Shelby Nealy sentencing trial: State rests in death penalty case
CLEARWATER, Fla. - The state rested its case Tuesday in the sentencing trial of Shelby Nealy, who faces the death penalty for killing his former in-laws in Pinellas County nearly a year after killing his wife.
The backstory:
Nealy is currently serving a 30-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to manslaughter for killing his wife, Jamie Ivancic, 21, in Pasco County in January 2018.
Prosecutors said Nealy strangled and beat Jamie to death, then buried her in the backyard of their Port Richey home.
Pictured: Jamie Ivancic.
In December 2018, he went to Jamie's parents' home in Tarpon Springs and killed her parents, Richard and Laura Ivancic, along with Jamie's brother, Nick.
Pictured: Richard and Laura Ivancic.
Their bodies were found about two weeks later, and investigators arrested Nealy in Ohio in January 2019.
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In late 2023, Nealy pleaded guilty in Pinellas County to three counts of first-degree murder, along with three counts of aggravated animal cruelty for killing the family's dogs.
What they're saying:
On Tuesday, jurors saw Nealy's interview with Tarpon Springs Police Sgt. Derek Anderson, recorded in Ohio in January 2019. In that interview, Nealy talked about killing his wife and leaving her in the bathtub for three days before wrapping her body in a blanket and burying her in the backyard.
Nealy admitted to the detective that he was a "monster to a degree," but was concerned about his children's future, especially if he was to end up on death row.
Pictured: Shelby Nealy's interview with a detective in January 2019.
The other side:
While Sgt. Anderson was on the stand, the defense tried to show how Nealy was cooperative and participated willingly with law enforcement. The prosecution, however, pointed out that Nealy left Florida before he was captured.
Dig deeper:
On Monday, the jury saw text messages sent from Laura Ivancic's cellphone to multiple family members after her death. The messages claimed she was having issues with her phone and that she was dealing with a family emergency with Jamie.
Then on Monday afternoon, the jury watched a tape of Nealy's confession. Nealy sat with a detective and confessed to killing his wife, Jamie, covering it up and then killing her parents, Richard and Laura Ivancic, and her brother, Nick Ivancic.
Pictured: Nick Ivancic.
"The parents passed away first, and then I dragged their bodies into their room, cleaned it up, waited for Nick to get home," Nealy said. "Spent one last night with Nick and then, when he went to bed, I killed him too."
He detailed their murders and how he tried to cover up their deaths. Throughout his confession, Nealy told the detective multiple times that he didn't want to kill his in-laws.
"I didn't do this, because I wanted to be evil, and I wanted to kill people," Nealy said. "I did it, because I felt that I had no choice at that time period."
Nealy sat in the courtroom on Monday, watching his own confession, appearing to show no emotion.
Pictured: Shelby Nealy in court during his sentencing trial.
The jury also heard two victim impact statements from Laura's family, while another family member read a statement from Laura's sister.
What's next:
The defense reserved its opening statement last week, opting to wait until the state finished presenting its case.
The Source: This story was written using information from testimony at Shelby Nealy's sentencing trial in Pinellas County, Florida, with additional details from previous FOX 13 News reports.