Slain in Saratoga – Who Killed Sheila Shepherd?
The Unsolved Homicide of a Young Mother
Who is Sheila Shepherd?
Sheila Van Ness married Richard Shepherd, at a young age. Richard also known as “Shep” served in the army and was stationed in California when they had their baby daughter. But according to family, the relationship deteriorated and by 1980, the couple had separated and Sheila went to stay with her aunt Terrie and uncle Chuck in Colorado. Some time that summer, Sheila returned to her hometown of Saratoga Springs, New York to visit her parents and her young daughter who, by that time, was staying with Richard’s parents just outside of Saratoga Springs in the town of Greenfield. Sheila decided to stay in Saratoga Springs and her aunt and uncle soon followed. 22-year-old Sheila, described by her aunt as about 5’ 7”, 130 pounds, and strikingly beautiful, settled into a small second floor apartment on Church Street, a subdivided Victorian home within walking distance of the Worldwide Enterprises vocational school where Sheila took secretarial courses and worked part-time. Her apartment was also close to the downtown area where she could shop and enjoy the local nightlife.
Sheila Not at School on Monday, Tuesday
Sheila had only been living in her new apartment for a short time when her aunt Terrie and mother Marcia each made a visit to Sheila’s apartment on the weekend just before Thanksgiving. They both hear the radio playing inside, but get no answer to their repeated knocks at her door. On Monday, when courses begin at the vocational school, Sheila is absent. It was unusual enough that her instructor sent 2 students to her apartment to check on her. When they return, they report that Sheila did not answer her door, but they could hear a radio playing inside. When Sheila is again absent on Tuesday, the instructor grows increasingly concerned and calls Sheila’s mom. Worried that they, too, had not heard from Sheila in the previous days, Marcia, aunt Terrie and uncle Chuck drive to Church Street to check on her. When they arrive, their knocks again go unanswered and the radio can still be heard playing inside.
Uncle Finds Body
Growing even more anxious, Sheila’s uncle goes up the fire escape to the second floor. He opens Sheila’s bedroom window. When he enters, he sees Sheila’s lifeless body on the bed – obviously deceased. He goes to the deadbolted door where his wife and sister-in-law are coming up the stairs, and he holds them back, obviously distraught. They bang on neighbor’s door screaming for her to call police.
Police Respond; Investigation Begins
Officers and detectives soon arrive, and begin an investigation into the death of Sheila Shepherd.
Police find Sheila naked, tied to the bed frame in a spread-eagle position, with a knife protruding from her abdomen. A green blanket covered her body. An autopsy would determine that Sheila died from asphyxiation when they found a sash from a blouse stuffed down into her mouth.
The knife stuck in her abdomen was determined to have been inserted post-mortem, about 30 minutes after she died. Police described the knife: “Not an overly big knife, not overly sharp, just a normal kitchen knife for everyday use”, said Sgt. Christopher Callahan who heads up the investigation today. Police took note of how the crime scene was intentionally staged. Curiously, police find Sheila’s shoes positioned neatly alongside her bed.
Last Known Movements; Sheila Downtown Over the Weekend
The last time Sheila was seen by a family member was Saturday afternoon on Hamilton Street near her parent’s home. There was also an unconfirmed sighting of Sheila around 8:00 PM near the Grand Union supermarket on Railroad Avenue.
According to Sheila’s aunt Terrie, on the Saturday before Thanksgiving 1980, Sheila walked to one of the bars on Caroline Street called The Hub. Police say there were some inconsistencies in people’s recollections of the weekend, whether it was Friday versus Saturday, but according to Terrie, she recalled a source telling her that Saturday Night Live was on TV at the bar. Sheila reportedly walked home alone from that establishment.
Gathering at Sheila’s Apartment? A Thud, Radio Playing
At least one witness (unconfirmed) reported seeing Sheila on Saturday night around 8:00 PM walking with a muscular, stocky man wearing a leather jacket; he may have been black, but the witness was unsure. A downstairs neighbor in Sheila’s apartment house told police that it sounded as if Sheila had a small gathering that night, hearing 2-3 voices and a radio playing in her apartment. Sgt. Callahan said they were never able to determine who was at that gathering. “No one came forward to say, ‘I was there that Saturday night’,” he said.
Sheila’s aunt said that one of Sheila’s neighbors told her she may have heard Sheila come home that Saturday night. “When she walked in the door, the girl downstairs said she heard a thud, and some activity going on,” recalled Terrie. “But no violence or yelling or anything like that,” she added.
