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Husband Of Slain Influencer Has Died By Suicide As U.S. Marshals Moved In To Arrest Him For Her Murder
Thomas Sharkey died by suicide as investigators tried to arrest him for the murder of his slain wife, influencer Alexis Sharkey.
The husband of slain Instagram influencer Alexis Sharkey died by suicide as investigators attempted to arrest him in connection with her 2020 murder in Florida on Wednesday.
Houston Police Department Homicide Detective Michael Burrow announced at a Wednesday press conference that Thomas Sharkey, 50, died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound on Tuesday night as U.S. Marshals attempted to take him into custody at a home in Fort Myers, Florida.
Burrow noted that Thomas Sharkey was “the only person who had the means, the motive, and opportunity to commit the murder.” He said investigators eliminated all other possible suspects and established that there was a history of domestic violence between Thomas and Alexis Sharkey.
“The relationship was ending. There was a pending divorce,” he said, adding that Thomas Sharkey was not truthful with investigators. An arrest warrant was obtained for Sharkey on Sept. 29 quietly, due to his volatile nature, and they were intending to charge him with Alexis Sharkey’s murder in person.
Alexis Sharkey's body was discovered by a solid waste department supervisor in some brush along a Houston road in November of last year. The 26-year-old died from strangulation. Burrow pointed out at Wednesday’s press conference that Thomas Sharkey left the state shortly after her homicide. He did not know that he was a suspect until he became aware that U.S. Marshals were trying to arrest him on Tuesday night.
After Alexis was found murdered, Thomas posted on Facebook, "My world! My everything! I'm so lost right now! My one and only!” local outlet KTRK reported in December. He claimed at the time that they had a happy marriage but that she wasn’t in good spirits.
"She wasn't happy. She was stressed. I would cuddle her to try to make her strong," he claimed.
Alexis had more than 20,000 followers on her Instagram account, where she appeared to work in beauty and skincare, before her death. Her friends remember her as full of life.
“She was just like the light of the room,” her friend, Brittney Pember, told local outlet KHOU in January. “She was just so smart and so funny.”
