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Previous coverage: Shallow grave becomes prominent in murder trial
Gloria Gomez reports
TAMPA, Fla. - The father accused of brutally killing his teen daughter back in 2017 was found guilty of third-degree felony murder and chid abuse, according to the Hillsborough State Attorney's Office.
The Tampa jury returned a guilty verdict for Nahshon Shannon, the father accused of murdering Janessa Shannon, after a trial that took nearly two weeks.
"The victim in this case was a child whose life was only beginning," Hillsborough State Attorney Suzy Lopez said. "Our thoughts remain with the victim’s family and friends as they navigate through this tragedy."
RELATED: Shallow grave where teen daughter’s body was found becomes focus in father’s murder trial
Prosecutors said witnesses testified that the father picked up his daughter from her mother's home on July 1, 2017. That was days before her body was found in the Triple Creek Nature Preserve in a shallow grave, the state attorney's office said.
Investigators said they found evidence that linked Nahshon to the crime, including tire impressions that matched his vehicle which were found next to his daughter's body. They also found that the type of bag and tape used to dispose of Janessa's body matched the tape and bag collected from her father's car.
During the trial, prosecutors said a soil expert testified, saying the chemical makeup of the soil at the site where the victim was found matched Nahshon's car.
READ: Murder trial underway for Riverview man accused of killing his 13-year-old daughter in 2017
Investigators then said they found a screw near the body that matched the shovel that was found at the father's home, which had a missing screw.
When officers first questioned Nahshon and collected his cell phone for evidence, he remotely wiped the phone before investigators could examine it, prosecutors said.
Nahshon can now face up to 20 years in prison, and a Tampa judge will sentence him in November.