attacking and sexually assaulting women."</p><p>Hinton, in a gray sports coat, sat nearly motionless and showed little reaction during the arguments.</p><p>Melendi's mother and other family members also were in the courtroom _ occasionally sniffling and holding hands during mentions of Melendi, a Miami native who was working her first game as scorekeeper at the softball complex.</p><p>Hinton was the umpire for that game. Melendi was last seen shortly after the game, and her disappearance was discovered when she didn't return to score a second ballgame that day.</p>

http://accesswdun.com/article/2005/9/139284