TX TX - Shelbey Thornburgh, 20, Houston, 4 Nov 2015

[SurfieTX]

Colbert said a friend of Thornburgh became concerned about her because he hadn’t heard from her for a few hours.

When he went to the third-floor apartment he found the woman dead inside. He called 911.

Colbert said it appears a sharp instrument was used to cut Thornburgh, but the exact cause of death has not been determined.

The friend who found Thornburgh, Colbert said, is not suspected in the case. So far, investigators have no motive of suspect in the slaying.

http://www.chron.com/houston/article/Woman-found-dead-in-her-high-rise-apartment-6612276.php

 

[SurfieTX]

Ms. Thornburgh was assaulted by an unknown male suspect in her apartment. HFD paramedics responded to the scene and pronounced her deceased.

At this time, there are no known witnesses to the incident nor suspects.

Anyone with information in this case is urged to contact the HPD Homicide Division at 713-308-3600 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.

http://www.texaspolicenews.com/defa...&menugroup=Home&AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1

 

[nrdsb4]

I'm wondering if the "friend" is a boyfriend, because most people don't become alarmed about someone they haven't heard from "in a few hours."

Horrible. I hope the high rise has camera footage which will be helpful.

 

[margarita25]

http://www.chron.com/houston/article/Woman-found-dead-in-her-high-rise-apartment-6612276.php

Also from the above link:

"The woman's body was found about 10 p.m. at The Conquistador at 7575 Bellaire near Fondren, said Officer Todd Colbert, a homicide investigator with the Houston Police Department."

 

[SurfieTX]

I'm wondering if the "friend" is a boyfriend, because most people don't become alarmed about someone they haven't heard from "in a few hours."

Horrible. I hope the high rise has camera footage which will be helpful.

From what I understand that apartment building is fairly old. <modsnip: Comments by general public are considered rumor and can not be discussed>

 

[Nandee63]

From what I understand that apartment building is fairly old. <modsnip: Comments by general public are considered rumor and can not be discussed>

I am a native Houstonian and have lived in and around the metropolitan area my whole life. The Conquistador was built in 1964. The part of town the building is located in is called Sharpstown. 40-50 years ago, the area was nice, but has dramatically changed demographically speaking. When Sharpstown was originally developed it was predominately Caucasian. The area currently consists heavily of Hispanic, Asian, and African-American and is socio-economically of lower income. The area is riddled with drugs, carjackings, robberies, rapes and other nefarious activities. Many of the crimes are committed by gangs, which have a pretty heavy presence in the general area.

I'm inclined to believe, given what I've described above, that the killing of Shelby could very well have something to do with drugs or some sort of payback for something else.

 

[thesiren]

Yep, Sharpstown is a dump. Poor woman.

 

[SurfieTX]

HPD releases surveillance video in woman's murder

http://www.khou.com/news/crime/hpd-releases-surveillance-video-in-womans-murder/110204073

The suspect was described as a white male, wearing a light colored long sleeve shirt, shorts, tennis shoes and sunglasses.

 

[Kodaellie]

I'm shocked they haven't found this guy yet. We're there surveillance outside the apts? They took 5 months to release this footage! Where did Shelbey work? Her Facebook page says hustler so I am wondering if she was a dancer? Possibly this was a client?

 

[orangecrush]

It looks like there are a few more details in this article.

"We do not believe the victim and the suspect knew each other for any period of time. They appear to have met this night and we don't know the circumstances,&#8221; explains Crowder.

Investigators say after examining phone records, the guy's number was tracked to a non-traceable Trac Phone.

 

[SurfieTX]

In reviewing the above articles, the body was found at 10:00 p.m. That's after a "friend" hadn't heard from her in a couple of hours, which puts the time around 7:00 or 8:00? What time does a dancer usually start work? I'm more inclined to think this guy was a dealer, but my profiling mind says it is weird for a pseudo-suburban man to be in Sharpstown for any reason after dark (and it would have been dark in November at that time).

