everything was a blur. all i m thinking is, is shannon really gone? we interviewed her roommates, boyfriends, everybody is a suspect. then a phone rings. right. he says i ve kidnapped her, i have her. and we ran his criminal history. that s when all the bells went off. he pulls in, asked me to get in the car. i feel the cold blade against my neck. he carries me to the basement of his home. it was jaw-dropping! just chilling! they started digging and they found women s clothing. it was just escalating! escalating! there were so many victims, aren t there? there. were there still are. until this guy is no longer in existence. i will carry this fight! hello, and welcome to dateline! shannon melendi dreamed big. at 15, she wanted to become a supreme court justice. in college, she scored a prestigious internship at former president jimmy carter s foundation. then, suddenly she vanished! detectives had a suspect in their sights. but it would take years
years later, shannon melendi vanished and investigators thought butch hinten had struck again. hinton was now headed to court, charged with shannon s murder. her family believed that justice was inside. but, they were about to learn that the fight was far from over. here s dennis murphy with the conclusion of shannon s story. butch hinton s trial for the murder of shannon began in august of 2005. more than 11 years after she disappeared from that softball field in georgia. when we went into the courtroom, i was thinking in my head 50/50 chance. that was the way it could go. there it was, the one-time delta airlines maintenance worker they had in their sights for years. this is your first time to really see him? well you know the old saying, if looks could kill. he would ve been dead on the spot. the county prosecutor had a daunting task ahead. the first case in georgia with no crime scene, no body. the absence of a body does