Autopsy; Bindings and a Broken Nail
One finding from the autopsy was a strange mark on Sheila’s cheek. The pathologist believed it to be insect activity, possibly a cockroach. But there was also discussion among investigators that it could be a partial toothmark impression. A rape kit did not reveal any evidence of sexual assault or other sexual activity.
Police say that although the apartment appeared somewhat disorganized, family members said that was not unusual. But there was reportedly no outward sign of a fight or struggle that occurred within the apartment. However, they did note that Sheila had a badly broken fingernail. Sgt. Callahan told APB Cold Case that while it was only one nail, “…almost half the nail is broken”, he said.
The autopsy revealed that Sheila’s blood alcohol was 0.25%. At that level, she would have been very intoxicated to the point of some brain impairment causing confusion and disorientation; her motor skills would have been affected and she may have needed help standing or walking; or she could have completely passed out.[1][2] What we don’t know is whether her intoxication was voluntary, or perhaps a device used by the killer to gain control.
When asked about the restraints used to secure Sheila’s limbs to the underside of an adjustable metal bed frame, police said that her wrists and ankles were tied to that frame using two shoelaces, a belt from a robe, and a length of fabric that may have been a belt from another garment. Sgt. Callahan speculated that it seemed that a person could have wrestled free from some of those bindings, particularly the shoelaces. Could the restraints have been applied post-mortem as well?
Staged Crime Scene
The knife inserted in Sheila’s abdomen after she died, the blanket covering her body, the restraints used on her legs and arms and the positioning of the shoes all appear to police to have been part of methodical and deliberate actions on the part of the killer. But why? Sgt. Callahan said that it appears that the killer had no sense of urgency; no concern that they were going to be found out or caught in the act. “Is this a cult type thing?” posits Callahan, “or is this to throw the police off to think that it’s a cult type thing?”
Police have considered that the killer could have been lying in wait for Sheila to return home. She did keep her bedroom window unlocked (the window that opened up onto the fire escape) in case her brother came by when she wasn’t at home. Could it have been someone who followed her home? Or perhaps someone who she was with that evening and who accompanied her back to the apartment?
Regardless of how the killer came to be inside the apartment, there are only two ways in or out – the door, and the fire escape. When her body is discovered on Tuesday, the door is deadbolted from the inside. Strangely, her keys seem to be missing after her death. Police said that the following spring, after snow had melted, a set of keys were found across the street from Sheila’s apartment. They were identified as belonging to Sheila because of the unique “mugger-slugger” fob on the keychain.
Saratoga Springs Police consulted with the FBI Behavioral Science Unit several years ago to develop a profile of the suspect. The report indicates a likely suspect as being a white male, who may have served in the military. Police took note of that descriptor, as there is a Navy base nearby. The asked them about the knots that were used in restraining Sheila’s body. But, said police, the knots were not of a nautical type.
Motive?
Police say that Sheila was dating on a casual level, but nothing that appeared to be serious. Could there have been a “jealousy” motive involved?
And what about theft? Terrie, Sheila’s aunt, said that she dropped off a trunk outside of Sheila’s apartment on the Wednesday before she was killed, containing clothing and pictures. During the investigation of Sheila’s murder, Terrie said that some of those pictures appeared to be missing. But does that motive jive with such an organized killing?
Still Seeking Answers
According to police there are no suspects or persons of interest in the murder of Sheila Shepherd. They did say that an estranged husband would certainly be a focal point in the first stages of an investigation, and we wondered if child custody could have been a motive…
Police said that Sheila’s estranged husband was “given a pretty hard look, but had a pretty solid alibi about being out in Orient (Long Island) at this time that this occurred.”
Police are interested in any information that will help them in reconstructing Sheila’s last hours. Of particular interest are the people who are thought to have possibly been at her apartment late Saturday; or the person whom she was seen walking with from the Caroline Street bar district toward her apartment on Church Street.
In May 2024, a $50,000 reward was announced by the family of Sheila Shepherd. Details can be found on the Saratoga Police Department Facebook page. If you have any information about Sheila Shepherd, call Saratoga Springs Police Department detectives at 518-584-TIPS or tips@saratogapolice.org
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Photo: Saratoga Springs Police Department; Enhanced.
[1] Understanding blood alcohol content; College of St. Benedict/St. John’s University; https://www.csbsju.edu/well-being-center/health-promotion/alcohol-guide/understanding-blood-alcohol-content-(bac) Accessed Apr. 28, 2024
[2] Alcohol facts; Alcoholic Beverage Control, State of California; https://www.csbsju.edu/well-being-center/health-promotion/alcohol-guide/understanding-blood-alcohol-content-(bac); Accessed Apr. 28, 2024