A lieutenant with a sheriff’s office in Florida was allegedly shot and killed by her estranged husband, who is also a former sergeant, in an incident the suspect sought to make appear like a suicide, deputies said.
Orange County Sheriff’s Office Lieutenant Eloilda “Ellie” Shea, 39, was found dead from a gunshot wound to the head around 2 p.m. on Monday at a home on El Prado Avenue in response to what appeared at the time to be a suicide.
“At the time, we responded to those inquiries with the information we had, which was that the call appeared to be a suicide,” the sheriff’s office said in a news release.
But as deputies investigated, they learned that her estranged husband, 49-year-old Anthony Shea, a former sergeant with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, shot and killed his wife in her bedroom and “attempted to conceal his actions under the guise of a suicide,” according to the arrest report, Fox 35 reported.
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Anthony Shea was arrested on Friday for first-degree murder with a firearm, and he is being held in the Orange County Jail without bond.
“We had a bad night last night, arguing about my affair,” Anthony Shea said, according to the report.
He resigned from the sheriff’s office in August, while under investigation for allegations that would have resulted in his termination, the sheriff’s office said. He resigned due to being under an internal investigation for having an affair and having had intercourse on duty, WESH reported.
Anthony Shea joined the department in October 2006.
The sheriff’s office said Ellie Shae leaves behind two daughters. She joined the agency in 2011.
“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.”
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“It’s devastating to know we will never again be on the receiving end of Ellie’s kindness or warm smile,” he added. “We pray for her two girls, the rest of her family, and all of those who love her.”
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