A Florida man was captured and charged with the abuse of a corpse after he unknowingly supplied police with home security video footage that revealed him dragging the lifeless body of a 38-year-old woman through his house.
William Redden, 51, supposedly wrapped the remains of Stephanie Shenefield in a sheet before dragging her lifeless body to his car and driving to a ditch, where he tossed her remains, according to the Manatee County Constable’s Workplace.
It was not clear how the woman passed away.
Shenefield, a mother of two, took an Uber to the house of Redden, allegedly a drug dealer, at 1:20 a.m. on Friday, June 3, private investigators said.
Eventually in the night, Shenefield died inside the house and Redden presumably got rid of her body rather than calling for help, Manatee County Constable Rick Wells stated.
“William Redden does nothing about it,” Sheriff Wells said at a press conference aired on WTSP Tampa Bay 10. “He doesn’t call 911, he doesn’t call authorities, he doesn’t call anyone.”
Redden, an eight-time convicted felon, informed investigators that Shenefield stayed at his home that night– but left the next early morning.
The detectives then asked Redden if they might take the DVRs from monitoring electronic cameras on the inside and exterior of your house. He complied and stated the cams don’t tape-record inside his house and are just a” live monitoring “system, according to the sheriff’s workplace.
“He tells them they do not record inside the residence. He was wrong,” Wells said. “Thankfully he’s ignorant and didn’t know that. Because it worked for us.”
To investigators’ surprise, the video unveiled the final minutes of Shenefield’s life and provided hints regarding how her body wound up in a ditch in Palmetto.
The investigators confirmed through the video footage that Shenefield was at Redden’s home in Palmetto and died there throughout the night. Detectives have actually not yet figured out the cause of death.
Redden then can be seen “dragging her lifeless body throughout the house” and loading it into an automobile before driving off, Wells said.
Two individuals strolling their dog discovered Shenefield’s “badly decomposed” body in a 12-foot-deep drainage ditch near railroad tracks Thursday, June 9, according to the sheriff’s office.
The Florida mother was reported missing after Sunday, June 5, when she didn’t appear for work and likewise had missed a show Friday night.
“William Redden is a piece of crap, that’s what he is. He had the opportunity to call law enforcement, to call 911, to try to save her,” Wells said.
“He could have done a lot of things, but that’s not his character,” he added. “The only thing he thought of was trying to get rid of the evidence that was in his car – that was a human being; that was someone that was truly loved in this community.”
Redden was charged with abuse of a corpse, possession of a firearm by a felon, and ownership of a modified firearm. Surcharges are expected to be brought as the examination continues, Wells stated.
“We will continue to investigate this, but we want you to know that our hearts break for the family of Stephanie,” the sheriff said.
He is being held at the Manatee County Prison on $108,000 bond.