Man Kills Ex-Wife, Tries to Cover Up Murder at Montco Home – NBC10 Philadelphia

A man has been sentenced to life in prison for stabbing his estranged wife to death and then trying to cover up the murder at a Montgomery County home.

On Monday, June 10, Kenneth Shea, 37, pleaded guilty to the murder of Elizabeth Shea, 57, in Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania. Kenneth Shea was then sentenced to life in prison.

As he read a statement in the courtroom, Shea was in tears as he apologized to his murdered wife and sons. He also said he wanted to skip the trial to avoid causing further pain to the family.

Léelo in Spanish here.

The Murder of Elizabeth Shea

Springfield Township Police responded to a home on Cromwell Lane around 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, April 10, 2024, to conduct a welfare check on Elizabeth Shea after co-workers at a doggy daycare reported that She didn't show up for work that morning.

Springfield police officers entered the home through an open sliding door and noticed a cell phone “flushed down the toilet,” the criminal complaint states. Officers found the master bedroom door locked and then forced entry.

Elizabeth Shea was found dead on the master bedroom floor with cuts 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 cell phones had been thrown into the bathroom sink and toilet.”

Police were aware of a previous incident of domestic violence at the home, the criminal complaint states. Following that January incident, Kenneth Shea was charged with simple assault.

If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence, contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline by calling 1-800-799-SAFE (7233), visiting www.thehotline.org or emailing an SMS to LOVEIS at 22522.

In March, police issued Shea a protection from abuse order and he was removed from the Cromwell Lane home, according to the criminal complaint.

Uber ride helps police capture killer

Investigators focused their murder investigation on Shea and his travel history in the early hours of April 10.

“Detectives obtained Uber records showing that Kenneth Shea used the rideshare service early on the morning of April 10, 2024,” the prosecutor’s office wrote. “He was picked up at 12:36 a.m. from the 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 lobby video surveillance showed him arriving and heading to room 314.”

Location records on Shea's phone showed him in the Bucks County hotel area in the days before the killing and later on April 10.

Around 6 p.m. that day, Bensalem SWAT officers stationed outside Shea's room arrested him as he left the room.

Investigators then obtained a search warrant and later found camouflage pants matching those Shea wore when he returned to the hotel early on April 10 and what appeared to be blood stains on the bed, the criminal complaint states .

Shea had injuries to his right hand, including three small cuts to his right index finger, investigators said.