Daughter says body found on Jacksonville porch was her missing mother

JACKSONVILLE, Fla — A Lakeshore neighborhood home is now the center of an investigation involving human remains, a missing woman, and a now-detained homeowner.

The 43-year-old (Shannon McCarthy) did not appear in court this afternoon. But, a judge read her charge out loud and hinted that more could be coming.

“Ms. McCarthy is currently charged with sending written threats to kill. There is probably a cause. Public defenders appointed. I know she’s [McCarthy] not charged with it, but the victim is now deceased. Did you see that?” the judge said during first appearances.

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Action News Jax told you Wednesday night when the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office discovered human remains on Colonial Avenue on the Westside of town. The homeowner, Shannon McCarthy, was booked into Duval County jail on charges of threatening to kill someone, Thursday morning. While all this was unfolding, a missing persons alert was issued for McCarthy’s sister, Hailey McCarthy, at 2:50 a.m. She was located by police at 8:37 a.m.

The Family said Heather Sheppard was also reported missing and last seen in the same area on Colonial Avenue. According to a Facebook post by the Justice Coalition, she was last seen one week ago. An arrest report from January reveals Sheppard and Shannon McCarthy were in a relationship, according to JSO.

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Right now, McCarthy is being held on a February warrant for “sending written threats to kill.” The victim’s information is redacted. A judge revoked McCarthy’s bond, Thursday, based on a previous case from January in which she is charged with battery on Heather Sheppard, according to a police report from JSO. The report said the two “lived and had been in an intimate relationship together.” It goes on to say McCarthy woke Sheppard up and was irate. She then “punched her in the face several times during an argument.” The battery case remains open.

Sheppard’s daughter confirmed to Action News Jax’s Meghan Moriarty that her mother had been missing since last week, and she received early confirmation on Thursday that her mother’s remains were found on Colonial Avenue, where McCarthy lives.

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“It’s been about two weeks. I saw her [Sheppard] outside,” Tommy Taylor said. He lives a couple of doors down from the couple. He adds that he noticed a strong, foul odor in the air three days ago.

The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office has not yet released a positive identification of the body.

Our Action News Jax law and safety expert, Dale Carson, said finding out the cause of death could be difficult because of the high temperatures.

“Not identification because that’s fairly swift today. What it [the heat] will do, however, is make it much more difficult to determine the cause of death,” Carson said. “That’s critical here because if you’re gonna charge somebody, you gotta know it’s not from natural causes.”

Related read: Body found in water near area in Southeast Georgia known as Gilligan’s Island, police say

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