Salt Like Co-Founder Pleads Guilty to Fatally Shooting Girlfriend

Fox News reports the co-founder of the Salt Life apparel brand, Michael Hutto, pleaded guilty last Thursday, Feb. 16 to a manslaughter charge in the 2020 death of his 18-year-old girlfriend. Hutto was sentenced to 12 years in prison. 

On October 29, 2020, Michael Hutto fatally shot 18-year-old Lora Grace Duncan. According to People, Duncan was discovered by her father inside a room at the Hilton Singer Island Oceanfront Resort after her parents traced her cell phone there. 

Fox News reports Hutto told detectives that Duncan was sitting on the bathroom counter when he “playfully” pointed the gun at her and it fired. According to a probable cause affidavit, Duncan was shot in the stomach and bled out on the floor. Hutto fled the scene and left behind his wallet and ID. 

According to Fox News, Hutto’s attorney Donnie Murrell Jr. said he didn’t know why his client pulled his real gun out during the “playful” exchange. Murrell Jr. said, "This was an accident. A stupid, tragic, heartbreaking accident that basically ruined two families." The judge read a victim impact statement from Lora Duncan’s family during the hearing on Thursday.