Woman charged with contempt in murder trial refuses to apologize

GASTON COUNTY, N.C. — Less than 24 hours after an outburst during the trial of a convicted killer, the woman who shouted said she will not be apologizing for it.

She yelled at Danny Hembree, who is on trial for allegedly killing her sister.

Now Shellie Nations is in a legal fight of her own because she was charged with contempt. She was not fined or sent to jail, but she said she wants the charge taken off her record because, in her eyes, she did nothing wrong.

Nations’ determination has not withered.

“You will pay, Danny Hembree. And as long as there is breath in this little body, you best believe I’m going to see to it that you pay,” she said.

Hembree told police he murdered Randi Saldana. He showed them how he killed her and burned her body. But when he took the stand in his trial, he said it was an accident.

While testifying Monday, he also claimed he had written a letter that said he had a sexual relationship with a prosecutor. Hembree’s lawyers said they had to withdraw from the case because his claims were false.

When the judge said he would declare a mistrial, Nations spoke out.

“I can’t say I’m sorry for my outburst. I only done what I would suspect my sister would have wanted me to done,” she said.

Hembree was already sentenced to death for murdering a Gaston County teenager weeks before Saldana’s murder.

Saldana’s mother said it’s not fair Hembree’s case ended in a mistrial because he took the stand and made false claims.

“He has always bragged about knowing how to play with the judicial system,” said Robin Moore, Saldana’s mother.

“Our system is letting him do it. Our justice system is letting him do it here,” Nations said.

Hembree will be tried again next year at taxpayers’ expense.

WSOC