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Dateline: Is Butch Hinton Still Married To Wife Gail Hinton? Shannon Melendi Killer Divorce

Author

Ava Hall

Updated on December 28, 2025

A convicted felon Butch Hinton was found guilty of murdering Shannon Melendi back in 1994. Read on to explore details surrounding Hinton’s wife and more.

Shannon Melendi’s abduction and murder were investigated by NBC’s “Dateline: Shannon’s Story” which occurred in 1994.

The Emory University sophomore, who was 19-year-old, was last seen alive on the 26th of March, 1994, when she vanished from a Citgo gas station on Decatur Road in Atlanta, Georgia.

Reportedly, Melendi just finished scorekeeping a softball game on that Saturday afternoon when she was kidnapped, raped, and murdered by a guy who didn’t accept remorse for over decades.

The officials, on the other hand, had been following him from the beginning. So, how about we find out details surrounding Butch Hinton’s personal life.

Where Is Butch Hinton’s Wife Gail Hinton Now? Age And Children

Apparently, there are no particular data regarding Butch Hinton’s wife and his children. However, he was believed to have married his wife named Gail Hinton.

Multiple reports claimed that Colvin “Butch” Hinton III is currently 61 years of age and is most known for being a convicted criminal who was accused of murdering Shannon Melendi.

As per WKYC, Hinton was serving as an umpire at the softball game Melendi was keeping score of at that time, but it took over 10 years for police to prosecute him with assassination.

After getting an unidentified phone call from a phone booth, where they discovered Melendi’s rings covered in tape inside a bag, the police were able to link Hinton to that incident.

Divorce Update: Have Butch Hinton And Wife Gail Separated?

It’s quite unclear if Butch Hinton and his wife Gail Hinton are still together or have had divorced. However, as per forensic files, after killing Melendi Butch took his wife out for dinner at an Olive garden.

Similarly, it is stated that he also gave his wife a ring as a gift which was stolen from Melendi.

Amid this, when the police discovered Melendi’s ring, the tape included traces of cobalt, allowing an aeronautical scientist to deduce that it originated from an aircraft manufacturer or maintenance facility.

During that time, Hinton was working for Delta Airlines in Atlanta.

Who Are Shannon Melendi Parents? Butch Hinton Victim Family

Shannon Melendi’s parents Luis and Yvonne Melendi continue to fight for her justice to this date.

Moreover, Butch Hinton is entitled to parole every seven years under Georgia’s law, so Shannon’s parents do everything they can to avoid his discharge and guarantee that no one else has to go through what they did.

In contrast, this incorporates petition initiatives and letter-writing activities aimed at persuading Georgia’s Board of Pardons and Paroles to keep Butch in jail.