Inset, left to right: Lenard White (Hernando County Sheriff’s Office), Isabella Scavelli (Hernando High School) and Sheldon Robinson (HCSO). Background: The area in Florida where Robinson killed Scavelli (WTVT).
A 37-year-old man in Florida will likely spend the rest of his life behind bars for orchestrating the killing of a 17-year-old high school student to prevent her from testifying after he allegedly sexually assaulted her.
A federal jury in the Middle District of Florida on Monday found Lenard White guilty on a spate of felony charges, including counts of premeditated first-degree murder and murder-for-hire in the slaying of Isabella Scavelli, authorities announced.
White’s cousin, 22-year-old Sheldon Robinson, was found guilty on the same slate of charges for accepting $6,000 from White to fatally shoot Scavelli in front of her own mother, who was also severely injured in the attack, prosecutors said.
According to a news release, prosecutors presented jurors with evidence that on Feb. 6, 2023, Scavelli and her mother filed a report with the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office accusing White of sexually assaulting the teenager.
“The next day, Sheldon Robinson came to their house and knocked on the door,” prosecutors wrote. “When the door was opened, Robinson fired a barrage of gunshots at [Scavelli] and [her mother] killing [Scavelli]. The bullet that killed Scavelli struck her in the back as she ran away from her front door for help. [Scavelli’s mother] was struck several times but survived. She collapsed on the ground and watched her daughter die.”
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Prosecutors said the fatal shooting was “organized” by White, who had taken an unplanned trip to Georgia shortly after the sexual assault was reported in order “to give himself an alibi” for Scavelli’s murder.
Investigators said they obtained and executed more than 70 search warrants in connection with the case, allowing them to create a “step-by-step blueprint for how Robinson killed [Scavelli].”
Messages from Robinson’s phone showed him soliciting the assistance of others to help him with “a clean-up job.” After telling his potential co-conspirators about the job, he also sent a video showing himself “displaying currency and cocaine, both of which he had received from White as payment,” prosecutors wrote in court documents.
Six months after Scavelli was gunned down, authorities searched Robinson’s home for a second time, recovering the handgun used in the murder, which was dug up from a wooded area behind his house.
As the case continued, authorities said both White and Robinson “repeatedly attempted to hinder” the investigation by “disposing of evidence, tampering with witnesses, obstructing justice, and making false statements to law enforcement.”
“The two also discussed plans at having another witness against them killed, just as they did [Scavelli],” prosecutors wrote in the release.
A third defendant, Keshawn Woods, was recruited by Robinson to assist in the attack and has already pleaded guilty to his role in Scavelli’s murder. A date for his sentencing hearing has not been set.
White and Robinson are currently scheduled to appear for their sentencing hearing on Jan. 30, 2026, records show. They both face a mandatory penalty of life in federal prison.
