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Convicted killer already serving life sentenced for 1991 Daytona Beach cold-case murder

By WFTV.com News Staff

Man already serving life for murder found guilty in the death of missing woman In 2007, Michael Shane Townson fatally bludgeoned a childhood friend so badly that her face was unrecognizable. Townson, 53, is now charged with the murder of a second woman, Linda Lois Little, who vanished in October 1991.

By WFTV.com News Staff

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — A Florida man already serving life in prison for a 2007 Brevard County murder has now been sentenced for the murder of a Daytona Beach woman who disappeared in 1991.

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53-year-old Michael Shane Townson withdrew his previous not guilty plea and entered a plea of no-contest Tuesday morning to a charge of first-degree murder for the death of Linda Lois Little. Townson was immediately sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 25 years.

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Little was last seen on October 11, 1991 and reported missing on October 14. She was never seen or heard from again.

Townson confessed to killing Little when he was transferred to Tomoka Correctional in 2020 after he “found God” in prison. He was indicted by a Volusia County Grand Jury in October of this year.

Townson told investigators he met Little at a bar while celebrating his birthday in Daytona Beach in mid-October 1991.

The two left the bar in his car and got into an argument. That’s when Townson said he “backhanded” and choked Little.

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After he realized Little was dead, Townson said he continued driving along Interstate-95 until he reached an exit in a rural part of Georgia where he disposed of the body behind a dumpster.

According to the State Attorney’s Office, Little’s body was never found.

Investigators even did a recent check of unidentified bodies in the corresponding county in Georgia, but found no match for Little.

However, when shown a picture of Little, Townsend said he had “no doubt” she was the woman he murdered in the fall of 1991.

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Townson was already serving a life sentence for the 2007 murder of Sherri Carmanto. In that case, investigators say Townson beat Carmanto to death with a steel pipe in her own home in Titusville.

“This defendant is a confessed serial killer. It is gratifying to solve a cold case such as this,” State Attorney R.J. Larizza said. “I hope the plea brings peace to the family during the Christmas holidays.”

Linda Little More than 31 years after Linda Little went missing in Daytona Beach, police said they’ve found her killer. (Daytona Beach Police Department)

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