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What To Know About A Mom’s Slaying By A ‘Heartless’ Killer Before ‘Murdered By Morning’ Returns
In the Season 2 premiere of "Murdered By Morning," investigators and loved ones discuss the murder of Shanae Wesley, a 23-year-old single mom who ended up dead after a night out with friends.
In the fall of 2012, Shanae Wesley, 23, a single mom in small-town Murrieta, California, was striving to make a better life for herself and her 3-year-old son, Malakai.
She was in nursing school and working two jobs to make ends meet. Tragically, Wesley’s life was cut short. Early in the morning of October 31, her body was found after a fire had ripped through her apartment.
“An off-duty fireman who lived upstairs rescued her son from the burning apartment before Murrieta firefighters arrived,” reported the Press-Enterprise in July 2015.
Investigators soon discovered that the blaze wasn’t accidental. Wesley had been raped and murdered, and the fire was an act of arson to cover up the crimes.
Oxygen’s original series “Murdered By Morning” takes an in-depth look at the disturbing case when the show returns for season 2 on Saturday, May 7 at 8/7c.
Before the premiere, here are key facts to know about the case.
How was Wesley killed?
A forensic pathologist who handled the case said that “strangulation or suffocation seemed likely.” A precise determination couldn’t be made, according to news accounts, because the victim had been so badly burned.
How did suspects emerge?
Investigators traced Wesley’s movements on the night of October 30 and found that she had accompanied a female friend to Bull Pen Burgers and Links, a popular local establishment, reported patch.com.
While there, the victim encountered a male acquaintance who was with another man, Marquise Denzell McGlown, who she didn’t know. Both men went to Wesley’s apartment and were aware that her son was there, according to a spokesperson for the D.A.’s office.
How did the crime go down?
While he was in Wesley’s apartment, McGlown, who had a prior felony conviction for burglary in 2008, made off with her keys. After his friend left, McGlown went back into the apartment, where Wesley was found dead in the morning.
To learn more about the case, including how the killer was caught and what was found in the victim’s car after it was recovered in a church parking lot, watch “Murdered by Morning,” airing Saturday, May 7 at 8/7c on Oxygen.
