The Murder of Trent DiGiuro
For this case I watched an episode of Cold Blood. It’s season 5 episode 4, titled ‘Shot in the Dark.’
A University of Kentucky football player is killed while celebrating his 21st birthday.
Background
Trent DiGiuro
Trent DiGiuro worked hard to get to where he was, a football player at the University of Kentucky in Lexington. He decided to go out for the team as a walk on, but worked his way up to a starting spot on the team. He loved football, and being with his friends. He was described as a big teddy bear, and the protector of his friend group.
The Murder
On July 17, 1994, a call came into the police around 2am. The call was about a shooting that had occurred at a house on Woodland Ave. Officer Mike Wright of the University of Kentucky police was a block away when the call came in.
Trent was found sitting in his favorite chair on the front porch. He had been shot once near his ear, and was slumped over. Officer Wright called in the homicide unit, and Trent was rushed to the hospital. However, Trent died almost immediately.
The scene was roped off, the chair was knocked over and there was blood everywhere. Several partygoers were still near the scene, but when police asked them if they had seen anything, they said no. Trent’s friend said he didn’t even realize that Trent was dead, he just heard a noise that he thought was a car backfiring.
The police had to notify Trent’s family around 5:30am, and were shocked when the police told them he had been shot. They said Trent didn’t have any enemies, and according to his friends, Trent was nothing but a great and friendly guy.
Trent’s home in Lexington
The Investigation
There was an alley in between Trent’s home and the home next door. The police believed the killer could’ve shot Trent from there, but they didn’t find any footprints or shell casings.
When Trent’s autopsy was performed, the police discovered that Trent had been shot with a .243 rifle, and was mostly likely shot from a distance.
The next day, the police started canvassing the area. A woman who lived on the next street over from Trent’s, said that she heard a noise that sounded like a brick being thrown at her home. The police searched her yard, and found marks from a bipod, which is used for shooting a rifle. This home was 100 yards away from Trent’s porch.
There were many rumors that spread about why Trent was shot. The first being that Trent was taking steroids. However, his toxicology screen came back as negative for drugs. His home was also searched, and no drugs were found.
The second theory had to do with a bar fight that Trent had gotten into months earlier. The police tracked down the other people involved, and they were eliminated.
The last theory was a possible jealous ex or love triangle. The police looked into it, but Trent didn’t date much. The episode said Trent’s first love was football.
Trent was laid to rest on his 21st birthday. His case stalled many times, but it would take two years for the first suspect to come to light.
An Anonymous Caller
In April 1996, the police received a phone call from a man who seemed to know a lot about Trent’s case. He made suggestions about what could’ve happened and what gun could have been used.
The police traced the call, and it led them to a trailer home 20 miles outside of Lexington. The caller was a strange man in his 40s. He had newspaper clippings of the case, and diagrams he had drawn of his own gun tests. He told the police that he had a thing for rifles, and even had a .243 rifle. He showed them where he did his testing.
The .243 was sent in for testing, but it wasn’t a match to the murder weapon or bullets found in Trent.
A “Stupid Motive”
The police were stumped, they didn’t have any motives or suspects. The case stalled again, and six years later, the police received a call from a local attorney who had information about the case.
The attorney said his client Aimee Lloyd had dated a man named Shane Ragland, a 26 year old computer programer from Frankfort, Kentucky. Aimee met with Detective Don Evans, and told him that Shane was her ex-boyfriend, who had lived just three houses down from Trent in 1994. Aimee said she and Shane had been drinking at a bar, and talking about the worst things they’ve ever done. She said Shane confessed that he shot Trent. Aimee even wrote about it in her diary, and gave it to the police for evidence.
The police didn’t know if Aimee was telling the truth, or if she was a scorned ex. They did some more digging into Shane, and discovered a possible connection between him and Trent. Shane and Trent crossed paths when they both pledged for the same fraternity. They were in Trent’s dorm room one day, and he had a calendar they had taken of sorority girls. Shane told Trent that he had slept with one of the girls from the calendar. The girl happened to be the girlfriend of Trent’s friend Matt.
Trent told Matt, and Matt confronted Shane about it some time later. Matt was high up in the fraternity, and blackballed Shane from the fraternity. Shane confronted Matt about it, and Trent stepped in and said he had been the one to tell Matt about it. Apparently, Shane held a grudge for years and shot Trent over it.
The police looked into the fraternity records, and did find Shane’s name with a line through it. They wanted more evidence that Shane was really a cold blooded killer.
The Sting Operation
Detective Evans asked Aimee to help them catch Shane on tape confessing to the crime. At first, she refused, but they told her they would help her get a new identity if she agreed.
Aimee agreed, and reached out to Shane over email. She was able to get his attention by telling him that she had gotten breast implants. Aimee told Shane that she had an upcoming trip, and could meet him at the Lexington airport for a drink.
The day before the meeting, the police went to the airport, and put recording devices in the table at the bar. They told Amy that there would be police at every entrance, and undercover police nearby.
When Shane arrived, Aimee told him that something had been bothering her for years. At one point, Shane asked Aimee if she was setting him up. Shane never actually confessed to the murder, but he did say that sometimes he gets into situations and just lashes out. Here is a little bit of their conversation, which you can hear on Dateline and on this episode of Cold Blood:
“Shane Ragland: Let me ask you a question, you’re not setting me up, are you?
Aimee Lloyd: I’ve never told anybody.
Shane Ragland: I’m getting this weird vibe.
Aimee Lloyd: I never told anybody.
Shane Ragland: Swear to me you’re not going to set me up.”
Shane was arrested on suspicion of murder. He maintained his innocence.
Trial and Conviction
Shane was brought into the police station, and they asked him about how he knew Trent. Shane said he didn’t know him, and never had any interactions with him.
Meanwhile, a search warrant was obtained for both Shane’s mom and dad’s homes. They found a .243 rifle and ammo in both of Shane’s bedrooms. The bullets and gun were tested, and it came back as a partial match. It didn’t come back as proving that it was the exact gun, but it couldn’t be ruled out.
On July 17, 2000, Shane pleaded not guilty. His bail was set at $1 million, which his well to do family was able to pay.
In March 2002, Shane’s trial began. The prosecution believed that Shane had walked past Trent’s party the night of the murder, and became pissed about what happened with the fraternity. He then got his rifle, positioned himself and shot Trent.
Aimee testified, and so did a forensic expert named Kathleen Lundy. She testified that the bullet recovered from Trent matched the bullets found in Shane’s home.
The case was very circumstantial, but the jury deliberated for only 6 hours, and found Shane guilty. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison.
Shane Ragland in court
The Appeal
Shane's family put together an appeal for Shane, and it was discovered that Kathleen Lundy had committed perjury. The ballistics test actually proved that the bullets found in Shane’s room didn’t match the bullets recovered from Trent. Lundy was charged with perjury.
Shane’s case completely fell apart, and he later pleaded guilty to manslaughter. At this trial, he finally confessed to killing Trent. However, he had served 5 years in prison, and walked out a free man that day.
Mike DiGuiro, Trent’s dad, sued Shane in a civil suit, and won a $30 million settlement. He has never seen any of that money.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I believe that Shane killed Trent. I don’t know why this Aimee girl would have wanted to risk her life if it wasn’t true. She said she came forward because Trent’s family begged for someone to tell them the truth. It’s so heartbreaking, they finally got the truth about what happened to their son, and the killer is out there living his life. He was beat up in prison, and now has bad eyesight and a problem walking, but he’s alive, Trent isn’t.
Sources
https://www.oxygen.com/dying-to-belong/martinis-murder/teen-assassinates-football-star
