3 arrested in homicide of Sanford man
Charles Shannon Rhinehart (left) is accused of killing Steven Thomas (right) after an argument at a homeless camp.
The Seminole County Sheriff’s Office arrested two men and a woman Monday morning after they said all three were involved in the murder of a Sanford man.
Officials said Stephen Thomas, 51, of Sanford, was reported missing Thursday, July 14. He was last seen at a bar in Sanford around 9 p.m. the evening before. Family members reported Thomas missing after he failed to return home and did not show up for work the following day.
Thomas’ truck was found abandoned in a parking lot on Keyes Court in Sanford and deputies as well as officers from the Sanford Police Department began to canvas the area, including a nearby homeless camp where Thomas was known to have acquaintances.
Investigators interviewed several subjects including the three eventually arrested for the crime.
On Sunday, July 17 investigators received a tip that lead them to a location near the homeless camp where they found Thomas’ body buried in a shallow grave.
Charles Shannon Rhinehart, 46, homeless, was charged with second-degree murder and two counts of destroying evidence.
Through interviews with witnesses investigators were able to determine that Thomas and Rhinehart had been involved in a physical altercation and sometime during the fight Thomas stabbed Rhinehart with a knife.
Although the two were separated, as Thomas walked away Rhinehart hit him several times in the head with a shovel, killing him. Rinehart tossed Thomas’ cell phone and knife into the fire to try to destroy the evidence.
Two others – Charles Shade Rhinehart, 18, and Christina Jordan, 33, both homeless - were charged with being accessories after the fact, a second-degree felony, because of their refusal to give information to law enforcement about the crime. Charles Shade Rhinehart has bonded out jail.
Rhinehart is being held in the Seminole County jail with no bond. Jordan also remains in the Seminole County jail with no bond as she was already out on felony bond for fraud at the time of her arrest.
- Rachel Delinski, Herald Publisher/Editor, RDelinski@MySanfordHerald.com
