Missing Woman’s Body Found In Drainage Ditch, Man Charged: Sheriff

PALMETTO, FL — The body of a woman missing for a week was found Thursday evening in a Palmetto drainage ditch, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

Citizens walking their dogs discovered the badly decomposed body of Stephanie Shenefield, 38, in the ditch between 21st Street Court E. and 29th Street E. just before 7 p.m.

Deputies believe that the body was dropped off at that location several days ago. She was last seen June 3.

A Palmetto man, William Redden, 51, was arrested and charged in relation to her death. He’s been charged with abuse of a corpse, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of an altered firearm with the serial numbers removed, the sheriff’s office said. He remains in Manatee County Jail on a $108,000 bond.

Based on video surveillance and other evidence, detectives believe Shenefield died on June 3 at Redden’s home on 30th Street. Investigators learned Wednesday that Shenefield took an Uber ride to his home early that day.

When interviewed by detectives Wednesday at his home, Redden said that she came over around 1 a.m. on June 3. He said that she stayed the night and left later that morning. He also told investigators that he didn’t know where she went.

After Redden gave detectives permission to look around his house, they found a video surveillance system in the home. The suspect told them that it was only a live monitoring system and agreed to let them take the DVR for examination, the sheriff’s office said.

Redden didn’t realize that the DVR recorded everything that happened June 3 at his home. Detectives then got a search warrant to collect evidence from the house.

The video shows Shenefield arriving at his home around 1:20 a.m. and hanging out with Redden. Later, the video shows him carrying her out of the camera view, presumably to the bedroom, the sheriff’s office said.

The video then shows him moving a body wrapped up in a sheet from the house and placing it in the backseat of his car later that day, around 12:20 p.m., MCSO said.

Once Redden realized what detectives saw on the video, he refused to answer additional questions and wouldn’t say what he did with the body.

Shenefield’s cause of death is unknown, but the Medical Examiner’s Office is conducting an autopsy.