SARASOTA, Fla. — Books have been published and documentaries made about a murder-for-hire case that happened in Sarasota. It’s the murder of Sarasota mother of quadruplets Sheila Bellush.
The case returned to a Sarasota courtroom last month when one of the co-conspirators said the killer could clear his name.
Danny Rocha, the middle man in this murder-for-hire wanted his life sentence thrown out and a new trial. That man -- convicted killer Jose Del Toro — was said to be prepared to testify for him.
Rocha, however, walked into a Sarasota courtroom looking disappointed on the day that he had hoped a judge would throw out his life sentence and grant him a new trial.
Instead, his attorney Peter Cohan said, “We will be resting our case.”
Cohan told Judge Hunter Carroll they would not be calling any witnesses that included Del Toro. Last month, Rocha said in court Del Toro signed an affidavit saying all Rocha did was give him Sheila Bellush’s address and that he never intended for him to enter her home.
Rocha says, “Based on the affidavit I was not involved in the murder.”
Del Toro did enter Bellush’s home in November 1997, shot her and slit her throat as her 2-year-old quadruplets watched. Bellush moved to Sarasota from San Antonio, Texas, with her new family two months earlier to get away from her ex-husband, millionaire Allen Blackthorne. They shared two teenage daughters.
Blackthorne was convicted of hiring Del Toro to kill Bellush.
One of Bellush’s daughters discovered her mother’s body.
Del Toro is serving a life sentence and so is Rocha, though he believed he had a chance to get out of jail.
Carroll asked Rocha, “You understand if you don’t call Mr. Del Toro you do not meet your burden of proof?"
Rocha said, “Yes, sir”
“Your life sentence will remain the same,” said Carroll.
He was asked why the change of heart?
Rocha responded, “Based on my attorney’s advice it’s the right decision.”
The judge asked if he had been threatened or forced into this decision. Rocha’s answer, “No, just based on the conversation I had the last 2 minutes with my attorney.”
Rocha’s attorney and family would not comment on the latest developments, but the assistant state attorney thinks Rocha realized he didn’t have a case.
“I anticipated from the information I had Mr. Del Toro if he had testified here today he would have spoken about the defendant’s active involvement,” says Art Jackman.
The Bellush family, including Sheila’s widowers, heard about Rocha’s hearing for a new trial.
“Mr. Bellush was anguished greatly anguished,” said Karen Fraivillig, assistant state attorney.
She added, “Mr. Bellush was concerned Mr. Rocha would escape the punishment that he so justly deserves.”
This time he did not … and the quadruplets many remembered as toddlers…Joe, Courtney, Tim and Frank are all grown up. Joe told 10 News they are all doing well.
While Rocha cannot ask for another post-conviction hearing to lessen his sentence using evidence provided by Del Toro, the judge says it does not prohibit him from filing future motions using other new evidence.
Allen Blackthorne died in jail in 2014, he was serving a life sentence.
A fourth man involved in the murder for hire, Sammy Gonzalez, struck a plea deal, served 19 years and is out of jail.
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