Flint man convicted of murder for second time in 2019 death of 67-year-old man

A Flint, Michigan, man accused of killing a 67-year-old man in 2019 was convicted of murder for a second time after a new trial.

According to the Genesee County Prosecutor's Office, 64-year-old Fedrico Genaldo Simon was found guilty of second-degree murder four years after he was first convicted of murdering Dolphis Mitchell. After Simon's 2022 conviction, a Court of Appeals ruling remanded the case for a new trial after a defense motion to object to jury selection.

Prosecutors say Mitchell's sister and niece testified in court that they were doing a welfare check and discovered Mitchell's body on the floor near the front door of his home on Schaffer Street in Flint. Responding officers discovered that the victim suffered from wounds to his head and body and also found a bloody hammer.

The medical examiner ruled Mitchell's death a homicide from blunt force trauma, according to prosecutors. Prosecutors say DNA samples taken from the hammer and a pressure cooker matched Simon. 

Prosecutors say Simon fled to Texas after investigators contacted him for an interview. Phone records showed that Simon was the last person to text Mitchell before his death, according to prosecutors.

Prosecutors say Simon testified in his defense, saying that he went to Mitchell's home, found his body and placed the pressure cooker lid on the kitchen counter. Prosecutors argued that Simon used the pressure cooker lid and hammer to beat Mitchell.

"Today's verdict will not bring Mr. Mitchell back but, it is justice for him and his family," Prosecutor Leyton said. "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," said Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton in a statement.