A Florida man and one of the original co-founders of the Salt Life Company claimed he accidently shot a teen girl, who he called “his Gracie”, while playing a game with her, police say.
Riviera Beach police officers found 18-year-old Lora Grace Duncan decreased last month, inside a room at the Hilton Singer Island Oceanfront Resort in Reviera Beach, after her family requested a wellness check. She had been at the hotel for several days, police said.
Michael Troy Hutto, the co-founder of the popular Salt Life brand of ocean gear, was identified as a suspect after Duncan’s father contacted police and said he thought Hutto had been supplying his daughter with drugs.
Duncan’s father also said he hadn’t heard from her days, but he tracked her phone to the Hilton. He added that she had been acting unusual lately.
When officers arrived at the scene on 29th October, they found Duncan inside the hotel room, covered in blood with a single gunshot to her abdomen. Authorities later found Hutto “twitching, making delusional comments and crying while his eyes were rolling into the back of his head”, at a gas station in St. Augustine. Authorities said he was overdosing when they found him.
Hutto allegedly told detectives that “his Garcie” had been travelling with him to meet friends in the Florida Keys when they stopped to spend the night at the Hilton. He reportedly claimed that while inside the hotel room, they were playing around with each other and “shooting with their finger and a gun.”
Hutto said a gun he was playing with accidently shot Duncan.
Salt Life released a statement on its Facebook page, noting that new owners have been managing the business since the co-founders sold it in 2013. The statement said, “The co-founders have not been associated with the brand in any way since the purchase in 2013.”Salt Life co-founder claims he shot teen girl while playing; police find him babbling with his eyes rolling into the back of his head