Sanitation worker who found body of influencer Alexis Sharkey, 26, says he 'thought it was a mannequin' - as her husband denies any marriage rift - and one detective says an arrest 'is a matter of time'
The naked body of a Houston influencer whose corpse was found dumped on the side of the road was initially mistaken for a possible mannequin.
Police say it will 'only be a matter of time' before someone is arrested in the death of Alexis Sharkey, 26, who disappeared on Nov. 27 before her body was found less than 24 hours later.
John Richardson, a city sanitation department worker who discovered the body on Nov. 28, said he had received a call from a colleague who had driven past the location in his garbage truck.
'He said he thought he'd seen a body or a mannequin. He wasn't too sure,' Richardson said to KHOU. 'He wasn't going to stop because he was scared or whatever the case may be, so he asked me to come out there to check it out.'
Alexis Sharkey's body was found just three miles from a friend's home and discovered by sanitation workers
Sharkey, 26, was found 'with no visible signs of injury' by city workers in Houston on Saturday after they spotted feet in bushes, pictured
Richardson then went back out to the location with his colleague to take a closer look .
'When we were driving, we could see the feet,' Richardson said. 'We got out and looked, and there it was. She was laying there deceased, no clothes on.
'I just got on the phone, and I called 911,' he said.
Richardson has said he was unaware that the body was the missing influencer Sharkey, who had vanished over Thanksgiving weekend after allegedly having a fight with her husband, Tom Sharkey.
The couple got married in December and moved to Houston in January. Tom paid tribute, writing: 'Never seen or felt such beauty! You are my world! You made life so incredible! Made sense of my existence! My purpose! And showed me how to truly love!'
He has been left shaken by the scene he encountered.
'It plays back in my head. It's been playing back in my head every day,' Richardson said.
So far, no cause of death has been determined in Sharkey's case, but her family believes it was 'absolutely foul play.'
'The way in which she was found — my child would never do that to herself,' her mom Stacey Robinault told KPRC.
'That doesn't even make sense. That is absolutely foul play.'
Meanwhile, Sharkey's husband has denied any marriage problems and had stated he is cooperating with detectives saying he feels confident the Houston Police Department is 'going to find everyone that was involved.'
Medical examiners are looking for clues as to the manner of her death.
Detective Ted Williams told Fox News that he doesn't believe it will be long before there is some movement in the case.
Alexis was said to have been in the process of divorcing her husband, according to friends
'I think law enforcement has a great deal to go on,' Williams said. 'They're gathering evidence - I think at this stage they're waiting for the results of the autopsy report.
'By now I'm sure the autopsy has been performed, so I think it's only a matter of time before an arrest is made in this case.
'I also think they're looking at folks who are more closely related to Alexis. For instance, her husband is one of the individuals that I'm sure that they're looking at and they're trying to perhaps even clear of this murder,' Williams said.
'What we know from her friends that about a year ago she married her husband Tom, they moved to the Houston area.
Alexis' mom Stacey Clark Robinault told Click2Houston her death 'is absolutely foul play', adding: 'There is nothing to me that suggests that this was an accident'
According to her friends, the relationship had been rocky and Alexis was looking into a divorce
'According to her friends, that has been a rocky relationship that she was in the process of, perhaps, seeking a divorce, and that there's allegations that Tom, her husband, has been physically abusive to Alexis, so authorities are trying to clear these facts up one way or the other.'
Tom has denied the claims saying she was 'stressed and unhappy.'
Alexis, who had more than 21,000 followers on Instagram, regularly shared updates about her life, most recently a trip to Mexico.
Alexis' husband of a year Tom, 49, paid tribute calling her 'the most amazing woman'. The couple got married in December and moved to Houston in January
Tom shared pictures of his late wife in her wedding dress
But Tanya Ricardo, who has spent Thanksgiving with her late friend, told Khou 'divorce was being filed'.
She said: 'Recently, she opened up to us about it and divorce was being filed. She was a very private person. She didn't share a lot about what was going on at home.'
Another friend told ABC13 Alexis had said she was 'petrified' in the weeks before her death, adding: 'This girl is scared for her life.' It is not known why she may have been scared.
Paying tribute to his last wife Tom shared pictures of her in her wedding dress, writing: 'Never seen or felt such beauty! You are my world! You made life so incredible! Made sense of my existence! My purpose! And showed me how to truly love!'
No comments