Man pleads guilty for killing three in-laws in Tarpon Springs nearly a year after murdering ex-wife
CLEARWATER, Fla. - A Bay Area man pleaded guilty Wednesday morning in the murders of his ex-wife and three of her family members, according to Pinellas County court officials.
Shelby Nealy pleaded guilty at the Pinellas County Justice Center in Clearwater.
Mugshot for Shelby Nealy from 2019 (left) and photo of the suspect in 2023 court hearing.
He was accused of killing his ex-wife, 21-year-old Jamie Ivancic, in January 2018. Prosecutors said he buried her at their New Port Richey home.
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Pictured: Jamie Ivancic.
For months after the murder, Nealy pretended she was alive by sending text messages and photos of their two young children to family on her behalf. However, officials said her family got suspicious, because they had not heard her voice.
That's when, court officials said Nealy went to Tarpon Springs in December 2018 and killed her father, 71-year-old Richard Ivancic; her mother, 59-year-old Laura Ivancic; her brother, 25-year-old Nicholas Ivancic; and the three dogs in their home.
Pictured: Jamie's father, brother and mother.
According to the court, prosecutors reduced the first-degree murder charge to manslaughter in the Pasco County murder of Jamie. He pleaded guilty to that charge and was sentenced to 30 years in prison.
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In the Pinellas County killings, he pleaded guilty to three counts of aggravated animal cruelty and three counts of first-degree murder, according to the court.
Prosecutors said Nealy got five years in prison for each count of aggravated animal cruelty, which will run concurrent with each other, as well as the 30-year sentence for the Pasco murder.
The penalty phase for the three Pinellas County murders he pleaded guilty to is scheduled to begin on October 14, 2024. Officials said jurors will be able to recommend life or the death penalty.