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