The tragic story of Alexis Sharkey exposes the dark reality behind an Instagram influencer's seemingly glamorous life. Once a bright, ambitious woman, Alexis fell victim to a toxic and abusive marriage to Tom Sharkey. The podcast details her mysterious disappearance and brutal murder, all while reflecting on the heartbreaking impact on her loved ones.
As the investigation unfolds, Tom's suspicious behavior and contradictory statements raise troubling questions. The shocking conclusion leaves Alexis's family and friends devastated, ultimately denied the justice and closure they sought. This gripping episode illustrates how the carefully curated images on social media can mask profound tragedies behind the scenes.
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Alexis Sharkey was a 26-year-old social media influencer who had achieved success on Instagram, depicting a glamorous lifestyle. Despite her stunning looks, Sanger-Katz reports that Alexis was highly intelligent, earning a degree in biology and minors in psychology and nutrition. She worked hard to curate her online presence and market products to her followers.
However, behind the scenes, Alexis's marriage to Tom Sharkey was riddled with control and abuse, according to Alexis's friends. Chelsea Turnbow recalls incidents where Tom seemed overly watchful of Alexis, and Alexis herself confided that Tom was physically and emotionally abusive, including incidents of choking. Alexis was preparing to separate from Tom due to the toxicity of their relationship.
After Thanksgiving 2020, Alexis went missing, and her naked body was found discarded on the side of the road days later. An autopsy revealed she had been strangled to death. While theories emerged about potential links to her social media career, evidence increasingly pointed to Tom as the prime suspect due to his history of abuse.
Alexis's close friends and mother were devastated by her tragic death. They struggled to cope with her sudden absence and were further traumatized by Tom's uncooperative behavior, including initially refusing to release Alexis's remains for a proper funeral.
Tom provided contradictory accounts to police about Alexis's disappearance, planted suspicion on others, and ultimately fled before being traced by U.S. Marshals who attempted to arrest him. In a final tragic turn, Tom died by suicide when Marshals moved to apprehend him, denying Alexis's loved ones the justice and closure they sought.
1-Page Summary
Alexis Sharkey was a 26-year-old with a burgeoning Instagram presence when she became a topic of public intrigue. Here, we explore her life, both personal and professional.
By 2020, Alexis had established a successful Instagram profile that depicted a life of glamour, including stays at luxurious hotels, outings with friends, and snippets of her life with pets on a separate account dedicated to her cats. Despite a failed engagement before she began her rise on Instagram and a decision against attending med school after graduating from college, she forged a path for herself in the digital world.
Alexis was known for her looks—tall, slender, with long red hair—and intelligence. She graduated summa cum laude with a degree in biology and double minored in psychology and nutrition, showcasing her academic prowess by staying in the top 2% of her class grade-wise throughout college. She was seen as possessing a strong work ethic, evidenced by her detailed and organized approach to her online career.
Her Instagram showed a woman of stunning beauty and flawless appearance who took great photos and created engaging content. Beyond the image, Alexis worked hard as an Instagram influencer, not only in engaging with her audience but also in marketing products, a testament to her resilience and work ethic.
Despite her success in influencing, Alexis eschewed the term "influencer" and considered herself a businesswoman. She focused her attention on content creation and partnership with brands to market their products. This detail-oriented and highly organized nature ...
Alexis Sharkey's personal and professional background
Alexis's relationship with her husband Tom Sharkey was fraught with control and abuse, culminating in a separation that never fully came to pass.
Alexis's friends perceived worrying patterns in Tom's demeanor. Chelsea Turnbow, a friend of Alexis, recalls instances that unveiled Tom's undue watchfulness. She recounts how during a gathering, Tom pulled her aside and commented on her close relationship with Alexis, a behavior that had its roots in Tom's habit of monitoring the duo closely. In another incident, Chelsea and Alexis, sharing a laugh in the bathroom, turned to find Tom ominously standing at the doorway, watching them. His eyes were described as lacking warmth, creating an uneasy atmosphere.
These experiences collectively portray Tom's tendencies toward possessive and suspicious behavior, raising red flags among Alexis's social circle regarding the health of her marriage.
The marriage between Alexis and Tom escalated quickly, and they wed just six months after their engagement. Soon, however, Alexis confided in her circle that Tom's behavior had taken a darker turn, including actual physical violence. On one occasion, Alexis admitted to a friend that Tom was mean to her physically, a euphemism for deeper, more dire issues within their union.
