75-year prison sentence for Lexington County man convicted of murdering girlfriend
More than two years after a woman’s body was found riddled with bullets inside her Lexington County home, her boyfriend was convicted of murder, the 11th Circuit Solicitor’s Office said.
In addition to the murder charge, Vincent Shivers, 52, was found guilty of possession of a weapon during commission of a violent crime, the solicitor’s office said in a news release.
Shivers was sentenced to 75 years in prison, the solicitor’s office said.
On Sept. 3, 2019, Lexington County sheriff’s deputies were making a welfare check on Shivers at his home at 216 Carriage Hill Court after he failed to show up for his job as a finance manager at a business in Columbia, according to the release.
That’s when they found Roselynn Cedeno’s body.
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The 45-year-old had been shot multiple times and was on the floor of the master bedroom, surrounded by numerous HPR .45 caliber shell casings, the solicitor’s office said.
An autopsy determined that Cedeno was shot at least seven times, and multiple wounds were determined to have been inflicted while she was on the floor, according to the release. One bullet was removed from underneath the carpet padding and multiple others were recovered directly underneath Cedeno, the solicitor’s office said.
Law enforcement officers believed Cedeno was killed the morning of Sept. 2, the Lexington County Coroner’s Office said.
Cedeno and Shivers had moved into the Lexington home in July 2019, according to the release.
During a search of the home, deputies found numerous rounds of HPR .45 caliber ammunition, and a gun box was located in the master bedroom closet for a .45 caliber Springfield XD firearm, the solicitor’s office said. However, the gun was missing from the box, according to the release.
Shivers was not at the home, and his Ford F150 pickup truck was also missing, the solicitor’s office said. He was classified as a “missing person” and the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department began a nationwide search to find him, according to the release.
On Sept. 5, it was learned that Shivers had crossed the border into Canada, the solicitor’s office said. Shivers didn’t tell anyone about any plans to travel to Canada, according to the release.
“Investigators determined Shivers was not missing Thursday and that he had fled the country into Canada Tuesday near Niagara Falls,” Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon said in 2019.
Surveillance footage showed Shivers was alone in his Ford F150 when he crossed into Canada at the Niagara Falls Rainbow Bridge location, the solicitor’s office said. The sheriff’s department said it discovered that Shivers had purchased an airline ticket to London once he arrived in Canada.
After crossing the border, Shivers stayed at hotels in addition to buying luggage and clothing in the previous two days, according to the release.
The sheriff’s department and the U.S. Marshals Service notified Canadian authorities that Shivers was in their country, and he was arrested by the Toronto Police Services Fugitive Squad on Sept. 5 while he was waiting to board a flight to London at the Toronto International Airport, the solicitor’s office said.
Toronto Police Services secured the Ford F150, which was later transported back to Lexington County for processing, and additional matching HPR .45 caliber ammunition was found inside, according to the release.
The missing .45 caliber Springfield XD handgun wasn’t recovered, but the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division crime lab tested the .45 caliber cartridge casings found at the crime scene and SLED said the missing pistol was among guns known to be consistent with the fired casings, the solicitor’s office said.
Shivers’ trial began on March 21 in Lexington County.
In addition to SLED forensic scientists, witnesses at trial included members of the Toronto Police Services, who traveled to Lexington County.
Cedeno’s son and father also addressed the court regarding the profound impact of her loss on their family.
The jury returned a guilty verdict on March 29, and after he was sentenced it was announced that Shivers is not eligible for parole.
Shivers has been transported to the South Carolina Department of Corrections to begin serving his sentence.
On April 7, Shivers appealed the convictions, Lexington County court records show. Shivers attorney is Jack Swerling.
“This was a brutal crime committed during an act of domestic violence,” Solicitor Rick Hubbard said in the release.
The case was prosecuted by Deputy Solicitor Suzanne Mayes and Assistant Solicitor LeAnna McMenamin, and was investigated by Sgt. Nick Burt and numerous members of the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department.
This story was originally published April 11, 2022 at 11:16 AM with the headline "75-year prison sentence for Lexington County man convicted of murdering girlfriend."
