A 37-year-old man from Florida faces a lifetime in prison after being convicted of masterminding the murder of a 17-year-old student to silence her from testifying following an alleged sexual assault.

This week, a federal jury in Florida’s Middle District found Lenard White guilty on multiple felony charges, including premeditated first-degree murder and murder-for-hire, in the death of Isabella Scavelli, as stated by authorities.

White’s 22-year-old cousin, Sheldon Robinson, was also convicted of the same charges. Robinson accepted $6,000 from White to carry out the murder, shooting Scavelli in front of her mother, who was gravely injured during the incident, according to prosecutors.

A press release revealed that on February 6, 2023, Scavelli and her mother reported to the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office, accusing White of sexually assaulting the teenager.

Prosecutors detailed that, the following day, Robinson approached their home and, upon the door being opened, unleashed a series of gunshots at Scavelli and her mother. Scavelli was fatally shot in the back as she attempted to flee. Her mother, while hit multiple times, survived the attack, witnessing her daughter’s tragic death.

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.