Sanitation worker who found influencer Alexis Sharkey’s body initially thought it was ‘a mannequin’
THE sanitation worker who found Instagram model Alexis Sharkey’s body by the side of the road initially thought it was a “mannequin.” The Texas influencer’s naked body was spotted on the side of the road about three miles from her home on November 27. John Richardson, who works for Houston’s sanitation department, told KHOU that […]
THE sanitation worker who found Instagram model Alexis Sharkey’s body by the side of the road initially thought it was a “mannequin.”
The Texas influencer’s naked body was spotted on the side of the road about three miles from her home on November 27.
John Richardson, who works for Houston’s sanitation department, told KHOU that he received a call from an employee who was out driving a garbage truck.
“He said he thought he’d saw a body or a mannequin,” Richardson said. “He wasn’t too sure.”
“He wasn’t going to stop because he was scared of whatever the case may be, so he asked me to come out there to check it out.”
Richardson said he went out to meet the employee and they drove back to where he’d spotted the body earlier.
“When we were driving, we could see the feet,” he said. “We got out and looked, and there it was. She was laying there, deceased, no clothes on.”
Richardson said he’s still haunted by the image.
“It’s been playing back in my head every day,” he told the outlet.
Sharkey, 26, vanished the day after Thanksgiving after reportedly getting into a fight with someone in her life.
The model’s family and friends said that they “absolutely” believe that there was foul play in her death.
Sharkey’s mother, Stacey Robinault, recently told KPRC that “nothing” about the circumstances of her daughter’s death suggested it was accidental or anything “other than that this was done to her.”
“The way in which she was found – my child would never do that to herself,” she said.
“That doesn’t even make sense. That is absolutely foul play.”
The model’s husband, 49-year-old Tom Sharkey, told KTRK that he is cooperating with authorities and denied reports that he had an argument with his wife before she went missing.
He claims that the last time he saw her, he told her not to drive because she was under the influence.
“I just told her she couldn’t drive under the influence,” said Sharkey. “She left anyhow. This is where we’re at.”
Sharkey didn’t offer other specifics, but did tell the outlet that he is “destroyed” by his wife’s death.
Friends claim to have heard from the influencer last at around 6pm on Black Friday, and after that phone calls began going straight to her voicemail.
Sharkey – who had 67,000 followers on Instagram and would often post about fashion and beauty products – had no visible injuries when she was found.
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Her cause of death has not been determined yet.
The Houston Police Department said investigations into the death are ongoing.
She and her husband were married only a year ago and reportedly moved to Houston together in January.