 

[orangecrush]

In reviewing the above articles, the body was found at 10:00 p.m. That's after a "friend" hadn't heard from her in a couple of hours, which puts the time around 7:00 or 8:00? What time does a dancer usually start work? I'm more inclined to think this guy was a dealer, but my profiling mind says it is weird for a pseudo-suburban man to be in Sharpstown for any reason after dark (and it would have been dark in November at that time).

Do we know for sure she was a dancer? Someone mentioned that her Facebook profile had her employment listed as "hustler," but there could be a bunch of different ways to take that, frankly. If she was a dancer, it totally depends on what shifts she got in terms of when she'd start or get home from work.

Why was her friend so concerned that he hadn't heard from her in a couple of hours? Did I miss something? That's not a very long time for someone to not hear from someone else.

IF this was a drug-deal-gone-wrong (not saying it was), the killer could be anyone, including someone from the 'burbs. The phone number they traced back to him was a burner phone, which would indicate forethought surrounding shady actions. He could be anyone from a clean-cut family man who didn't want anyone to know about his double life to a drug dealer and/or pimp who didn't want to get caught. She must have been expecting him because it sounds like she let him in the building, and they had at least one phone conversation. Hopefully, someone recognizes him and turns him in.

 

[Kodaellie]

Sorry, I'm not familiar with the slang term hustler. I thought that meant a dancer, but I have no idea what she did for a living.. Sorry! Based upon her Facebook page it looked like she had a boyfriend at the time of her death who she had been seeing for a while. I'm guessing this has something to do with drugs, but I also feel like the police need to give out more information. It's odd to me that after 5 months with video surveillance on this guy they haven't found him. There are also surveillance cameras outside this complex as well. The video that was posted is edited and is cut off when he sits down on a couch.. I wonder if she comes down and gets him. It would be good to see how they were acting if that is caught on camera.

 

[orangecrush]

Sorry, I'm not familiar with the slang term hustler. I thought that meant a dancer, but I have no idea what she did for a living.. Sorry! Based upon her Facebook page it looked like she had a boyfriend at the time of her death who she had been seeing for a while. I'm guessing this has something to do with drugs, but I also feel like the police need to give out more information. It's odd to me that after 5 months with video surveillance on this guy they haven't found him. There are also surveillance cameras outside this complex as well. The video that was posted is edited and is cut off when he sits down on a couch.. I wonder if she comes down and gets him. It would be good to see how they were acting if that is caught on camera.

Oh, Kodaellie, I think your guess that she might have been a dancer based on her stated employment on Facebook of "hustler" is as good as any! Even if she wasn't a dancer, it seems as though she might have been engaging in a lifestyle that put her at risk, based on the fact that she let a man she apparently had never met in person into her home. Drugs, dancing, maybe she was a college student just trying to make it, I don't know... whatever Shelbey did for an actual living, she didn't deserve to be murdered and I hope they catch the person who did it.

You mentioned that it looked like she might have had a boyfriend she'd been seeing for awhile. I don't think the friend who found her body was her boyfriend (was he?). If she did have a boyfriend, I'm sure the police have talked to him and he's seen the surveillance video.

 

[bookboarder]

http://crimewatchdaily.com/2016/10/...or-tips-in-unsolved-murder-of-aspiring-model/

I was told about this murder by my aunt, who counted her as a friend. It remains unsolved and Shelbey deserves justice. My aunt Maxine has signed up here and may be able to offer more insight as she knows the family. I've also encouraged her to become a verified insider on the case so you know you're getting accurate information.

eta: She was murdered on my 10th wedding anniversary, such a sad story.

 

[SisterEtheridge]

ID's still a mystery did a segment on her.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=2043835809190262

 

[Hansen]

Seems like virtually no leads here and whoever it was cleaned the crime scene so no DNA.

 

[mocity]

I just listened to this on a podcast. I live in Houston and can't believe I never heard about this poor girl. Many prayers this gets solved.

 

[BethAnn777]

According to the Murder Squad podcast, Shelbey was a sex worker and the “friend” was her boyfriend. Boyfriend knew she was with a client and was concerned about her safety when she did not respond to his outreach.

 

[1coolguy]

The police need to get this guys mug out in the public. The video clearly shows a good shot of this guy. Someone will recognize him.