Four-Day Trial Ends With 6-Member Jury Finding Guilt
LABELLE, FL. -- A five-female, one-male member jury begins deliberations at the Hendry County Courthouse in LaBelle this afternoon after hearing the State Attorney's arguments seeking a murder conviction of Joseph Shook.
After a little more than an hour, the jury found Shook guilty of the murder of his wife.
Shook was accused of murdering his wife Melissa Shook in 2007, and then burying her in a shallow grave on the Hendry-Lee county line just east of Alva, Florida. Prosecutors displayed evidence to the jury including duct tape and a shovel found at the Shook home which were said to be used by Joe Shook in the grisly murder/burial.
While Shook lived in Lee county, he was given a choice to stand trial in Hendry or Lee county. Shook only spoke once during the trial, telling the court he was not going to testify in his defense. His attorney put no defense witnesses on the stand during the trial. The state rested it's case Thursday, while the defense ended it's arguments Friday.
Jurors came in with a guilty verdict after deliberating about an hour after finishing a late afternoon lunch break. During deliberations, they had asked the judge for a magnifying glass, but the request was denied by Circuit Judge Cristine Greider.
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