FLINT – Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton said a jury found Fedrico Genaldo Simon, 64, of Flint, guilty of second-degree murder in the 2019 bludgeoning death of 67-year-old Dolphis Mitchell at Mitchell’s home on Schaffer Street in Flint.
According to testimony at trial and the police investigation, Mitchell’s sister and his adult niece were doing a welfare check on Mitchell when they discovered his deceased body on the floor near the front door of his home. They called 9-1-1 and City of Flint police responded to the scene where they observed Mitchell with obvious bloody wounds to his head and body. They also observed large amounts of smeared and pooled blood in the kitchen and hallway area, as well as blood splatter in the living room area of the
residence. A bloody hammer was also found in the bedroom.
Technicians from the Michigan State Police Crime Lab in Bridgeport were called in and processed the scene. DNA samples found on both the hammer and a pressure cooker lid found with blood on it on the kitchen counter were later matched to Simon, who had prior felony convictions. A detective contacted Simon and scheduled him to come in for an interview.
Simon did not appear for the interview and fled to Texas where he was later located and apprehended.
Phone records also show that Simon was the last person to have texted Mitchell the evening before his death. Simon testified in his own defense claiming that he had come over to Mitchell’s house earlier that day and found Mitchell’s body lying on the floor and a pressure cooker lid was next to his body, so he placed the lid on the kitchen counter.
He then went into the bedroom, found the bloody knife, and his allergies caused him to sneeze over the top of the knife.
Police found a black rubber ring the size of the vent hole in the pressure cooker lid next to Mitchell’s body. The prosecution’s theory is that Simon used the pressure cooker lid and primarily the hammer to beat Mitchell to death.
The medical examiner’s forensic report ruled Mitchell’s death a homicide from blunt force injuries to the head, and there were numerous other blunt force injuries to other parts of his body.
Simon was tried and convicted of murdering Mitchell in 2022, but a defense motion objecting to jury selection resulted in a Court of Appeals ruling remanding the case back for a new trial.
“This was a very tragic case of a man severely beaten to death that has had a devastating, lasting impact on his loved ones, particularly his sister and his niece,” said Prosecutor Leyton after the verdict was read.
“Today’s verdict will not bring Mr. Mitchell back but, it is justice for him and his family,”
Leyton added: “Hopefully, this will give his family members a chance to finally find some closure in a case that has been drawn out for far too long.”
Leyton acknowledged the diligent work of the Flint Police Department and Michigan State Police in the investigation and the members of his staff who brought the case to justice. He praised Assistant Prosecutor Krystal Murphy, who led the charge in the second trial, as well as the efforts of assistant prosecutor John Trummer, who also took the case to a guilty verdict in the first trial. Leyton also applauded the team
effort involved including the assistance of other assistant prosecutors, paralegals,
secretaries and victim advocates.
