SPRINGFIELD — The estranged husband of a 57-year-old woman, who had a protection from abuse order against him, must answer to charges in Montgomery County Court that he fatally stabbed her inside her home in the Wyndmoor section of Springfield Township.
Kenneth Crisden Shea Jr., 37, who listed an address in the 2700 block of Lincoln Highway in Lower Southampton Township, Bucks County, was held for trial, after a preliminary hearing on Tuesday before District Court Judge Katherine E. McGill, on charges of first-, second-, and third-degree murder, burglary and possessing an instrument of crime in connection with the alleged April 10, 2024, fatal stabbing of his estranged wife, Elizabeth Shea.
Additionally, Shea was ordered to stand trial on separate charges of simple assault and strangulation in connection with an alleged January 2024 domestic assault of Elizabeth.
During the hearing, Assistant District Attorney Tanner Christian Beck relied on the testimony of county detectives, including lead Detective Anthony Caso, several Springfield Township police officers and a domestic violence counselor as sufficient evidence to move all the charges against Kenneth Shea to trial.
Defense lawyer Francis John Genovese argued there was insufficient evidence to support the strangulation and simple assault charges, suggesting those charges were based on hearsay with no corroborating evidence.
Shea will now face a formal arraignment hearing on all the charges in county court in June. After that hearing, a county judge will schedule Shea’s trial.
After the hearing, Genovese said “it’s too early” to comment about any potential defense strategies, pending the results of any pretrial hearings that might be held regarding the admissibility of evidence.
“That will guide the defense strategy,” Genovese said.
Shea will remain in the Montgomery County Correctional Facility without bail pending trial.
First-degree murder, an intentional killing, and second-degree murder, a killing committed during the course of another felony, such as burglary, are punishable by life imprisonment upon conviction.
A person convicted of third-degree murder, a killing committed with malice or hardness of heart, faces a possible maximum sentence of 20 to 40 years in prison.
The investigation began about 7:15 a.m. April 10 when Springfield Township police responded to the victim’s residence in the 1000 block of Cromwell Road to check on her welfare after her coworkers reported she failed to show up for her job at Lucky Dogz Pet Daycare Center in Wyndmoor, according to a criminal complaint filed by Caso and Springfield Township Detective Robert Baiada.
Arriving officers found a rear sliding glass door to the residence unlocked, entered the residence, found the door to the master bedroom locked and forced entry into the bedroom. Inside the bedroom, police observed Elizabeth Shea’s lifeless body on the floor, according to the arrest affidavit.
“They observed, what appeared to be, blood stains on the bed and obvious cut wounds to the head and neck area of Elizabeth Shea,” Caso and Baiada alleged, adding officers took note of numerous video surveillance cameras inside and outside of the residence.
An autopsy determined the victim’s cause of death was multiple stab wounds.
Court documents indicate detectives were aware of prior domestic incidents at the Cromwell Road residence involving Elizabeth and Kenneth Shea, including an active arrest warrant for Kenneth charging him with simple assault and strangulation of Elizabeth during an alleged January 2024 incident.
In March 2024, the victim obtained a protection from abuse order against Shea, who was served a copy of the order on March 15, according to court papers. At the time police served the order, Shea was evicted from the Cromwell Road residence.
When detectives processed the crime scene they found a window air conditioner had been pushed inside the residence, allowing access to the residence through that window. Detectives observed the victim in the master bedroom with cut or stab wounds to her neck, court papers indicate.
“In the bathroom area of the residence they observed blood in the sink area as if someone had attempted to clean up,” Caso and Baiada alleged.
The victim’s son told detectives that his mother made him aware on March 15 that she had filed for a protection order against Shea “and detailed some of the physical abuse she was the victim of,” according to the arrest affidavit. The victim’s son told detectives his mother also changed all of the locks in her home.
During the investigation, detectives obtained records from Uber Technologies Inc. that showed Shea utilized two Uber ride-share services on April 10.
The first Uber ride was requested at 12:23 a.m. with a pickup time of 12:36 a.m. near the Comfort Inn where Shea allegedly had been staying in the 2700 block of Lincoln Highway in the Feasterville/Trevose section of Lower Southampton Township, according to court papers. Records showed Shea was dropped off at 12:55 a.m. along Wainwright Road in Wyndmoor, the road directly behind the victim’s Cromwell Road residence, detectives alleged.
The second Uber ride was requested by Shea at 3:27 a.m. with a pickup time at 3:37 a.m. on Wainwright Road and the drop-off time was 3:58 a.m. at a location near the Comfort Inn in Lower Southampton Township. Detectives also obtained video surveillance from the Comfort Inn that showed Shea arriving in the lobby area of the hotel, around the time the Uber dropped him off, and going to a room booked by a known associate of Shea, according to the criminal complaint.
At 6:06 a.m. April 10, members of the Bensalem Police Department S.W.A.T were stationed outside the hotel room when Shea opened the door, entered into the hallway and was taken into custody, according to court documents.
During a search of the hotel room, detectives seized camouflage pants that surveillance video depicted Shea wearing as he entered the hotel in the early morning hours of April 10.
“Staining consistent with blood was also found on the bed inside the room,” Caso and Baiada alleged. “At the time of his arrest, Kenneth Shea had injuries to his right hand. These injuries included three small cuts to his right index finger.”
