Estranged husband accused of killing wife inside Montco home, trying to cover it up

A man is accused of using a ride-hailing app to go to a Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, home where authorities said he killed his estranged wife and tried to dispose of security footage.

Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele and Springfield Township Police Chief Michael Pitkow announced Wednesday the death of 57-year-old Elizabeth Shea of Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania.

“This is a tragic case, and our hearts go out to the family of Elizabeth Shea,” Steele said in a Thursday news release.

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Springfield Township police responded to a Cromwell Lane home around 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, April 10, to perform a wellness check on Shea after coworkers at a doggie day care reported that she hadn't shown up for work Wednesday morning, investigators and a criminal complaint said.

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.

"Police found Elizabeth Shea dead on the master bedroom floor, with obvious cut wounds to her head and neck," the county DA's office said in the Thursday news release.

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 DA'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, 37, was charged with simple assault, police said.

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.

Investigators turned the focus of the murder investigation onto Shea and his travel history the early hours of Wednesday.

"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 Wednesday, investigators said.

Around 6 p.m. Wednesday, Bensalem SWAT officers stationed outside Shea's room arrested him as he exited the room, investigators said.

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 Wednesday morning 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.

Shea was arraigned on first-, second- and third-degree murder and burglary charges on Thursday and held in county jail without bail.

Online court records don't list an attorney who could comment on Shea's behalf.