Sheila Bellush

Sheila Walsh Bellush (1962–1997) was a mother of six who was murdered by hired gun, Joey Del Toro on the orders of her ex-husband Allen Blackthorne. Blackthorne had stalked Bellush since their divorce in 1987; he allegedly wanted custody of their two children.

Life and murder

Background

Bellush was born on October 19, 1962 in Topeka, Kansas. Bellush married Blackthorne in 1982, and had two children, Stevie and Daryl. Their divorce was not amicable, with both accusing the other of abusing their daughters. Bellush eventually won custody of the two children, and Blackthorne gave up his parental rights.cite web|url=http://www.sptimes.com/News/010500/TampaBay/Bellush_s_former_husb.shtml|title=Bellush's former husband indicted|accessdate=2007-04-14|date=2000|publisher=St. Petersburg Times]

Bellush married Jamie Bellush in 1993, and had quadruplets two years later. They moved to Sarasota, Florida to get away from Blackthorne.

Murder

Blackthorne was not happy with his divorce with Sheila, and began to harass her after she won custody of their children. When the Bellush family moved to Florida he tracked her down and decided to hire a hoodlum to scare her and possibly kill her. His golfing buddy Daniel Alex Rocha, a minor criminal, seemed to him the best bet to set his plan in motion, and Blackthorne asked Rocha to help him. Rocha contacted his friend Samuel Gonzalez, who introduced him to his cousin Jose Luis Del Toro. Del Toro agreed to do the job in return for a monetary sum.

On November 7, 1997, Del Toro traveled to Sarasota, Florida in a car registered to his grandmother with the intention of assaulting Sheila. He stopped at a Sports Authority store to obtain camouflage clothes, and a gas station to get directions to the address Rocha gave him.cite web|url=http://www.sptimes.com/News/070700/State/Del_Toro_admits_the_m.shtml|title=Del Toro admits the murder|accessdate=2007-04-14|date=2000|publisher=St. Petersburg Times] On his way to Sheila's house, Del Toro was spotted by a suspicious neighbour who memorised his license plate. This would later lead to his capture. Unaware of this incident, Del Toro continued to the Sarasota house, where he broke in and waited until Sheila came home. He shot her in the face with a .45 Caliber gun and then stabbed her twice in full view of the quadruplets. Her body was found a few hours later by 13-year-old Stevie when she returned from school. cite web|url=http://www.chron.com/content/chronicle/page1/97/11/12/quads-mom.2-0.html|title=Discord shadowed slain mom of quads|accessdate=2007-04-14|date=1997|publisher=Houston Chronicle]

"My mom is dead," Stevie told a 911 operator. "There's blood all the way from the laundry room to ... . Oh my God, who would do this?"

Aftermath

Jose Del Toro fled to Mexico after committing the murder. He was extradited to the United States in July 1999, and pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and armed burglary charges in 2000. Circuit Judge Paul Logan gave Del Toro two consecutive life sentences, the maximum penalty for both charges.

Gonzalez pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder in June 1998 in a plea bargain; he was sentenced to 19 years in prison. Rocha opted to go to trial instead and was convicted of first degree murder in January 1999 with Gonzalez's testimony; he received a life sentence.

Blackthorne was convicted of first degree murder and given a life sentence in 2000, a few hours after Del Toro was convicted.

References