A former Florida sheriff’s deputy was arrested and charged with murder after he allegedly killed his estranged wife and then made it look like a suicide, authorities said.
Anthony Shea, 49, faces murder charges in the death of Eloilda “Ellie” Shea, 39, who was a lieutenant with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
Shea, who retired from the same department amid a separate investigation into an alleged affair, told deputies that on the night of Ellie’s death, he came home to find her dead on their bed with a gun on her chest.
He explained that she “had a bad night last night, arguing about my affair,” according to a police report. The couple had been fighting since the discovery of his affair, he said, and that she was depressed about it.
So he left the house to give her space, took their children to Publix, a local grocery store, and when he returned, he found her dead in the bedroom, according to the report.
At first, he gave deputies permission to search the scene, but then changed his mind, according to WFTV.
Later in the week, an investigation revealed that she was allegedly shot by Shea, who then staged her death look like a suicide as he used her cell phone to send text messages to create an alibi.
But according to the police report, when Shea sent the sent the messages from Ellie’s phone, he inadvertently activated the audio recorder, which ran for 50 minutes and never captured the sound of a gunshot.
The recording captures Shea entering the room briefly before calling 911. Althought he had told deputies that he had provided medical aid to his wife, the recording did not capture it.
Deputies allege that Shea made phone calls, sent text messages, walked in and out of the house, and made a trip to Publix with their children, all in an alleged scheme to create an alibi that would make his wife’s death look like a suicide.
“Anthony Shea attempts to control the crime scene and direct deputies to evidence which will confirm his alibi,” according to the report.
At the time of the fatal shooting, Shea was under investigation for having an intimate relationship while on duty, WESH reported.
Shea resigned from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office earlier this year while he was being investigated “for allegations that would have resulted in his termination,” according to the sheriff’s office.
His first appearance was scheduled for Saturday morning at the Orange County Courthouse, but he did not show up, according to Fox35. He is currently being held without bond in the Orange County Jail.
Shea’s wife Ellie joined the department in 2011 and was the mother of two daughters, according to the sheriff’s office.
“Ellie cared deeply about this agency and the work we do, and I considered her a rising star,” Sheriff John Mina said in a statement.
“We have all struggled this week with feelings of shock, grief and guilt while we tried to make sense of Ellie’s death, which was meant to appear as a suicide. I want to thank our homicide detectives, who had the extraordinarily difficult job of investigating a colleague’s murder, for their diligence in ensuring justice for Ellie.”
