An active-duty U.S. Marine was taken into custody this week over the killing of a former reality show contestant who had gone missing, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office in Florida announced.
Willie Ellington, 20, was charged with first-degree murder and possession of child sex abuse material on Wednesday, the day that the body of T’shey Bennett, 26, was found in a pond in an abandoned neighborhood in Mobile, Alabama, according to the announcement.
The sheriff’s office said that Bennett “was working as an escort” at the time of her Dec. 14 disappearance and met Ellington at the Sweet Dream Inn in Pensacola, Florida.
The Independent, which spoke with Escambia Sheriff Chip Simmons, reported that deputies received calls from worried family members that day and headed to the Sweet Dream Inn, where she was thought to be staying. Once authorities arrived at the hotel, they found Bennett’s car outside. They also found two cellphones in the room and a PlayStation power cord believed to have been used in the killing. They noticed the bedding had been removed as well.
The Independent reported that surveillance video showed a suspect leaving the scene of the crime in a rental car. Authorities allegedly traced the car back to Ellington, identified as a marine stationed at Naval Air Station Pensacola.
Sheriff Jay Jones of Alabama’s Lee County reportedlysaid that Escambia authorities believed the suspect in Bennett’s killing “might be on a bus scheduled to stop” in the city of 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,” Jones said.
Simmons told The Independent that during the course of the investigation, detectives found Google searches on Ellington’s phone that were made before Bennett’s disappearance.
These searches allegedly included “What does a dead body look like after two days?”; “How many prostitute murders go unsolved?”; and “If you’re strangled can you still scream?”
“It’s a heck of a case,” Simmons told CBS affiliate WKRG. “It’s disturbing. It’s chilling some of the stuff we found out in the course of the investigation.”
In addition to the Google searches, investigators also said they found child sex abuse material.
It’s unclear if Ellington has an attorney representing him.
Bennett recently appeared in HollyHood TV’s “Skrippa Bootcamp.” The online reality series is about “12 Aspiring and Elite Dancers … staying under one roof and bettering their exotic performance careers,” according to the show’s website.
A GoFundMe campaign described Bennett as a “devoted mother to her 8-year-old son.” The page went on to say Bennett “dreamed of becoming an entrepreneur” and “worked tirelessly to provide” for her child.
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“T’Shey’s life ended just days before her son’s 8th birthday … a day she had promised to celebrate with him,” the page said.
Jessica Ramirez, a friend of Bennett’s, told ABC affiliate WEAR that Bennett had moved to northwestern Florida this year and was loved by many.
“I wish she was here so she could see ― like, T’shey, look how many people care about you,” Ramirez said. “I don’t even know if she knew.”