2 Dead and No justice: The Tragic Story of the Killing of Alexis Sharkey

As always, thank you for hanging out and remembering Alexis Leigh Robinault with me today. In late November 2020, 26‑year‑old Houston Instagram influencer Alexis Leigh Sharkey (née Robinault) disappeared after reportedly leaving her apartment following an argument with her husband, Thomas “Tom” Sharkey. The next morning, a city public‑works employee spotted a pair of feet protruding from bushes along a road in Houston’s Energy Corridor and found Alexis’ nude body; an autopsy later confirmed she had been strangled and ruled her death a homicide.Friends said Alexis had confided that she was scared for her safety and that her marriage was volatile, while police quietly focused on Tom, who had not reported her missing and left Texas soon after her death. In September 2021, Houston detectives obtained a warrant for Tom’s arrest, publicly stating they believed he was the only person with the means, motive, and opportunity to kill Alexis. Days later, U.S. Marshals tracked him to a relative’s home in Fort Myers, Florida; as agents moved in to serve the warrant, Tom went upstairs and shot himself, dying by suicide before he could be taken into custody or tried.With his death, the criminal case effectively ended without a trial, but investigators have maintained that their evidence points to Alexis’ husband as her killer, and her story has since been covered in documentaries about the dark side of influencer life and intimate‑partner violence.