Long suspected of murder, she confessed but avoided prison
by Felicia Fonseca, The Associated Press
Posted May 9, 2021 11:21 am EDT
Last Updated May 9, 2021 at 11:28 am EDT
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. There was no shortage of tips about who killed Pamela Pitts, a rowdy but compassionate 19-year-old whose body was found burned beyond recognition in a pile of trash in 1988.
A Satanic cult. A drug dealer. A cowboy. An ex-lover. A guy nicknamed “Halftrack.” Or maybe it was an overdose at a spot in central Arizona where people went to party.
It would take more than 30 years, some prison calls and an eyebrow-raising plea deal before a convicted murderer would confess and the mystery would partly be solved. But in a shocking twist, a court recently agreed Pitts’ killer wouldn’t spend any more time behind bars.
Woman confesses to 1988 murder of her roommate but will serve NO jail time because she s already serving 20 years for killing her ex-boyfriend
Shelly Harmon, 50, agreed to plead guilty in March to the second-degree murder of 19-year-old Pamela Pitts in September 1988
Harmon was convicted of murdering her ex-boyfriend in 1993 and was sentenced to 20 years in prison
As part of the plea deal, she would be sentenced to 20 years in prison
But, an Arizona court agreed to give Harmon credit for the time she served in her ex-boyfriend s killing and waiting trial for Pitts murder
She had previously maintained her innocence in Pitts homicide