logo
episode-header-image
Jan 2025
37m 54s

73: MURDER: Shelbey Thornburgh

Derrick Levasseur
About this episode
On the evening of November 4th, 2015, 20-year-old Shelbey Thornburgh made arrangements to meet a man at her high-rise Houston apartment. The man was scheduled to arrive around 8:30 PM and by 10 PM Shelbey was discovered viciously murdered. Police began an immediate investigation, but despite viewing the suspect in the lobby entering and exiting around the time of the murder on surveillance, the man’s identity remains a mystery. 

It’s been over nine years since Shelbey was killed and her sister and law enforcement are still searching for her killer…

20-year-old Shelbey Jean Thornburgh-Crocker last contacted her boyfriend at 8:40 PM via a text message saying “gud” on the evening of November 4th, 2015. The message was sent while she was meeting with a client. Roughly 90 minutes later, her body was discovered, naked atop the twin bed in her apartment at the Conquistador located at 7575 Bellaire Boulevard in Houston, Texas. Her throat had been slashed, deep enough to cut bone. 

Police have honed in on an unidentified suspect on surveillance camera from the apartment building. The man – a white male wearing a light-colored long sleeved shirt, shorts and tennis shoe – entered the building at 8:34 PM and left at 8:57 PM. Law enforcement believe the man – between 5’11” and 6’1” and between 150 to 170 pounds – could be a serial killer. 

Anyone with information on Shelbey Thornburgh’s case is encouraged to contact Houston Crime stoppers at 713-222-TIPS (713-222-8477). You can also email the FBI at ViCap@leo.gov. There is a $5,000 reward via Crime Stoppers in Shelbey’s case.

Editor: Shannon Keirce
Research/Writing: Polly Kowtowski and Haley Gray

SUBMIT A CASE HERE: Cases@DetectivePerspectivePod.com

SOCIAL
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/detperspective/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/detperspective

FIND DERRICK HERE
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DerrickL
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/DerrickLevasseur
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DerrickVLevasseur

CRIME WEEKLY AND COFFEE
Criminal Coffee Company: https://www.CriminalCoffeeCo.com
Crime Weekly:  https://crimeweeklypodcast.com/shop

ADS:

1. Zocdoc.com/Detective - Download the ZocDoc app for FREE!

2. TryMiracle.com/Detective -
Use code DETECTIVE to claim your FREE 3 PIECE TOWEL SET and SAVE over 40%!
Up next
Nov 17
114: MURDER: Toby Beaugh
<div>In the early morning hours of February 25, 2006, 29-year-old Toby Beaugh and his wife of ten months, Melissa, were walking home after celebrating Mardi Gras in New Orleans, Louisiana.<br> <br> Just blocks from their house, a black pickup truck nearly hit them at an intersect ... Show More
54m 19s
Nov 15
113: MISSING: Christi Jo Nichols
<div> <strong>**If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, help is available. You can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). You can also chat at <a href="http://TheHotline.org">TheHotline.org</a> or text START to 88788. All three ... Show More
54m 52s
Nov 3
112: Ellen Greenberg (Part 3)
<div>On January 26, 2011, 27-year-old Ellen Greenberg left work early when a snowstorm hit Philadelphia. She stopped for gas on her way home, then spent the afternoon grading papers in the apartment she shared with her fiancé, Sam.<br> <br> That evening, Sam called 911 to report ... Show More
1h 12m
Recommended Episodes
May 2024
Police Officer Turned Killer: The Murder of 16-Year-Old Susana Morales
Susana Morales was 16 years old, living in Norcross, Georgia when one night she suddenly disappeared. July 26th, 2022 was a seemingly normal evening, and Susana spent a few hours that night a block away from her house with a friend, at her friend’s apartment. This was something s ... Show More
45m 39s
Apr 2024
239 - The Murder of John Harden
On a warm spring night in March of 1975, thirty-two year old John Harden completed an emergency call for a client and returned home.  Less than an hour later, he'd be shot dead in his driveway. After finishing his shower, John glanced out the window and saw his work truck engulfe ... Show More
1h 18m
Nov 2021
Homicide at Midtown Marriott // 145
<p>Justice for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women! In October of 2019, an SD Card was found on an Anchorage, Alaska street that contained videos and images of a man murdering an indigenous woman in a hotel room. As more evidence was quickly uncovered, a South African Youtuber ... Show More
40m 58s
Apr 2025
Poison Expert Allegedly Spikes Wife’s Smoothie?! The Case of Betty Bowman
<div>On August 20th, 2023, 32-year-old Betty Bowman died in the hospital, where she suffered from heart problems, lung problems, and needing part of her colon removed. Toxicology reports showed a drug in her system that was not supposed to be there. Her husband, Connor Bowman, wa ... Show More
48m 57s
Aug 4
The Lane Bryant Murders - 635
<p>Tinley Park, Illinois. On February 2, 2008, a gunman claiming to be a delivery man entered a Lane Bryant store at the Brookside Marketplace. The gunman ordered two employees and four customers to the back of the store, where he bound them with duct tape and murdered five of th ... Show More
44m 58s
Sep 15
INFAMOUS: The Mulholland Drive Murders
<p>In 2003, an LAPD cold case detective digging through old case files finds a piece of forgotten evidence that belongs to an unidentified woman found murdered off Mulholland Drive in 1969. As he searches for her identity, he uncovers eerie parallels to another young woman killed ... Show More
43m 41s
Sep 4
Killer Pretends He “Forgot” What He Did: The Case of Jackie Vandagriff
<div>Jackie Vandagriff was a 24-year-old student at Texas Woman’s University, who was killed in September 2016. Her murderer was her ex-boyfriend, 30-year-old Charles Bryant, who stalked and harassed her leading up to the violent and senseless murder. Jackie did everything right, ... Show More
58m 8s
Sep 14
Episode 283 - Body Moving - The Murder of Gregory Rice
<div>A silver body transport van — the kind used by coroners to collect the deceased — moved quietly through suburban streets in the dead of night.<br> <br> No one looked twice.<br> <br> Why would they? People die every day, and someone has to move the bodies.<br> <br> The van, t ... Show More
48m 20s
Oct 1
Up and Vanished Weekly | MURDERED: Katie Janness
It's July, 2021, when 40-year-old midtown Atlanta resident, Katie Janness, and her dog are found dead in Piedmont Park, an epicenter for social activity and one of the largest green spaces in the city. Faulty security cameras in the park, plus a lack of physical evidence leaves p ... Show More
45m 59s
Feb 2025
The Murder of Charles Zan - 608
<p>October 17th, 2009. Miamisburg, Ohio. Pandora Zan called 911 to report that she had been attacked by an intruder and found her husband Charles stabbed to death after she regained consciousness. Days later, she implicated her son in the murder.</p><p> </p><p>For bonus episodes ... Show More
49m 20s