Man gets life in prison for murder of Miss. college professor
CANTON, Miss. - A Jackson, Miss. man has been sentenced to life in prison for murder the 2014 slaying of Jackson State University professor Garrick Shelton.
A jury in Madison County handed down the verdict Wednesday. District Attorney Michael Guest said Melvin Potts also was sentenced to 10 years for auto theft.
Authorities said Shelton was found stabbed to death in his home in Madison. The medical examiner reported Shelton had been stabbed or slashed 18 times, in addition to being shot in the back.
Guest said Shelton's car was taken. It was later found in Jackson.
Police said Shelton's body was found when a relative went to his home because he had not reported for work. Upon finding Shelton, the relative called police.
Guest said Potts and Shelton met on a website a little less than three weeks before the professor's death and agreed to sexual encounters. On the day Shelton died, he picked Potts up in Jackson and took him to his home in Madison, Guest said.
Guest said Potts had argued he acted in self-defense.