Teenage Convicted Murderer Soon to be Released
tiny dancer
just weeks away from freedom.
Melanie Gray is set to be released on November 4th after serving eight years
in prison for the murder of Danny Pence.
Gray was 14-years-old at the time of the murder in 1995.
In 1997 she pleaded guilty to a reduced charged of second degree murder and
to felony charges of kidnapping Pence and stealing his car.
Since being in prison, Gray has racked up 116 infractions, despite that,
she's set to be released before serving her maximum sentenced of nearly 12
years.
Gray's accomplice, Todd Boggess, was found guilty of first degree murder and
sentenced to death. His sentence was overturned on a legal technicality and
he is not awaiting a new trial.
**I remember this case, it was a cold-blooded murder of a totally innocent
young victim. I'm shocked she's being released.
td**
In 1995, Boggess, a teenage homeless drifter, was
accused of kidnapping honor student Danny Lee Pence in
Wrightsville Beach, stealing his Ford Mustang and
driving him to a secluded area off Terry Road in
Durham, where he was beaten to death.
Boggess received the death penalty two years later
after being convicted of first-degree murder and
related crimes.
A 14-year-old accomplice, Melanie Gray, was allowed to
plead guilty to a reduced charge of second-degree
murder. She received between 9 and 11½ years in
prison.
Pence's parents, Sharlene and Lee Pence, could not be
reached for comment Friday.
After Boggess' conviction, and before he was
sentenced, Sharlene Pence said she was "leaving the
death penalty up to God."
Lee Pence said then that "an eye for an eye" was the
appropriate punishment.
Court officials said Friday's decision means Boggess
will be moved off death row as he awaits a new trial.
He probably will remain in a state prison rather than
being transferred to the Durham County Jail, officials
said.
District Attorney Jim Hardin Jr. said it was too early
to predict when the new trial might occur. But he
disagreed Friday with the Supreme Court's conclusion.
"I thought Judge Hudson took appropriate measures to
ensure we had a fair and impartial jury," he told The
Herald-Sun. "The Supreme Court obviously thought
otherwise. Now we're back to where we started from.
This was a horrific, tragic crime. I feel very deeply
for the Pence family."
After it was learned that one of the 1997 jurors had a
friend who knew Pence's mother, lawyers for both sides
were allowed to question the woman about whether she
could be fair and impartial. She said she could.
"There was no reason to exclude her," Hardin said.
"Judge Hudson gave the appropriate safeguards to the
defendant. I thought he did it the right way. I
personally think he made the right decision."
To save time and money, prosecutors theoretically
could elect not to seek the death penalty again. But
the case remains in a "capital posture" for now,
Hardin said.
Fred Battaglia, one of Boggess' two trial lawyers in
1997, said the Supreme Court decision almost
overwhelmed him.
"I don't even have words to describe how I feel," he
said. "I'm just very happy for Todd. ? I didn't think
he deserved the death penalty then, and I don't think
so now."
Lawyer Dan Shatz, who prepared Boggess' successful
appeal along with attorney Staples Hughes, said he too
was thrilled by the prospect of a new trial.
"I think the legal issues were clear-cut," he said.
URL for this article:
http://www.herald-sun.com/durham/4-511080.html
tiny dancer
In August 1995, Todd Boggess (defendant) and his girlfriend, Melanie Gray
(Gray), a fourteen-year-old runaway, were staying together at Wrightsville
Beach. The victim in this case, Danny Pence (Pence), lived with his parents
in Wilmington and was a rising senior at Laney High School. He owned a 1987
Ford Mustang automobile that his parents had given him about the time he
turned sixteen. Although Pence customized his Mustang by repainting it,
improving the sound system, and changing the wheels, at the time of his
death he was considering selling it and purchasing a motorcycle.
Pence was employed at Philly Steak and Sub in Murrayville. On the
evening of 21 August 1995, Pence went home after completing his day's work,
and then, at about 10:00 p.m., drove his Mustang to Johnny Mercer's Pier, a
hangout for teenagers at Wrightsville Beach. Defendant and Gray were also at
Johnny Mercer's Pier that night. Defendant asked Adam Fredericks if he knew
anyone who was selling a car. After checking with Pence, Fredericks told
defendant that Pence was interested insuch a sale. Pence showed his Mustang
to defendant, and they left together on a test ride. Defendant was driving,
while Pence was in the front passenger seat and Gray was in one of the rear
seats. When Pence did not return home that evening, his increasingly-worried
mother searched unsuccessfully for him and then filed a missing person's
report with the New Hanover County Sheriff's Department.
The next morning, 22 August 1995, a male and female matching the
descriptions of defendant and Gray were observed driving Pence's Mustang on
Terry Road in Durham County. At approximately 10:30 a.m., defendant and Gray
pawned in Durham speakers from Pence's car and a socket set that Pence's
father had given him to keep in the car. Around noon, several teenage boys
who were gathered in a wooded area along Terry Road found a body and
notified the police. The body was subsequently determined to be Pence's.
During an autopsy performed the next day, the forensic pathologist observed
multiple injuries to the victim's head and body. Based on the number of
wounds, the pathologist's opinion was that Pence had been beaten over a
period of time. He testified that the cause of Pence's death was
"blunt-force trauma, multiple blows, but most importantly the blows that
struck him in the head and caused injury to the skull and the brain."
Connecting Pence's disappearance from Wilmington with the discovery of a
body in Durham County, Beaufort County Sheriff's deputies began surveillance
of the home of defendant's parents in Chocowinity. On 24 August 1995,
investigators spotted Pence's Mustang, which had been repainted, in front of
the Boggess residence. Following a brief and unsuccessful attempt toevade
capture by fleeing into a cornfield, defendant and Gray surrendered.
Defendant made several post-arrest statements in which he admitted
stealing Pence's car and beating him. All these statements were introduced
as evidence at trial. Details of the statements will be discussed below.
Defendant was tried capitally at the 13 January 1997 Criminal Session of
Superior Court, Durham County. The jury found defendant guilty of
first-degree murder on the basis of premeditation and deliberation; felony
murder, with kidnapping and robbery with a dangerous weapon serving as the
underlying felonies; and murder by torture. He was also convicted of first-
degree kidnapping and robbery with a dangerous weapon. At defendant's
sentencing proceeding, the jury found three aggravating circumstances: that
the murder was committed while defendant was engaged in kidnapping; that the
murder was committed for pecuniary gain; and that the murder was especially
heinous, atrocious, or cruel. The jury also found nine of twenty-two
submitted mitigating circumstances. The jury then found that the mitigating
circumstances were insufficient to outweigh the aggravating circumstances
and recommended a sentence of death. The trial court arrested judgment as to
the conviction of first-degree kidnapping, imposed a sentence of death as to
the murder, and sentenced defendant to a 69 to 92 months' imprisonment for
the conviction of robbery with a dangerous weapon. The appeal of this case
was delayed substantially because of a dispute between the State and the
court reporter over payment for a transcript of the trial.