Shivangi Sinha
Trent DiGiuro had gathered with a group of friends at a house in Lexington, Kentucky, to enjoy a casual party. With his birthday only days away, he wanted to celebrate the moment with those closest to him. While sitting on the back porch late into the night, he was shot and killed. Strangely, none of the guests saw the shooter or heard anything unusual, leaving investigators with few leads and the case unsolved for years. Investigation Discovery’s ‘A Killer Among Friends: Killer on Campus’ explores the dedicated police work and eventual breakthrough that led to the arrest of the person responsible.
Trent DiGiuro Was Shot While He Was Sitting With His Friends on a Porch
Joseph “Trent” DiGiuro was born on July 20, 1973, to Mike and Ann DiGiuro. He was raised in Goshen, Kentucky, alongside his two brothers, Thad and Mark, with whom he shared a childhood full of fun and playful mischief. From an early age, Trent stood out academically and athletically at South Oldham High School, where he discovered his passion for soccer. In 1991, he enrolled at the University of Kentucky and joined the football team as a walk-on offensive lineman. Known for his dedication and relentless work ethic, he began earning playing time by 1993 as part of the Kentucky Wildcats. By the time Trent reached his senior year, he was thriving in every aspect of his life.
After completing spring practice in 1994, he secured the starting position as right guard on the football team and was named to the academic honor roll. Although he wasn’t affiliated with any specific fraternity, Trent had a wide circle of friends who adored him. Affectionately nicknamed the “big teddy bear,” he was known for his warm, kind-hearted nature and generosity. On the night of July 16, 1994, just days before his 21st birthday, he invited friends over for a small get-together. The gathering stretched late into the night, and around 2 am, Trent was sitting on the back porch with a few friends when they heard a loud noise, which they believed to be a car backfiring.
As they looked toward Trent, they found him slumped in his chair. He had been shot. His friends immediately called emergency services in a state of panic, but despite their efforts, it was too late. By the time police and paramedics arrived at the scene, Trent had already succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead at 3 am. The cause of death was determined to be a single gunshot wound to the head.
Trent DiGiuro’s Killer Had Confessed to the Murder to His Girlfriend
Despite several people being present at the house that night, police were unable to gather any solid leads. None of Trent DiGiuro’s friends reported seeing anything unusual, nor did they notice anything suspicious. Antonio O’Ferral, Trent’s roommate and the football team’s quarterback at the time, informed authorities that he had gone to bed shortly before the shooting. He did acknowledge that he owned a gun kept in the house, but it was quickly ruled out as the murder weapon. With no witnesses and no evidence linking anyone to the crime, the case went cold. Don Evans, the lead investigator, who was just 21 years old and handling his first major case, felt personally invested but struggled to make headway. It wasn’t until years later that the investigation finally began to move forward.
Trent’s father spoke to a local newspaper in 1999, expressing his belief that someone out there knew the truth about what happened to his son. He urged anyone with information to come forward. Not long after, Aimee Lloyd reached out to her attorney and claimed she might have details about a high-profile murder. Though initially reluctant to get involved, she ultimately agreed to speak with investigators. She revealed that her ex-boyfriend, Shane Ragland, who was also a student at the University of Kentucky in 1994, had lived just a few blocks from the scene of the crime. She stated that about a year after the shooting, he had confessed to her that he was the one responsible. Police already suspected that a rifle had been used and theorized that the shooter could have fired from a distance and fled the scene undetected.
After reinterviewing Trent’s college friends and reviewing records, investigators discovered that Shane had been blacklisted from joining a fraternity. This had reportedly caused tension between him and Trent. This revelation helped solidify a possible motive. Aimee agreed to assist law enforcement in gathering more evidence. She contacted Shane and told him she was passing through town and asked to meet at the airport. During their meeting, she wore a wire and carefully steered the conversation toward his previous confession. Though Shane became suspicious and asked if she was setting him up, he eventually expressed regret over what he had done. With this recorded conversation in hand, the police believed they had enough to move forward. Shane was arrested the very next day and charged with murder. His bail was set at $1 million, which his father posted. Prosecutors soon began preparing for what would be a high-profile trial.
Shane Ragland is Facing Assault Charges Today
Shane Ragland’s trial commenced in late 2000, and the prosecution built its case around both circumstantial and testimonial evidence. A key element was a rifle recovered from his residence, which they argued was consistent with the type of weapon used in the shooting. However, forensic experts could not conclusively match the bullet fragments from the crime scene to the firearm due to their condition and fragmentation. The most compelling piece of evidence came from Aimee Lloyd, who took the stand and testified about Shane’s confession. The secretly recorded airport conversation also played a pivotal role in convincing the jury. Ultimately, Shane was found guilty of murder and sentenced to 30 years in prison. In 2005, his defense team filed an appeal with the Kentucky Supreme Court, claiming that the prosecution had relied on an unreliable witness.
Aimee had entered witness protection, and with limited additional evidence available, prosecutors offered Shane a plea deal. He agreed to plead guilty to second-degree manslaughter and received a five-year sentence. Since he had already spent that much time in custody, he was released with credit for time served. Following his release, he mostly stayed out of the public eye, though Trent DiGiuro’s family pursued a civil lawsuit against him. In 2014, Shane was involved in a single-vehicle car crash that left him paralyzed from the waist down. He also faced legal trouble later, including a couple of DUI charges. In 2018, a Domestic Violence Order was issued against him, barring contact with his girlfriend’s children after she accused him of abuse.
In June 2024, Shane was charged with two counts of fourth-degree assault and two counts of third-degree terroristic threatening following serious allegations made by his mother and her friend. They claimed that Shane, who uses a wheelchair, had deliberately run over them and physically attacked them. As of now, no further updates have been released regarding the progress of the case, and it remains unclear whether Ragland has been released on bail. He is currently believed to be around 51 years old and continues to reside in Kentucky.
