A man was sentenced to life in prison for stabbing his estranged wife to death and then trying to cover up the murder inside a Montgomery County home.
On Monday, June 10, Kenneth Shea, 37, pleaded guilty to murdering 57-year-old Elizabeth Shea in Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania. Kenneth Shea was then sentenced to life in prison.
While reading a statement in the courtroom, Shea was in tears as he apologized to his slain wife and her sons. He also said he wanted to skip the trial to avoid putting the family through anymore pain.
Get top local stories in Philly delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC Philadelphia's News Headlines newsletter.
The murder of Elizabeth Shea
Springfield Township police responded to a Cromwell Lane home around 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, April 10, 2024, to perform a wellness check on Elizabeth Shea after coworkers at a doggie day care reported that she hadn't shown up for work that morning.
Springfield police officers entered the home through an open sliding door and noticed a cellphone "discarded in the toilet," the criminal complaint said. Officers discovered the door to the main bedroom locked and then forced their way in.
Local
Breaking news and the stories that matter to your neighborhood.
Elizabeth Shea was found dead on the master bedroom floor with cut wounds to her head and neck.
The Cromwell Lane home had several security cameras installed and a home security system in place, authorities said.
Investigators "determined that an air conditioning unit had been pushed inside the residence, allowing access through the window," the Montgomery County District Attorney's office said. "In the residence, four hard drives from the home’s digital recording units and three cellphones had been discarded in the bathroom sink and toilet."
Police were aware of a previous domestic violence incident at the home, the criminal complaint said. Following that January incident, Kenneth Shea was charged with simple assault.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline by calling 1-800-799-SAFE (7233), visiting www.thehotline.org or texting LOVEIS to 22522.
In March, police served Shea with a protection from abuse order and he was evicted from the Cromwell Lane home, the criminal complaint said.
Uber ride helps police capture killer
Investigators turned the focus of the murder investigation onto Shea and his travel history the early hours of April 10.
"Detectives obtained Uber records that showed that Kenneth Shea had utilized the ride share service in the early morning hours of April 10, 2024," the DA's office wrote. "He was picked up at 12:36 a.m. at Comfort Inn in Feasterville-Trevose and dropped off at 12:55 a.m. on Wainwright Road, which is behind the victim’s residence. At 3:37 a.m., the defendant was picked up on Wainwright Road and returned to the hotel at 3:58 a.m., where video surveillance from the lobby showed him arriving and going to Room 314."
Location records on Shea's phone showed him in the area of the Bucks County hotel in the days leading up to the murder and later on April 10.
Around 6 p.m. that day, Bensalem SWAT officers stationed outside Shea's room arrested him as he exited the room.
Investigators later obtained a search warrant and then found camouflaged pants consistent with the pants Shea was seen wearing when he returned to the hotel early on April 10 and what appeared to be blood stains on the bed, the criminal complaint said.
Shea had injuries to his right hand, including three small cuts to his right index finger, investigators said.
Sign up for our Breaking newsletter to get the most urgent news stories in your inbox.
