Sentencing phase for man who killed wife, in-laws begins Monday

Man who killed family faces death penalty

Shelby Nealy, who killed his ex-wife and three former in-laws in 2018, will soon find out whether he?ll be sentenced to death. FOX 13?s Regina Gonzalez reports.

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Jury selection is set to begin Monday in the sentencing phase for Shelby Nealy, who faces the death penalty for murdering three of his former in-laws nearly a year after killing his wife.

Case against Shelby Nealy

The backstory:

According to investigators, Shelby Nealy killed his 21-year-old wife, Jamie Ivancic, in January 2018, and buried her in the backyard of their New Port Richey home.

Pictured: Jamie Ivancic.

For months, he pretended Jamie was still alive, sending text messages and photos of their two children to her family from Jamie's phone.

Her family eventually grew suspicious and wanted to speak with Jamie, at which point he drove to Tarpon Springs in December 2018 and killed Jamie's parents, Richard and Laura Ivancic, along with her brother, Nicholas, and the family's three dogs.

Pictured: Jamie's father, brother and mother.

Nealy went to Ohio with his two children and was arrested in January 2019, then brought back to Florida.

He later pleaded guilty to a reduced manslaughter charge for Jamie's death in Pasco County and received a 30-year prison sentence.

In 2023, Nealy pleaded guilty in Pinellas County to three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of aggravated animal cruelty.

Mugshot for Shelby Nealy from 2019 (left) and photo of the suspect in 2023 court hearing. 

What's next:

Nealy faces a possible death sentence for first-degree murder, but his attorney is trying to keep the requirement that the jury's recommendation be unanimous since the murders took place prior to a change in Florida law in 2023.

Under the current law signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis two years ago, a judge can impose the death penalty if the jury votes 8-4 to recommend it.

Court records show the judge reserved ruling in late June on the defense's motion to require a unanimous vote.

Jury selection is scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. Monday at the Pinellas County Justice Center.