Salt Life Founder Charged With Manslaughter After Teen Found Dead In His Hotel Room

Michael Troy Hutto, one of the founders of popular ocean inspired clothing brand, Salt Life, has been charged with manslaughter after Florida police discovered the body of a teenager inside of his hotel room.

The 54-year-old is accused of shooting 18-year-old Lora Grace Duncan, though a motive is unknown. Authorities discovered her body around 11:30 a.m. Thursday morning while performing a welfare check on the teen at the Hilton Oceanfront resort on Singer Island near Palm Beach.  Once they arrived, they discovered her deceased with a single gunshot wound. He was subsequently charged with manslaughter and firearms possession violation.

Hutto and several friends founded the Salt Life clothing brand in 2003 in Jacksonville, Florida. The group sold the company for $40 million in 2013. Over the weekend, the company issued a statement confirming that Hutto no longer had any dealings with the company.

“Salt Life sends their utmost sympathies to the family and friends of the deceased. In 2013, the co-founders of Salt Life sold their entire business to the new owners. The co-founders have not been associated with the brand in any way since the purchase in 2013” the statement read. 

The relationship between Hutto and Duncan still remains unclear.