Shelbey Thornburgh’s killer was caught on a supervision camera going into and out of her apartment building. His individuality is still unknown. Could police ineptitude have played a part in her case not being unraveled?

Thornburgh-Crocker, Shelbey Jean. It was captured on October 5, 2015. Shelbey Jean Thornburgh-Crocker, 20, was a young woman from a small town. Shelbey’s sister, Krystina Scott, claimed that she had a difficult life. Because their mother was intoxicated and unable to care for them, both girls were in and out of foster care. While they were in the system, they were all sexually assaulted.

Shelbey had struggled with obesity her entire life, but in the previous few years of her life, she lost over 180 pounds by working hard and being persistent. She had saved up money for a tummy tuck and a breast augmentation, and on the day of her murder, she gave a plastic surgeon a $1,000 down payment.

Shelbey Thornburgh. Taken on October 10, 2013, this image.

Shelbey concealed information from her sister. She informed Krystina that she had found employment as an escort earning “good money.” She assured her sister that there was no sexual activity taking place. She explained that she was just going out to dinner with affluent men. She was nonetheless apprehended in Dallas County, Texas in April 2014 on a prostitution charge. She was sentenced to 33 days in jail, paid a small fine, and pleaded no contest.

Shelbey explained that it was a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time when she spoke to her sister about it. She revealed that there was a second girl who was prostitution, and the two of them had been picked up together.

Arraignment A sheet from Shelbey’s initial detention.

She was then taken into custody once more for prostitution in June of 2015. Houston, Texas, hosted it at this time. Almost exactly one month prior to her death, in October, her case was dropped. She was now unable to stop harming her sister. She was prompted to stop by Krystina. Krystina warned, “You’re going to be murdered.” Shelbey claimed that she feared Marcus Dewayne Johnson would assassinate her if she tried to leave.

Complaint from Shelbey’s second arrest.

Shelbey went on a date with someone mysterious on November 4, 2015. They had planned to meet at her place of residence. They sent her a message at 8:33 p.m. saying, “Hey! Hello, my name is, and I’m here. The following minute, he was recorded entering the lobby of the Conquistador Apartments. The text message “God” from Shelbey to her pimp, Marcus Dewayne Johnson, arrived at 8:40 p.m. They used a code word to let Marcus know everything was fine and that she had been paid, as Marcus later told police. The same man was then seen leaving the building at 8:57 p.m.

Johnson went to Shelbey’s apartment when he realized he couldn’t contact her. He found her face down and lifeless on the floor in a puddle of blood. He placed a 911 call. Someone is dead,” he said. My girlfriend was brutally murdered, and I know who did it.

This is where it gets unusual.

Homicide detectives were not sent right away by the Houston police. They sent in officers in uniform. The police went inside, confirmed that Shelbey was dead, and then asked for homicide detectives to come in. A source who didn’t want to be named said that by the time the detectives got there, the apartment was full of officers in uniform. The crime show was so full of people who just wanted to look around that the source thinks there’s proof that it was accidentally destroyed or damaged.

Lucky for HPD, there was evidence that they could get. First, a hair that was left on Shelbey’s body was used to get DNA information. Second, the video of the suspect going into the apartment building and leaving it. Some of the DNA evidence could be amplified and put through the CODIS system. No luck. Other DNA information from tape lifts of the victim’s body has never been put to the test.

A big knife was used to kill Shelbey from behind. She was on her knees near the edge of her bed. The person who killed her cut her in half from left to right. It was done in one move, and the cut was deep enough to hit Shelbey in the spinal cord. Blood got on the wall from the knife. Shelbey slides across the bed and falls forward. She was kneeling on one side, but her head was on the other side. Almost all of her blood spilled out onto the floor.