In the late summer of 2019, the life of 45-year-old Roselynn Wendy Cedeno was tragically cut short in her Lexington, South Carolina home. A Caucasian female, she was discovered on the morning of September 3, 2019, after her boyfriend, Vincent T. Shivers, failed to show up for his job, prompting concerned coworkers to request a welfare check. When Lexington County Sheriff's deputies arrived at the residence on Carriage Hill Court, they peered through a glass balcony door and made a grim
discovery. Roselynn's body was found in the master bedroom, having sustained multiple gunshot wounds. The scene was scattered with. 45 caliber shell casings, and there were no signs of a forced entry into the home she had moved into with Shivers just two months prior.
The investigation swiftly identified Vincent T. Shivers as the primary suspect in what was determined to be a brutal act of domestic violence. While Roselynn was found to have been killed on or around September 2, 2019, Shivers was nowhere to be found, and his Ford F-150 was also missing. Authorities immediately classified him as a missing person, and a nationwide search began. Investigators soon discovered that Shivers had crossed the border into Canada on September 5, 2019. His flight from justice was short-lived, however, as he was apprehended by the Toronto Police Services Fugitive Squad at the Toronto International Airport while awaiting a flight to London.
Following his arrest, Shivers was extradited back to the United States to face charges for Roselynn's murder. In March 2022, his case went to trial. The prosecution, led by the Eleventh Circuit Solicitor's Office, presented compelling evidence, including the. 45 caliber ammunition found at the crime scene that matched ammunition discovered in Shivers' vehicle. A forensic autopsy revealed that Roselynn had been shot at least seven times, with some wounds indicating she was already on the floor when she was shot. After a trial that included testimony from members of the Toronto Police Services, a Lexington County jury found Vincent T. Shivers guilty of murder and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime.
The court, presided over by Circuit Court Judge Debra R. McCaslin, heard impactful statements from Roselynn Cedeno's son and father, who spoke of the profound loss their family had suffered. In a decisive move to ensure justice for Roselynn, the judge sentenced Shivers to 75 years in prison. The sentence came with the stipulation that he would not be eligible for parole, bringing a close to the legal proceedings and holding him accountable for the violent end to Roselynn Cedeno's life.
