Willie Ellington and Tshey Bennett.Photo:Lee County Sheriffs Office; Escambia County Sheriffs Office
Lee County Sheriffs Office; Escambia County Sheriffs Office
A U.S. Marine in Alabama has been charged with murdering a former reality television contestant after meeting up with her at a local hotel while she was working as an escort.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office said ina statementthis week that Willie Ellington, an active duty Marine based at Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida, has been charged with first-degree murder and possession of child pornography.
The sheriff’s office alleges that Ellington, 20, killed Tshey Bennett, who was “working as an escort” and met up with the marine at the Sweet Dream Inn in Pensacola shortly before she disappeared.
After investigators discovered Bennett’s body “in a pond located in an abandoned neighborhood” in Mobile, Ala., officers took Ellington into custody, according to the sheriff’s office. It was not immediately clear how Bennett had been killed.
Willie Ellington.Lee County Sheriffs Office
Lee County Sheriffs Office
Local station WKRGreportedthat officers tracked Ellington down while he was on a bus and arrested him in Opelika, Ala., about 230 miles north of Pensacola.
The murder is believed to have taken place in Northwest Florida, the outlet reported, citing police, meaning Bennett’s body is believed to have been dumped across state lines, roughly 50 miles from where the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office says she was last seen meeting Ellington.
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Tshey Bennett.Escambia County Sheriffs Office
Escambia County Sheriffs Office
source: people.com
