A U.S. Marine, currently on active duty off Florida’s coast, has been arrested and charged with first-degree murder following the discovery of a woman’s body in Alabama. The Marine, identified as 20-year-old Willie Richard Ellington, was apprehended on December 18, the same day the body of 26-year-old Tshey Bennett was found in a pond in Mobile, Alabama.
Bennett, who was reported missing on December 14, was known to be working as an escort, according to the Escambia County police. The investigation led to the discovery of a connection between Ellington and Bennett at a hotel in Pensacola, Florida. Bennett was last seen alive on December 13, in the vicinity of the hotel.
Ellington was stationed on the NAS Pensacola, located off Florida’s west coast in the Gulf of Mexico, as per the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office. Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones shared with Pensacola CBS affiliate WKRG that investigators believed Ellington was planning to board a bus in Alabama. He said, “Our team quickly scrambled to the station and set up a surveillance operation. When the bus arrived, investigators spotted and apprehended a man matching the suspect’s description.”
The investigation revealed that Bennett had met Ellington as an escort around 4 p.m. on the last day she was seen alive. They stayed at the Sweet Dreams Inn in Pensacola. When Bennett was first reported missing, the police deemed the circumstances surrounding her disappearance suspicious enough to warrant a homicide investigation. Bennett’s body was discovered on December 18 in a pond in Mobile, approximately 50 miles from the hotel. It was confirmed that Bennett was killed in Florida, not Alabama.
The Independent reported that Bennett was a mother of one and had once featured on a reality show, HollyHoodTV’s “Skrippa Bootcamp,” which showcased exotic dancers. The cause of her death has not been disclosed.
Ellington has been charged with one count of first-degree murder and one count of possession of child pornography. He is currently being held at the Lee County Detention Center without bail.