Heather Nicole Sheppard was a 43-year-old small business owner and mother of three in Jacksonville, Florida. She ran a company called Cleaning Crusaders and was remembered by family as caring, funny, and hardworking; she enjoyed nature, animals, and beachcombing for shark’s teeth and shells. Her family reported her missing on June 29, 2023, after she stopped her daily communications.

On July 5, 2023, Heather’s remains were found on the front porch of her Colonial Avenue home, concealed under a blue tarp, covered with ice packs, and in an advanced state of decomposition. An autopsy confirmed she had been shot multiple times. The investigation focused on her partner, 43-year-old Shannon McCarthy; court records referenced prior domestic disputes, including a January 2023 battery arrest and later reports by Heather that she feared for her life because of threatening texts and head injuries from an assault on January 29.

Does anyone have information about Heather’s life or the neighborhood that could help fill in what happened in late June 2023?