HOUSTON, TEXAS, USA – NOVEMBER 4, 2015 20-year-old Shelbey Thornburgh was murdered in her apartment at the Conquistador Apartments complex on Bellaire Boulevard in Houston, Texas. According to investigators, she had arranged to meet a man that evening whom she had contacted online. Before the meeting, the man had been using a so-called “burner phone,” meaning a phone intended to make it more difficult to identify him.
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- Shelbey Thornburgh 1
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- Shelbey Thornburgh 2
Shortly after 8 p.m., he arrived at the apartment complex. Security cameras captured his arrival and departure, and according to investigators, he spent approximately 17 minutes inside. He then left the building. Around 10:10 p.m., Shelbey Thornburgh was found dead in her apartment. She had suffered severe injuries to her neck caused by a sharp object, and paramedics pronounced her dead at the scene.
From the beginning, police focused on the man captured by the security cameras. In March 2016, they released his photographs and video and asked the public for help identifying him. The man was described as a white male approximately 5 feet 11 inches to 6 feet 1 inch tall, who was wearing a light-colored long-sleeved shirt, shorts, and sneakers at the time of the visit. A $5,000 reward was offered for information leading to his arrest.
Investigators also recovered biological evidence that could have come from the perpetrator. According to later reports, however, the DNA did not produce a match in any database. The FBI also became involved in the investigation, and at one point police considered the possibility that the suspect could have been connected to other violent crimes. It was never confirmed, however, that he was a serial killer.
Although police had security footage, communications between Shelbey and the suspect, and other evidence, they were unable to determine his identity. Her sister, Krystina Scott, repeatedly appealed to the public for help over the years.
More than ten years after the murder, the case of Shelbey Thornburgh remains unsolved. The man who came to her apartment and left shortly afterward has never been identified or arrested.
MORE PHOTOS OF SHELBEY:
