Police have not released a cause of death or named any suspects, but Alexis Sharkey’s friends — all fellow social media influencers — say she feared for her safety.
As police continue their investigation into the death of 26-year-old social media influencer Alexis Sharkey, her mother and friends are desperately searching for answers. The popular Instagrammer who shared beauty and fashion tips was found dead near a Houston, Texas interstate by a garbage truck driver a day after she went missing.
Police have not released a cause of death or named any suspects, but Sharkey’s friends — all fellow social media influencers — say she feared for her safety.
“I looked at her and I was like, ‘She's petrified,’” one friend told Inside Edition. “This girl is scared for her life.”
Another friend told the Daily Beast that Sharkey confided in her that she and her husband, Tom Sharkey, were having marital problems and that he "had been putting hands on her." There were also reports she wanted a divorce.
When social media erupted with commentary about the husband, he lashed out on Instagram, denying there was trouble in the marriage and saying he’s helping with the investigation.
“If my wife would of [sic] seen this she would be disappointed in your actions! You all should be ashamed of yourselves! Next time…stop and think! And realize! You don’t know it all!” Tom wrote.
Reporter Steve Campion with KTRK-TV in Houston has been speaking with Tom Sharkey by phone.
“I asked him about the last time that he'd seen Alexis and he said, ‘I saw her. She was leaving. I told her not to drive under the influence. I told her not to drive intoxicated. She went anyways, and that's where we're at,’ is what he said,” Campion told Inside Edition. “And I said, ‘What do you mean by that? Where was she going?’ When you ask for specifics, when you tried to ask for details, he wouldn't provide those.”
Alexis posted hundreds of photos and videos for her Instagram followers. She tried out skincare products and demonstrated hair tutorials, all while giving followers a peek inside her life.
“She was so fun and she brought such joy,” her mom Stacey Robinault told Inside Edition.
But Robinault says a phone call on Saturday from Tom changed everything.
“He said that she's missing, that no one knows where she's at and at that point, friends began to call as well. Everybody was frantic,” Robinault said.
The next day, her worst fears came true. A naked body was discovered off the highway and identified as Alexis.
“We're completely devastated and broken,” Robinault said.
Her mom also said her daughter had been planning on applying to medical school before her Instagram following skyrocketed.
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