A jury in Florida delivered a guilty verdict on Friday, October 17, 2025, finding 32-year-old Darion Dontae McGee of Leesburg guilty of First-Degree Murder for the death of 38-year-old Mustafa Hasan Connelly. McGee now faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison following his conviction.
The verdict closes a nearly four-year investigation into the shocking and brutal murder that occurred on December 17, 2021. On that day, deputies with the Lake County Sheriff’s Office responded to a vacant lot off Veech Road in Leesburg after a caller reported hearing gunshots and seeing a person who had been shot and set on fire.
Upon arrival, law enforcement discovered an unidentified male, later identified as Mustafa Connelly, lying lifeless and ablaze outside the passenger side of a vehicle. After the fire was extinguished and a crime scene perimeter established, authorities used the vehicle’s license plate to identify the registered owner, who confirmed the victim’s identity…