Eloilda Ellie Padilla Shea, 39, was a lieutenant with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office in Orlando and a mother of two, described as a compassionate leader and mentor. On October 14, 2024, first responders found her dead from a gunshot wound to the head at her home on El Prado Avenue after a 911 call placed by her estranged husband, Anthony Shea.

Although the death was first treated as a suicide, homicide detectives later found evidence pointing to murder. The gun had only Anthony Shea’s fingerprints on the trigger, and an accidental audio recording on Ellie’s phone captured him telling one child their mother was sleeping about 40 minutes before he placed the 911 call; the recording also indicated he showed no emotional reaction until the dispatcher answered. Investigators concluded Anthony Shea had shot Ellie in her bedroom and tried to stage a suicide.

Anthony Shea, 49 and a former sergeant with the same agency, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder with a firearm and is being held without bond. Did anyone in the community know Ellie or her family and have information that could help investigators?