A US Marine has been charged with the murder of a reality TV star after her body was found in a pond. Tshey Bennett had been reported missing four days before police made the grim discovery on December 18. The mum-of-one is believed to have met up with active-duty marine Willie Richard Ellington, 20, last Friday at the Sweet Dreams Inn in Pensacola in Florida.
Her body later washed up in a pond in Alabama, over 50 miles away from her last known location. Escambia County Sheriff's Office said Ellington, who was stationed at NAS Pensacola on Florida's Gulf Coast, had since been charged with first degree murder. He is also facing child pornography charges following his arrest.
Earlier this year 26-year-old Tshey appeared on HollyHoodTV reality series Skrippa Bootcamp, which followed 12 exotic dancers living in a house together as they tried to better their careers. At the time of her death, police believe Tshey was also working as an escort.
Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones praised the investigative efforts of his team and Escambia County and revealed that a tip-off led the responding authorities to arrest and detain the suspect. He told US news outlet WKRG: "Escambia County investigators tipped us off their suspect might be on a bus scheduled to stop in Opelika. 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.".
It was then that police found Tshey's body, who they believe was murdered in Northwest Florida before her body was strangely dumped in Mobile, Alabama, some 50 miles away. Officials have not released any further details of how she died or how her body came to end up in the pond.
