Sarasota Herald Tribune 

July 14, 1999
Section: A SECTION
Page: 1A

Tom Spalding STAFF WRITER

Wearing a bulletproof vest and looking haggard Tuesday afternoon, Jose Luis Del Toro Jr. was brought to the place he'd been trying to avoid.

The 23-year-old was whisked past reporters and television cameras at the Sarasota County Jail, remaining silent as he was peppered with questions about the murder of Sheila Bellush. He was booked into the jail at 6:20 p.m.

on a first-degree murder charge, 20 months after authorities say he shot and twice slashed Bellush in her Sarasota home as her quadruplets toddled nearby.

Del Toro, a former Texas resident, is slated to have a first-appearance hearing today in Sarasota, before Circuit Judge Judy Goldman. His charge will be read, he'll have an opportunity to enter a plea, and bail will be discussed. It's likely that he'll be ordered held without bail while he awaits trial.

Del Toro's arrival at the jail ends a 11/2-year struggle by Sarasota County prosecutors and sheriff's detectives to bring Del Toro to Sarasota to stand trial.

Days after Del Toro was identified as the prime suspect in the killing, he fled to Mexico, where he was captured by Mexican authorities and began fighting extradition to the United States. Over the weekend, Mexico's Supreme Court ruled that Del Toro could be taken into custody by U.S. authorities and brought to Sarasota.

Del Toro arrived in Miami early Tuesday morning on a flight from Mexico.

Later Tuesday, he was picked up by Sarasota County sheriff's officials, who escorted him in a two-vehicle caravan on Interstate 75 to Sarasota.

"He was not real happy about the situation he's in, but he's healthy and fine," said sheriff's Detective Ron Albritton, who was among those who accompanied Del Toro.

Detectives hope that Del Toro will lead them to others involved in the planning of the murder on Nov. 7, 1997. Albritton and Detective Chris Iorio had a chance to question and talk to Del Toro on Tuesday, but they wouldn't say what - if anything - he said to them.

It's unclear who will represent Del Toro in court.

He was visited Tuesday by a representative of the Public Defender's Office.

And Public Defender Elliott Metcalfe said he would enter a plea of "not guilty" on Del Toro's behalf if no private attorney comes forward to represent him.

"He might have been set up . . . what motive does he have to kill anybody?"

Metcalfe said.

Authorities, however, say they have convincing evidence against Del Toro, including a fingerprint on an appliance in the Bellush home; receipts from the Hampton Inn, where Del Toro stayed before the killing; and eyewitness accounts of his car being seen in Bellush's neighborhood on the day of the killing.

Released Tuesday was a new piece of evidence - a Nov. 6, 1997, receipt from the Sports Authority store in Sarasota, where Del Toro purchased camouflage clothing that authorities believe he wore during the murder.

Detectives say Del Toro was the triggerman in a murder-for-hire plot that originated in the Bellush family's former hometown, San Antonio.

Two other people have been convicted for their roles in Bellush's death:

Samuel Gonzales received a 19-year prison sentence for conspiracy to commit murder after reaching a plea deal. Daniel Alex Rocha was sentenced to life in prison in February for a first-degree murder conviction.

Authorities say Rocha approached Gonzales about attacking Bellush, then Gonzales hired his cousin, Del Toro, to do the job for several thousand dollars. Bellush, 35, was discovered by one of her two teen-age daughters; the young quadruplets were not harmed.

As part of Gonzales' agreement with prosecutors, he is slated to testify at Del Toro's trial - much the same way he did at Rocha's trial.

Del Toro will be separated from the other 700 inmates in the county jail for his safety. An arraignment may not be held for another month, and a trial could be a year away.

"If (Del Toro's) attorney wants to go faster, we're ready to go right now.

We can give him a trial tomorrow if he wants one," said Chief Assistant State Attorney Henry Lee.

However, prosecutors said they aren't sure whether the trial will be in Sarasota because of the publicity surrounding the case.

Because prosecutors had to waive the death penalty to secure Del Toro's return from Mexico, he faces up to life in prison if convicted.

"At this point our goal is to take him to trial and get him a life sentence," Lee said. "At some point, if he provides information, we may revisit it. At this point, it's not even in the cards."

Staff writer Tom Spalding can be contacted at 957-5195 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Retraced steps

According to Sarasota County sheriff's detectives and court records, here are the actions of Jose Luis Del Toro Jr. before, during and after the murder of Sheila Bellush: Nov. 6, 1997

After driving from San Antonio to Sarasota, Del Toro checks into the Hampton Inn at Cattlemen Road and Interstate 75. During his stay, Del Toro buys camouflage clothing at the Sports Authority store in Sarasota. Nov. 7, 1997

Del Toro checks out of the motel. Several witnesses at a Chevron gas station at Shade Avenue and Bee Ridge Road see a man resembling Del Toro at about noon ask for directions to Markridge Road, where Bellush lived.

Bellush is fatally shot and her throat cut twice between 12:30 and 4:20 p.m.

at her home. Detectives say Bellush confronted Del Toro as he came into the laundry room from the garage. Witnesses later report having seen a man wearing camouflage clothing near Bellush's home the day she was killed.

Nov. 8-9, 1997

Del Toro returns to Texas.

Nov. 10, 1997

The car Del Toro was driving, a Mitsubishi Eclipse, is found in the Austin, Texas, area, north of San Antonio.

Nov. 11, 1997

Sarasota County sheriff's detectives announce that Del Toro is their prime suspect in the murder. Around the same time, Del Toro flees to Mexico.

Nov. 20, 1997

Del Toro is captured near Monterrey, Mexico, and taken into custody by that country's authorities. He begins the process of appealing extradition to the United States.

July 12

After Mexico's Supreme Court rules that Del Toro can be returned to the United States, FBI agents escort him from Mexico to Miami.

July 13

Sarasota County sheriff's officials escort Del Toro from Miami to the Sarasota County Jail

Today

Del Toro is scheduled to have his first-appearance hearing, when the charges will be read to him. He is expected to be ordered held without bail while he awaits trial.

The evidence

Sarasota County sheriff's investigators say they have compiled the following evidence against Jose Luis Del Toro Jr.:

* A fingerprint on a clothes dryer in Sheila Bellush's home.

* A round the same caliber as the murder weapon in his Sarasota Hampton Inn room and his name on the hotel register.

* A Mitsubishi Eclipse he had been driving was found near Austin, Texas.

Inside, officers found a towel and a key from the Hampton Inn; a hotel receipt; the .45-caliber gun they say was used to kill Bellush; and a receipt from the Sports Authority in Sarasota showing that Del Toro bought camouflage clothing the day before the killing.

* An attendant at the Chevron gas station at Shade Avenue and Bee Ridge Road remembers giving Del Toro written directions to the Gulf Gate street where Bellush lived.

* Some of Bellush's neighbors took note of Del Toro's Texas license plate when he arrived near her home.

* Camouflage clothing that witnesses said they had seen Del Toro wearing the day of the murder was found in a Texas home.

Caption: Jose Luis Del Toro Jr., the prime suspect in the 1997 murder of Sheila Bellush, is led into the Sarasota County Jail on Tuesday.

STAFF PHOTO/ROD MILLINGTON