BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – A 22-year-old Fort Pierce man was arrested Thursday after a woman’s body was found last year in Brevard County, according to the sheriff’s office.
The Brevard County Sheriff’s Office said that the body of 20-year-old Aniya Sheppard was discovered Nov. 4 along Eber Boulevard near Buddy Drive in West Melbourne.
Detectives reported that Sheppard had been shot to death, and the investigation revealed that she had been in a romantic relationship with Travion Dean.
She and Dean were staying at a nearby motel, and they left together that same morning after being picked up by a rideshare service, which dropped the pair off near Eber Boulevard and Hollywood Boulevard, deputies added.
“Agents were able to obtain video surveillance in the area that confirmed the couple were together in the area near the time of the shooting,” the release reads. “Agents uncovered that Dean contacted another rideshare service shortly after the shooting, which picked him up on Minton Road and drove him back to the motel alone.”
In addition, deputies said they’d found video surveillance of Dean leaving the motel while carrying Sheppard’s personal property.
As a result, Dean was arrested Thursday in Fort Lauderdale after returning to the U.S. from Jamaica, according to investigators.
An affidavit offered more details about Dean’s arrest and the investigation.
Sheppard’s body, observed with gunshot wounds to the right leg, left wrist, chest and head, was reported the evening of Nov. 4 to a Brevard County Sheriff’s Office school resource officer whom a passerby approached at a gas station after seeing Sheppard lying unresponsive on the north shoulder of Eber Boulevard, the affidavit states.
Next to Sheppard’s body were six spent shell casings and her cellphone, investigators said, adding they soon discovered a TikTok post that Sheppard made which depicted her in what appeared to be a hotel room the previous night. It was learned that the video was taken at the Extended Stay America along West New Haven Avenue and a check of the guest list revealed Dean’s presence there with her, according to the affidavit.
Sheppard’s family allegedly told investigators about her and Dean’s relationship, describing it as “toxic and violent with a history of (Dean) and (Sheppard) pointing firearms at each other,” the affidavit states. Further, after the time of day that the medical examiner’s office determined Sheppard had already died, investigators say Dean used Sheppard’s Instagram login to send a message to her sister stating she had been shot by a different person with whom she had previously been in a relationship and requested that the sister call police.
Dean now faces a charge of first-degree premeditated murder, and he was being held at the Brevard County Jail without bond.
Sheppard’s mother told News 6 reporter James Sparvero on Friday that she’s thankful to everyone who helped make the arrest.
She said it makes her feel a little bit better that now that she thinks someone will pay for what happened to her daughter.
Anyone with additional information about this case is urged to contact the sheriff’s office at 321-633-8413.
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