Forensics expert weighs in on death of IG influencer Alexis Sharkey

HOUSTON - People nationwide remain baffled at the mysterious death of Instagram influencer Alexis Sharkey while police continue to investigate how her lifeless body ended up naked in a ditch.

Questions flood social media posts about who may have dumped her body and whether her job as an Instagram influencer plays any role in her disappearance and death.

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The 26-year-old influencer’s Instagram posts are evidence of how she made her career, sharing every detail of her skincare routine, the products she used, as well as her personal life on social media.

One recent Instagram post shows off her Halloween costumes with her husband Tom this year. Her online presence is something police are likely combing through, according to retired police forensics expert Jennifer Shen.

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“Always the suspicion falls upon those that she has interaction with and knows,” said Shen. “Oftentimes they look at the husband first, so I think it’s going to be a really difficult time for the family.”

Shen says the people who followed Sharkey’s every Instagram post are also something for detectives to look at.

“In this particular instance, with 20-thousand-plus followers, those people could all potentially have some sort of ax to grind or something with this person,” said Shen.

Shen is also looking at the strange circumstances of Sharkey’s death: Her naked body was in the bushes, partially visible to passersby, but with no signs of injury.

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“Someone went to the effort of dumping the body, but they didn’t go to the effort of hiding the body particularly very well,” said Shen. “It was found very quickly…. When we see bodies that have been dumped with no visible signs of injuries, that is something that is common that person has overdosed and it’s been taken there by someone else. 

I have no reason to think that’s the case in this particular case….Then you’re looking at toxins, poisons, drugs. That would be the most common thing that would not leave some outside obvious sign of injury.”