The bodybuilder husband of slain social media influencer Alexis Sharkey was found dead in Florida on Wednesday after police issued a warrant for his arrest in his wife's death. Tom Sharkey, 50, reportedly shot himself dead moments after US Marshals caught up with him.
Alexis Sharkey, 26, was found naked and strangled by the side of a road in Houston in November 2020. A months-long investigation revealed that Tom was behind the horrifying murder of his wife. Marshals issued a warrant for his arrest on September 29, and had tracked Sharkey down to his daughter's home the day before they went to arrest him.
Tragic End
Tom Sharkey was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his head at his daughter's home in Fort Myers early Tuesday, shortly after the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force arrived to arrest him, according to US Marshals Office officials. A relative said that after police knocked on the doors, Tom Sharkey ran up the stairs and pulled the trigger on himself.
Tom was wanted in the murder of his wife Alexis and an arrest warrant was issued in his name on September 29. Following that he was on the run and was reportedly staying there with his daughter and her boyfriend.
On Tuesday night, US Marshals tracked him and reached his daughter's home. However, moments after cops knocked the door, Tom shot himself. He was found dead inside the house, with his son and daughter opening it and walking out, before investigators went inside and found the grim scene.
Cops later confirmed Tom's death to KHOU 11 on Wednesday morning. They have yet to confirm it was a suicide, but say no suspects are being sought over the shooting.
Chasing the Killer
Tom Sharkey's death comes almost a year after his social media influencer wife Alexis Sharkey's naked body on a highway in Houston last November. It was later revealed that she was strangulated to death. Following that Tom fled Texas.
Fans of Alexis, who had more than 30,000 followers on Instagram, had accused the husband of foul play after her mother but Tom defended himself at the time. "I have been assisting the deputies and making phone calls to fine [sic] out what happened to my wife. Next time.... stop and think! And realize! You don't know it all!," he wrote on Instagram in late November 2020.
After months-long investigation, Houston police revealed that according to them Tom was the only person with the "means, motive and opportunity" to have committed the murder.
That said, the exact motive and other details about Tom's suspected role in Alexis' murder are yet to be made available by the police. Following Alexis' death, friends revealed that she was trying to file for divorce from her husband and that he had allegedly abused her. Detectives confirmed that while divorce papers had not been filed, there was evidence that it was going to happen soon.
