The Murder of Sheila Bellush (Crime Documentary)
- 5 years ago
"Sheila Bellush was a 35-year-old mother of six who was murdered on November 7, 1997, by a hired gunman named Joey Del Toro, on the orders of her ex-husband, Allen Blackthorne. Blackthorne, who had stalked Bellush since their divorce in 1987, allegedly wanted custody of their two children.
Sheila Leigh Walsh was born on October 19, 1962, in Topeka, Kansas. She married Blackthorne in 1982 and had two daughters, Stevie and Daryl. Their divorce was not amicable, with each accusing the other of abusing their children. Sheila married Jamie Bellush in 1993 and had quadruplets two years later. They moved to Sarasota, Florida to escape the constant surveillance of her ex-husband. Sheila had gone house hunting the week prior in Sarasota, having almost purchased from the Vasiloff family.
Blackthorne was unhappy with his divorce from Sheila and began to harass her after she won custody of their children. When the Bellush family moved to Florida, he tracked her down using a private investigator and plotted to hired a man to beat her up. A golfing buddy, Daniel Alex Rocha, a minor criminal, seemed the best bet to set his plan in motion, and Blackthorne asked Rocha to help him. Rocha was allegedly motivated to carry out the crime when told by Blackthorne that Sheila was abusing their two children, Stevie and Daryl. Rocha contacted a friend, Samuel Gonzalez, who introduced him to his cousin, Jose Luis Del Toro. Del Toro agreed to do the job for $14,000.
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. On his way to Bellush's house, Del Toro was spotted by a suspicious neighbor who memorized his license plate (this would later lead to his capture). Del Toro continued to the Sarasota home, where he broke in and saw Sheila with the quadruplets. In an interview with police before his conviction, he told them that he saw her with her children and saw how caring she was and almost didn't go through with it. He was about to leave but Sheila noticed the door was open and then noticed him. Del Toro stated that he couldn't run so he shot Bellush in the face with a .45 caliber gun and then slit her throat in full view of the quadruplets. Her body was found a few hours later by 13-year-old Stevie when she returned from school.
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 in Florida. 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 w
Sheila Leigh Walsh was born on October 19, 1962, in Topeka, Kansas. She married Blackthorne in 1982 and had two daughters, Stevie and Daryl. Their divorce was not amicable, with each accusing the other of abusing their children. Sheila married Jamie Bellush in 1993 and had quadruplets two years later. They moved to Sarasota, Florida to escape the constant surveillance of her ex-husband. Sheila had gone house hunting the week prior in Sarasota, having almost purchased from the Vasiloff family.
Blackthorne was unhappy with his divorce from Sheila and began to harass her after she won custody of their children. When the Bellush family moved to Florida, he tracked her down using a private investigator and plotted to hired a man to beat her up. A golfing buddy, Daniel Alex Rocha, a minor criminal, seemed the best bet to set his plan in motion, and Blackthorne asked Rocha to help him. Rocha was allegedly motivated to carry out the crime when told by Blackthorne that Sheila was abusing their two children, Stevie and Daryl. Rocha contacted a friend, Samuel Gonzalez, who introduced him to his cousin, Jose Luis Del Toro. Del Toro agreed to do the job for $14,000.
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. On his way to Bellush's house, Del Toro was spotted by a suspicious neighbor who memorized his license plate (this would later lead to his capture). Del Toro continued to the Sarasota home, where he broke in and saw Sheila with the quadruplets. In an interview with police before his conviction, he told them that he saw her with her children and saw how caring she was and almost didn't go through with it. He was about to leave but Sheila noticed the door was open and then noticed him. Del Toro stated that he couldn't run so he shot Bellush in the face with a .45 caliber gun and then slit her throat in full view of the quadruplets. Her body was found a few hours later by 13-year-old Stevie when she returned from school.
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 in Florida. 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 w