ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A 73-year-old death row inmate continues to hope the governor will overturn his conviction as questions remain over him, his co-defendant and a 1985 crime.
- James Dailey remains on death row for 1985 Pinellas murder
- Co-defendant Jack Pearcy received life in prison
- Both have changed stories over the years
- Dailey, Pearcy expected in court Thursday
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In September, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a death warrant for James Dailey. He was scheduled to die by lethal injection last November for the 1985 murder of Shelly Boggio.
Shelly, 14, her twin sister Stacy, and Stephanie Forsythe were hitchhiking near St. Petersburg the night of May 5, 1985 when they encountered Dailey and Jack Pearcy. They went to a bar, then to Pearcy’s home.
Two of the girls later went back home. Shelly stayed behind, then got in a car with Dailey and Pearcy.
The next morning, Dailey was seen returning home shirtless, wearing wet jeans.
The teen’s body was found the next day near the Indian Rocks Beach bridge. She had been beaten, choked, stabbed 31 times and then held underwater until she drowned. Her clothes were found on the shore nearby.
She had 18 defensive wounds on her hands, the medical examiner testified.
A prosecutor once called her murder “one of the most heinous crimes in Pinellas County history.”
Dailey and his attorneys say he is innocent.
A federal court gave Daily and his attorneys more time to make their case. They claim co-defendant Pearcy is responsible for the death of the girl.
Both men are expected in a Pinellas County courtroom on Thursday.
Dailey was sentenced for the crime in 1985. Pearcy also was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life to prison for his role in the girl's death.
But over the years, their stories have flip-flopped with Pearcy saying he's responsible then saying it was Dailey who killed Boggio.
A judge is expected to hear testimony from Pearcy during roday's evidentiary hearing.