TAMPA, Fla. — A man accused of killing his ex-wife and members of her family in 2018 pleaded guilty to multiple charges Wednesday morning.
Officials said Shelby Nealy pleaded guilty at the Pinellas County Justice Center in Clearwater.
Nealy was arrested in Ohio in 2019 after police caught him with a car stolen from a Florida home where three people were found dead. The bodies of Nealy's in-laws and three dogs were discovered inside a Tarpon Springs residence on New Year's Day.
Less than a week later, a fourth body connected to the case was found near a Port Richey home, which was later identified as Nealy's wife, Jamie Ivancic.
Officials said after Nealy killed Jamie, he posed as her by sending texts and photos of their two kids to her family to pretend she was still alive. When her family grew suspicious, Nealy traveled to their home in Tarpon Springs on Juanita Way and killed Jamie's father, Richard Louis Ivancic, mother, Laura Ann Ivancic, and brother, Nicholas James Ivancic.
When police found the bodies inside the home, they also located three bichon frise mix breed dogs Nealy had allegedly killed.
In the murder of Jamie, officials said Nealy pleaded guilty to manslaughter with a weapon, reduced from the original first-degree murder charge, and he was sentenced to 30 years in prison.
In the deaths of the three dogs, officials said Nealy pleaded guilty to three counts of aggravated cruelty to animals and was sentenced to five years in prison for each count. In the deaths of the Ivancic family, he pleaded guilty to three counts of first-degree murder.
Officials added the penalty phase for the three murders is scheduled to begin next year on Oct. 14, and jurors will be able to recommend life or the death penalty.