Moreover, documents suggest a history of Tom's unstable behavior, as his own family had sought restrictions on his parental rights due to suicidal thoughts and anger. Additionally, Tom persecuted his ex by disseminating private photos to her employer, further exemplifying traits of vindictiveness and a desire to dominate.
Alexis’s behavioral changes became noticeable, marked by her reticence, the absence of makeup, swollen eyes, and an uncharacteristic subduedness at a birthday party—a sharp departure from her usual self. Her strategic social planning, which aimed to minimize time alone with ...
Alexis's toxic and controlling relationship with her husband Tom
The mysterious case of Alexis Robinault opens with her disappearance after Thanksgiving 2020. Tragically, she was found naked in a ditch by a sanitation worker who saw her feet protruding from some bushes, just three miles from the apartment she shared with her husband, Tom. Initially thought to potentially be an overdose due to the lack of visible injuries, friends and Alexis's mother, Stacey Robinault, strongly felt it was murder, a belief confirmed by the subsequent autopsy results.
The autopsy pointed to strangulation, a method of killing typically associated with a personal vendetta against the victim, dispelling the overdose theory. Strangulation often signifies a deep hatred, and it is usually committed by someone close to the victim. This brutal act against Alexis shifted the direction of the investigation towards those in her personal life, including her husband, Tom.
Theories about Alexis's death ranged from her social media influencer status attracting a stalker to speculation about her involvement with Monet, a company described as an MLM setup. Rumors suggested that disgruntlement within her Monet downline regarding financial disparities could have led to deadly consequences. Additionally, other influencers grossly used her photos in ads for Monet after her death, attracting skepticism and criticism.
Suspicions surrounding Tom grew after he reported his wife missing and conveyed strange anecdotes, like seeing ...
The investigation and theories around Alexis's disappearance and murder
The loss of Alexis has left a profound and lasting emotional impact on her friends and family. Their inability to reconcile with her sudden absence has caused them deep heartache.
Alexis was dearly loved by her friends, who described her as the backbone of their group. Chelsea Turnbow reflected on the unbreakable bond she shared with Alexis, emphasizing the deep understanding and caring nature that characterized Alexis's personality. After Alexis's passing, Chelsea and the rest of the friend group felt torn apart, struggling with the pain and the void left by her departure.
Turnbow recounts feeling a chilling premonition the night of Alexis's disappearance, a voice urging her to "find my body," which led her to the dreadful realization that Alexis might have been harmed.
The tragedy also deeply affected Stacey Robinault, Alexis's mother, who spoke of her profound heartbreak. The loss was particularly harrowing due to her imagining the potential horror of Alexis's final moments. Stacey had been looking forward to providing Alexis with a funeral in Pennsylvania, her home state, but faced obstacles because of her daughter's husband, Tom.
Tom's uncooperative and callous behavior after Alexis's death only compounded the family's grief. Despite initially indicating he would release Alexis's remains, he failed to follow through, which prevented the family from planning a funeral and saying their goodbyes. For two weeks, Alexis's body remained in the morgue, with Stacey desperately attempting to gain next-of-kin status for its release.
The emotional impact on Alexis's friends and family
The behavior of Tom following the death of his wife Alexis has raised numerous suspicions linked to the investigation of her mysterious disappearance and subsequent death.
Despite not reporting Alexis missing himself—her friends did—Tom’s reaction to her disappearance was deemed odd, as he failed to notice or report his wife not returning home. After Alexis's body was found, his behavior further provoked suspicion; he did not report her missing and his reaction to the situation raised red flags. His Facebook post, perceived as insincere, focused on defending his character instead of focusing on Alexis's murder.
Contrary to his statement to the press claiming cooperation with police, officials affirmed that Tom was uncooperative and provided disprovable statements. He further misled the police about the state of their marriage and was inconsistent about whether they fought on the night she left. Tom's claim of Alexis running away was contrary to her habits and met with deep suspicion, as Alexis communicated regularly with her friends.
Tom's evasive behavior is further evidenced by his attempts to divert attention from himself during interviews. He made an array of suggestions regarding Alexis's potential death causes, such as an overdose, suicide, or a traffic accident, before the autopsy results. He also pointed fingers at others as suspects, causing the police to engage in time-consuming, fruitless investigations.
Tom's behavior post-discovery of Alexis's body was uncooperative, marked by false claims of assisting deputies with casting doubt on different individuals, evading police questioning, inconsistent stories about the night Alexis went missing, and even deleting his Instagram posts, potentially removing evidence. He attempted to paint himself as the sorrowful husband, providing stories to police that led nowhere and were seen as deflecting tactics.
Tom's suspicious and uncooperative behavior after Alexis's death
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