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Family of triple homicide victims: Police say suspect confessed to fourth murder

Posted at 5:43 PM, Jan 07, 2019
and last updated 2019-01-08 09:33:23-05

Family members are now revealing a possible new tie between a triple murder in Tarpon Springs and a body buried at a Port Richey home.

Currently, the new body has not been identified. Tarpon Springs Police say Shelby Nealy confessed to killing his mother-in-law, father-in-law, and brother-in-law in Tarpon Springs. But tonight a family member claims investigators told them Nealy also confessed to killing his wife.

It's a stunning development from the brother of a triple homicide victim.

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"This is a real tragedy. Within a four or five day period we lost three-quarters of our family," said James Zindroski. He's the brother of the victim, Laura Ivancic.

Zindroski is also a former Ohio police chief. Tonight he's giving ABC Action News an inside look at this investigation. He claims police told the family Nealy's confession includes a fourth victim, Jamie Ivancic. We'd previously been told he admitted to killing Richard Ivancic, Laura Ivancic and Nicholas Ivancic.

"He also mentioned that he did in fact kill his wife, which would be Jamie," said Zindroski of what investigators told the family.

Currently, police have declared Jamie Ivancic as missing and endangered. Tarpon Springs PD said they suspected foul play in a press conference on Friday. Sunday night, forensic anthropologists found a body behind a home on Norwood Avenue in Port Richey. They spent three days searching and digging the backyard following up on a tip from Tarpon Springs PD. They did not say what the tip was. Neighbors said Nealy and Jamie Ivancic rented the Norwood home a couple of months prior but had left.

"They [investigators] found bones or fragments and that they're fairly certain that it's Jamie," Zindroski said, "So they are waiting on the dental records or DNA to finally determine that it is her."

We're also learning more about the couple. Court records show they had a history of domestic abuse. In 2016, Nealy spent 30 days jail for choking, shoving and biting his then-pregnant wife.

Nealy was involved in another domestic violence case with his previous wife. Nealy was 19 years old when he reportedly got mad because his wife wouldn't let his friends smoke marijuana around their 1-year-old daughter. He grabbed her, repeatedly hit her in the face and restrained her according to the Broadview Heights Police Department in Ohio. That charge sent him to jail for three days.

Zindroski says one of the biggest questions his family wants answered is when was the last time anyone actually saw Jamie?

"My sister, Laura, was very concerned about her daughter Jamie and she had contacted them a number of times and was never able to communicate with Jamie," he said.

Right now Nealy is sitting in an Ohio county jail. He could be extradited to Florida. ABC Action News also reached out to the Pasco County Sheriff's Office which is in charge of the investigation on the remains. We asked for more details on Nealy's confession but they told us they can't comment until the remains have been identified.