Colucci Retrial: 10 Years Waiting For Justice
Happy Sunday Everyone!!!
As you may have heard in Girl Talk #28 — which is open to all Premium Members this week — Liz and I are gearing up for our first live coverage murder trial since Murdaugh.
After over 10 years, a mistrial in 2018 and countless unanswered questions, the South Carolina AG’s office is finally ready to re-try Michael Colucci for the murder of Sara Lynn Moore Colucci on Monday, June 16th, 2025.
Court TV is appointed as the Pool Videographer and our contributors Ben Hough from Artistic Eye Productions in Summerville, SC and Eric Alan Daume from Eric Alan Media will be on-location at the Berkeley County courthouse in Monck’s Corner, SC. We expect Monday to be focused primarily on any final motions/decisions and then the laborious process of jury selection.
As the jurors’ faces and certain personal information is not generally open to public view and because we are not in the business of further disrupting jurors’ lives, we’ll start our Premium broadcast as soon as jury selection has concluded. It’s possible that opening statements might not commence until Tuesday – but we’ll keep you posted via email and COJ (which records and publishes tomorrow).
Soak Up The Sun Members will receive a link each day to interact with our team similar to the Murdaugh murder trial. To upgrade or to check your current membership status, just click this link!
We’ll also publish the trial live on YouTube without comment for all to view as this trial is a matter of public interest. And we plan to publish Audio episodes of each day’s proceedings on a new public podcast feed and in the Premium Feed for members.
Stay tuned for links and additional information on how to join the feed tomorrow.
All that to say, I want to stress how important this trial is. If you’ve followed our coverage of this case and others, you’ll know we believe that justice delayed is justice denied. Bishop and Sara Lynn’s family have waited far too long for this case to find its way onto a docket, in front of a judge, with a jury, and prosecuted by an agency that cares enough about it to put forth their full effort and attention.
Michael Colucci reportedly paid a small fortune back in 2018 to retain Andy Savage’s services for the first trial broadcast by Court TV. That trial was littered with hyperbole, evidence destruction, distraction, lackluster witness testimony and ultimately ended in a mistrial as the jurors could not come to a unanimous decision.
So many people are waiting for justice in South Carolina and beyond… this trial is a prime example of what happens when public agencies fail in their initial investigation, in charging defendants in a timely manner, in putting their best efforts forward to DO JUSTICE, in scheduling speedily and so much more. But, this re-trial can also bring victims hope. Hope that their loved ones’ unsolved homicides or otherwise vicious crimes can be solved, adjudicated and perpetrators can be held accountable.
We sincerely hope you’ll listen to this month’s Soundbites on Colucci episode from Beth, Kate, and Sam. It reviews the major elements of the case, and we dive back into the detail on True Sunlight #103…But here’s a quick refresher of the timeline going into trial tomorrow:
May 20, 2015
Sara Lynn Moore Colucci died at her jewelry warehouse with husband Michael Colucci just steps away.
May 4, 2016
Michael Colucci was arrested for Sara Lynn’s murder a year later
November 11, 2016
Michael Colucci is officially indicted
November 26, 2018
Michael Colucci’s first murder trial begins
December 7, 2018
Mistrial declared in Michael’s first trial
August 12, 2019
Sharna Kay Bilbro reports to Charleston Police that she was assaulted by her boyfriend Michael Colucci
June 16, 2025
Michael Colucci’s retrial for allegedly murdering Sara Lynn Moore Colucci
In many of the cases we cover, there is an escalating pattern of violent behavior that runs unimpeded when public agencies refuse to act on actionable reports. Criminal start to steal, and then lie and kill to cover it up. Abusers hurt their abused emotionally, physically, sexually and worse before drawing attention worthy of action.
We believe that justice needs to be swift and applied within the tenants of due process and the law.
Myrtle Beach seems to believe that immediate street justice and/or vigilantism is appropriate, while the SC Attorney General’s office seems to think 10 years of waiting for justice is perfectly fine. And what do the victims do while they wait? Whatever they can…
Stephen Smith’s family raised their own monies for an independent investigation, autopsy and reward while continuing to hope that justice and answers are around the corner. 10 years will pass in July since Stephen’s unsolved homicide.
Christa Bauer Gilley’s family eagerly waits for justice to matriculate in Texas as Lee Gilley is out on bond with barely any restrictions and arguably the best lawyer money can buy backing his defense.
Jane Doe #1 and #2 pursue civil action in their cases against JP Miller as the FBI alludes to federal intervention.
Scott Spivey’s family likewise pursue civil action against Scott’s killers as they wait for the state to announce any criminal actions in aftermath of his botched death investigation.
We know prosecuting these cases is not easy, but that is why we outsource and fund the process of DOING JUSTICE to a well-funded public agency. We believe in reminding those agencies from where their power and authority is derived.
We simply ask that:
Public law enforcement agencies prioritize the difficult and righteous cases over the easy ones against ill-equipped defendants.
Legislatures change laws that allow defendants to skip the line or delay justice indefinitely by hiring lawyers that sit in the legislature, are too ill or old to adhere to the court’s schedule, or provide lax bond and enable violence.
Judges be impartial and removed from an appointment or election system that relies on campaigning to the lawyers who will plead cases in front of them.
Communities demand justice and vote for legislators who actually intend to uphold a rule of law that benefits the people and not just the candidate’s pockets.
In the next two weeks, we’ll discover if prosecutors learned anything from their last encounters with Michael Colucci’s defense team. We’ll learn if the SC criminal justice system can abide by its own rules of evidence and professional conduct.
We’ll learn if victims like Sara Lynn Moore Colucci and their grieving families have an opportunity to trust the system works and has their interests at heart.
And we’re thankful that you’ll be with us for it all – every step of the way…
As always, your support is immensely appreciated and keeps us motivated to expose the truth wherever it leads, give voice to victims and get the story straight.
Stay Tuned, Stay Pesky and Stay In The Sunlight…
– Mandy
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