Alexis Sharkey: Influencer's naked body was 'delicately placed' in fetal position on road like a 'mannequin'
A sanitation worker who discovered the body of Alexis Robinault Sharkey, a 26-year-old Instagram influencer, in a ditch in Houston, Texas, on November 28, reportedly told his supervisor that it appeared as if she was carefully placed there and believed it was 'a mannequin'. John Richardson, a supervisor for Houston’s Solid Waste Department, told ABC13 that a garbage collector called him after finding Sharkey’s body last month. "(The employee) called me and said, 'Man, I think see a body but I'm for not sure, or a mannequin or something,'" said Richardson. "He really didn't know because he didn't stop."
Richardson said that he told the employee to continue his pickups and informed him that he'd go out to see the body himself with a co-worker. Soon, the pair bumped into the body. "So we're looking and we see feet. The feet were in the road," said Richardson. "Man, I'm just devastated. I'm looking at a human being lying there dead. It kind of shook me up a bit. We can't help her. We can't bring her back."
He said that he could not forget the sight of her dead body which did not have clothes on it. He admitted that it looked like someone delicately placed her in the brush along the road. "It plays back in my head every day. I constantly see her lying there. It plays back in my head," said Richardson. "It's like she just got out of the tub. Her body was clean. There was nothing on her body. Her body was clean."
Richardson is convinced someone is responsible. "She kind of was in the fetal position ... in the way that the body was laid. I think somebody actually laid her there. They didn't just throw her out," said Richardson. "It's just a mystery at this moment. I hope they find out who did it and bring justice ... so that at least the family and friends can be at ease."
He also revealed that he did not see any visible injuries or wounds on her body - a fact that has already been confirmed by the police. Very few details about the death investigation have been made public by the authorities. They have also refused to publicly reveal if foul play is suspected in the case. A spokesperson with HPD told ABC13 on Wednesday, December 23, that their homicide detectives consider the case an active and ongoing investigation. The Harris County Medical Examiner's Office has said that a cause of death is still pending.
We previously reported that Houston authorities were pinning their hopes on surveillance video in the area where Sharkey's body was found — a sparsely populated road off I-10 in west Houston. Police have reportedly zeroed in on a surveillance camera from a beauty salon facing the roadway where the influencer was discovered. Sharkey's friends are hoping that the video may be able to shed some light on how she ended up in the ditch along Red Haw Lane with no external signs of injury.
The late 26-year-old was popular on Instagram and made her career sharing every detail of her skincare routine, and the products she used. She even shared about her personal life on social media, with one of her recent pictures showing her and her husband Tom in Halloween costumes this year. Retired police forensics expert, Jennifer Shen, said that it is likely that police will comb through her online presence, which also includes her followers.