A Bucks County man reveals he plans to plead guilty to fatally stabbing his estranged wife in Springfield, Montgomery County.

Kenneth C. Shea Jr. is escorted Thursday by a sheriff's deputy from a Montgomery County courtroom, where he informed a judge that he plans to plead guilty to charges that he fatally stabbed his estranged wife in his house in Wyndmoor. (Carl Hessler Jr. – MediaNews Group)

NORRISTOWN — The ex-husband of a Wyndmoor woman who was the subject of a protection from abuse order plans to plead guilty to homicide and accept a sentence of life in prison for fatally stabbing the mother of three inside her home.

Kenneth C. Shea Jr., 37, made his first appearance Thursday in a Montgomery County courtroom where attorneys revealed that Shea, under a plea agreement, will plead guilty to a murder charge in the first degree and would be sentenced to life in prison at a future hearing. month.

He is accused of murdering Elizabeth Shea, 57, on April 10. Judge William R. Carpenter set the hearing for June 10.

“Obviously he will plead to first degree murder in exchange for a life sentence,” defense attorney Francis John Genovese confirmed.

First-degree murder is intentional killing and carries potential sentences of life in prison or the death penalty.

“I have the impression that, more than anything, he wanted to give peace of mind to the victim's children, especially his youngest son, who I understand will be going to college later. 'autumn. What if he (Shea) could give him peace of mind knowing that this matter was over and resolved when he left for school to start his life, that he (Shea) wanted to do it. So that’s the main reason he made that decision,” Genovese said.

“Obviously, just understanding what he had done, the wrong he had done, he wanted to make things right and the only way he knew how at this point was to plead guilty,” Genovese added.

Genovese said Shea was aware that prosecutors could have sought the death penalty against him if he had been convicted of first-degree murder at trial.

“It was a very realistic possibility, so he clearly took it into consideration,” Genovese said. “But again, I think his main motivation was to bring some comfort or peace of mind to the victim's children.”

The revelation that Shea intends to plead guilty came during what was supposed to be Shea's formal arraignment hearing on the homicide charges.

At the time Shea allegedly killed his estranged wife, he was awaiting court action on separate charges of simple assault and strangulation in a domestic assault of Elizabeth Shea in January.

“The plea agreement will resolve all outstanding charges, the strangulation case and the homicide case,” Genovese confirmed.

Shea, who listed an address in the 2700 block of Lincoln Highway in Lower Southampton Township, Bucks County, did not speak in court, allowing Genovese to speak on his behalf.

The investigation began around 7:15 a.m. April 10 when Springfield Township police went to the victim's residence in the 1000 block of Cromwell Road to check on his well-being after his colleagues reported that she failed to show up to her job at Lucky Dogz pet daycare in Wyndmoor, according to a criminal complaint filed by county Detective Anthony Caso and Springfield Township Detective Robert Baiada.

Arriving officers found a rear sliding glass door to the residence unlocked, entered the residence, found the master bedroom door locked and forced entry into the bedroom. Inside the bedroom, police observed Elizabeth Shea's lifeless body on the floor, according to the arrest affidavit.

“They observed what appeared to be bloodstains on the bed and obvious cuts to Elizabeth Shea's head and neck,” Caso and Baiada wrote, adding that officers took note of numerous video surveillance cameras at inside and outside the residence.

An autopsy determined the victim's cause of death was multiple stab wounds.

Court documents indicate detectives were aware of previous domestic incidents at the Cromwell Road residence involving Elizabeth and Kenneth Shea, including an active arrest warrant for Kenneth charging him with simple assault and strangulation of Elizabeth during the alleged January 2024 incident.

In March 2024, the victim obtained a protection from abuse order against Shea, who received a copy of the order on March 15, according to court documents. By the time police carried out the order, Shea was removed from the Cromwell Road residence.

When detectives examined the crime scene, they discovered that a window air conditioner had been pushed inside the residence, allowing access to the residence through that window. Detectives observed the victim in the master bedroom with cuts or stab wounds to his neck, court documents state.

“In the bathroom of the residence, they observed blood in the sink, as if someone had attempted to clean up,” Caso and Baiada wrote in court documents.

The victim's son told detectives that his mother let him know on March 15 that she had requested a protective order against Shea “and detailed some of the physical abuse she had suffered,” according to the affidavit. 'arrest. The victim's son told detectives that his mother also changed all the locks in her house.

During the investigation, detectives obtained records from Uber Technologies Inc. showing that Shea used two Uber rideshare services on April 10.

The first Uber ride was requested at 12:23 a.m. with a pickup time of 12:36 a.m. near the Comfort Inn where Shea was staying in the 2700 block of Lincoln Highway in the Feasterville/Trevose section of Lower Southampton Township , according to the court. papers. Records showed Shea was dropped off at 12:55 a.m. along Wainwright Road in Wyndmoor, the road directly behind the victim's Cromwell Road residence, detectives said.

The second Uber ride was requested by Shea at 3:27 a.m. with a pick-up time of 3:37 a.m. on Wainwright Road and the drop-off time was 3:58 a.m. at a location near the Comfort Inn in Lower Township Southampton. Detectives also obtained video surveillance from the Comfort Inn that showed Shea arriving in the hotel lobby, around the time Uber dropped him off, and heading to a room reserved by a known associate of Shea's, according to the criminal complaint.

On April 10, at 6:06 a.m., Bensalem Police Department SWAT members were stationed outside the hotel room when Shea opened the door, entered the hallway and was placed on guard. view, according to court documents.

During a search of the hotel room, detectives seized camouflage pants that surveillance video showed Shea wearing as he entered the hotel in the early morning hours of April 10.

“Blood-like stains were also found on the bed inside the bedroom,” Caso and Baiada claimed. “At the time of his arrest, Kenneth Shea suffered an injury to his right hand. These injuries included three small cuts to his right index finger.