Kenneth Shea, 37, of Bensalem. (Credit: Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office)
A sentencing date has been set for June 10.
The estranged husband of a Wyndmoor mother of three, who had a protection of abuse order against him, has chosen to accept life in prison without parole and will plead guilty to stabbing her to death in her home in April, according to The Pottstown Mercury.
At his Montgomery County Common Pleas Court arraignment on Thursday, lawyers representing Kenneth Crisden Shea Jr., 37, of the 2700 block of Lincoln Highway, Lower Southampton, Bucks County, informed the court that, under a plea agreement, their client will plead guilty to first-degree murder, in connection to the stabbing death of his wife, Elizabeth Shea, 57, of Springfield Township, according to the report.
First-degree murder is an intentional killing and carries potential punishments of life imprisonment or the death penalty.
Shea will also be sentenced to life in prison at a June 10 hearing, per the report.
The accused will also plead guilty to separate accusations of simple assault and strangulation in connection with an alleged January 2024 domestic assault on his wife.
“Obviously, he’ll be pleading to the murder in the first-degree charge in exchange for a sentence of life,” defense lawyer Francis John Genovese told The Mercury. “I get the sense that he wanted, more than anything, to give peace of mind to the victim’s children, particularly her youngest son, who I understand is going to be going off to college in the fall. And if he (Shea) could give him peace of mind knowing that this case was over and resolved when he went off to school to start his life, that he (Shea) wanted to do that. So, that was the main reason he came to that decision.”
Springfield Township Police responded to the 1000 block of Cromwell Lane at 7:30 a.m. on April 10 for a wellness check, after Shea’s coworkers called police reporting that she had failed to show up for her regularly scheduled shift at work. Arriving police located Shea’s body lying on the floor of the master bedroom with “obvious cut wounds to her head and neck,” according to a spokesperson for the district attorney’s office.
Investigators noted that four hard drives from the home’s surveillance system and three cell phones had been discarded in a bathroom sink and toilet.
An autopsy determined Shea’s cause of death as multiple stab wounds and her manner of death as homicide, officials said.
An investigation by Springfield Police and the Montgomery County Detective Bureau determined that Shea had taken an Uber from the Comfort Inn in Bensalem at 12:36 a.m. and was dropped off behind the victim’s residence at 12:55 a.m., officials said.
He then allegedly made entry into the home by pushing an air conditioning unit through a window and then forced entry into the master bedroom, according to the criminal complaint.
Shea then was picked up by an Uber behind the victim’s home at 3:37 a.m. and he returned to the Comfort Inn at 3:58 a.m., police said.
Shea was taken into custody outside of his hotel room at 6 p.m. by Bensalem SWAT officers. A search warrant executed on the room uncovered clothing matching surveillance footage of Shea, along with staining that was consistent with blood on the bed inside of the hotel room, police said.
The criminal complaint does not mention a weapon being recovered at the scene.
Investigators said they were aware of prior domestic incidents at the victim’s home, and there was an active arrest warrant for Shea regarding an alleged assault of the victim in January 2024. Police said the victim secured a Protection from Abuse order against Shea in March, and he was evicted from the home on March 15.
“This is a tragic case, and our hearts go out to the family of Elizabeth Shea,” said Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele in April. “I also want to thank the Bensalem Police for the significant resources they provided, including drone surveillance and a K-9, as well as numerous officers, which enabled this defendant to be taken into custody without incident.”
If you or someone you know is in an abusive relationship or is the victim of domestic violence, help is available. In Montgomery County, you can contact Laurel House at 800-642-3150 or the Women’s Center of Montgomery County at 800-773-2424.
