Shelby Wilkie and her husband Michael Wilkie lived in a suburb of Asheville, North Carolina. After dating for two months, they got married. They lived with Michael’s 10-year-old daughter from a previous marriage. Two weeks into the marriage, Shelby filed a restraining order against her husband. Six months into the marriage, Shelby called police with bruises on her face. Michael was charged with assault. He went to anger management classes. One year later, after giving birth to their daughter, Shelby went to a lawyer to discuss a legal separation. Shelby was warned by Wilkie’s ex-wife, Amanda Casey, the mother of the 10-year-old daughter. Casey said, “He said if I ever tried to take his daughter away from him, that he would kill me.”
Months later, on New Year’s day, Shelby, the mother of 3-month-old little Sydney, went missing. Her father called 911 to file a missing person’s report. When the police went to talk with Michael, they noticed suspicious marks on his face. They found her body buried in the yard of Shelby’s home. According to ABC News: “Michael said Shelby killed herself and that he had attempted to dispose of her body by burning it in the back yard and dumping the remaining ashes at his parents’ home.” Michael told the police that “Shelby always said she wanted to be cremated.” Michael Wilkie was found guilty of first degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole. Sydney is in the process of being adopted by Shelby’s brother. Shelby’s murder will be featured on ABC 20/20 on April 17 at 10pm
