Suspect Identified in Suspicious Death of Henry Shell

A Wesley Chapel man has been named a suspect in the suspicious death of Henry Shell.

James Monroe Sheets II, 35, of Wesley Chapel was arrested yesterday in connection with the theft of Shell’s car. He has also been identified as a suspect in Shell’s “suspicious death,” Tampa Police Department officials say.

Shell, 79, of 13403 Pine Lake Way in Tampa was last seen alive on Nov. 12 at 6 p.m. He was at his insurance office on Florida Avenue and was seen with the suspect, according to a Tampa Police Department media release.

Shell was reported missing Nov. 14.

Shell’s 2006 Mercury Grand Marquis was driven to the Tampa Police Department’s District III headquarters, 3808 N. 22nd St., on Nov. 15. A body, later identified as Shell’s, was found in the trunk of the car.

The person who drove the car is a witness in the case, said Laura McElroy, public information officer for the Tampa Police Department. That person’s name has not yet been released.

Shell’s body was positively identified using dental records.

According to McElroy, the cause of death is still pending further test results, but the death has been ruled “suspicious.”

Sheets was identified as a suspect in the case Tuesday evening, McElroy said. The relationship between Sheets and Shell remains unclear, but Tampa detectives “believe the pair traveled in the victim's car that night (Nov. 12) between 6:20 p.m. and 11 p.m. to the Wesley Chapel area of Pasco County,” she wrote in the media release.

Sheets was arrested Nov. 16 for the theft of Shell’s car. He is currently in the Hillsborough County Jail without bond on a grand theft auto charge. He was also charged with possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Sheets was released from the Florida State Prison system earlier this year after serving a year and two months on a battery on a law enforcement office and resisting arrest without violence.

Anyone who saw the victim, his vehicle or the suspect is asked to call the Tampa Police Department at 813-231-6130.