Michael Troy Hutto: Salt Life co-founder sentenced to 12 years in prison for fatally shooting Lora Grace Duncan, 18
PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA: Michael Troy Hutto, 54, the co-founder of the Salt Life brand was sentenced to 12 years in prison on Thursday, February 16, following a fatal gun tragedy that took the life of his teenage girlfriend Lora Grace Duncan in October 2020. The 54-year-old is believed to have accidentally shot the 18-year-old after which he allegedly fled the scene before surrendering out of guilt.
Lora Grace Duncan was found shot dead in a Hilton hotel room with at least one gunshot wound on October 30, 2020. Following the fatal shooting, Michael Troy Hutto pleaded guilty to manslaughter with a firearm. He was also credited for 79 days already served in jail. Lora Grace Duncan's parents also attended the hearing via zoom call and a victim impact statement was read in court, according to Palm Beach County court documents.
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What really happened?
Riviera Beach Police Department reported Michael Troy Hutto and Lora Grace Duncan were traveling to Florida to meet up with their friends when they decided to spend time in the Hilton in Riviera Beach. The pair were reported to be “playing inside of the hotel room as if they were shooting with their finger and a gun,” according to CBS. The tragedy unfolded when the teenager was seated on the bathroom counter when Hutto allegedly “pointed the gun at Gracie, at which time; it went off and shot her,” the report said.
A terrified Hutto put the gun in his Adidas backpack and reportedly fled the hotel in his 2020 green Dodge Challenger Hellcat. The suspect is believed to have driven "until he ran out of gas at a gas station,” the report read. He finally made a stop at a BP station near Interstate 95 and International Golf Parkway in St. Augustine and walked into the store asking for help, on October 28, 2020. Hutto was “reportedly twitching, making delusional comments, and crying while his eyes were rolling into the back of his head,” the report claimed.
'I hurt my Gracie!'
He was taken to a hospital in Jackson for treatment for an overdose and later booked for Duncan's murder into the Duval County Jail before being transferred to the Palm Beach County Jail on November 8, 2020. Furthermore, Duncan’s father had already contacted the police to check on their daughter on October 25, 2020, after they hadn't been able to contact her.
The father told the police he was able to track Duncan's location to the Hilton in Riviera Beach but was unable to reach his daughter. When police arrived at the hotel they found Duncan's body. Meanwhile, authorities from St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office contacted Riviera Beach Police Department alerting them about Hutto. When a Riviera Beach detective met with Hutto in the hospital, “Hutto uttered, which was not verbatim, ‘Oh my God, I think, I hurt my Gracie’ as he began to cry,” according to the report.