Lehigh Acres man guilty in 2019 murder, arson of 25-year-old

Writer: Derrick Shaw
Published:
Neville George Anthony Bethune (CREDIT: Lee County Sheriff’s Office)

A 50-year-old Lehigh Acres man was found guilty of first-degree murder with a firearm, arson in the second degree and accessory after the fact.

A jury delivered a guilty verdict for Neville George Anthony Bethune on Friday following a 5-day trial in Lee County.

The murder happened in 2019, according to the state attorney’s office. The victim, a 25-year-old man, had visited Bethune at his Lehigh Acres home to collect money that was owed to him. The victim spoke to Bethune and another man, co-defendant Andrew Maldonado.

The victim’s body was later found in Palm Beach County, burned beyond recognition, in the truck of a car.

Surveillance video from a nearby gas station capture Bethune, his brother Donovan Baker, also a co-defendant, and Maldonado in the area.

Videos showed Bethune’s truck following the victim’s rental car a short distance where it was set on fire.

Bethune is scheduled to be sentenced on March 28.

Maldonado is awaiting sentencing. Baker’s case is pending prosecution in Palm Beach County.

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