Sheila Ann Deviney was murdered inside her Maysville home on January 6, 2004. She was thirty years old.

Prior to Sheila’s murder, she had been dealing with volitile custody issues with her ex-husand, and had apparently been concerned about a vehicle that had been following her seemingly everytime she drove her children to school. She had told a friend of hers that a white car was following her; Sheila had been frightened but hadn’t told her friend who she thought might have been in the car. The morning of January 6th, a fire was reported by a neighbor at Sheila’s trailer home. Multiple fires in multiple locations had been started in the home, but the fire marshall initially declared the fire accidental, that it began when Sheila became inattentive while cooking, had been incapacitated by black flash of material from the melted pan on the stove in the kitchen where the main source of the fire had occurred. Sheila herself was found on the floor of the kitchen near the stove, burned beyond recognition. Her death was ruled an accident initially even though she was found with flammable liquids splashed across her, and the same liquid soaked into spare clothing that had been packed tightly against her body. She was still alive when she was burned.

For a variety of reasons Sheila’s case has not been solved. One is the fact that it was ruled accidental, the scene wasn’t contained and the police didn’t carry out a homicide investigation until her death was amended from accidental to homicide- months after the murder. Second is that Sheila’s family has faced nothing but opposition in their case. At the time Sheila was murdered, she was recently married, but had gone through a contentious divorce between her and her children’s father. Custody arrangements were volatile, with a bitter fight continuing over child support. The day before Sheila was murdered, her ex-husband had been ordered to pay triple what he had been paying. He also went to the location where Sheila’s trailer had been after the initial ruling of an accidental fire, and removed the trailer himself with a friend and his new wife. Any evidence that could have been found was destroyed when they demolished that trailer. Sheila’s family remains firm in their belief that her ex-husband either killed her, or had something to do with her murder. Furthermore, the Deviney’s had been told if they had a better last name or more money that their daughter’s case would’ve been made more of a priority. Instead, they’ve spent almost $150,000 investigating it themselves, and their daughter’s case remains on a shelf.

Sheila was a mother of two young children when she was murdered. She had just received her degree and had wanted to be a high school science teacher. She had an entire life left to live, and now had grandchildren she’ll never meet.

There is a $50,000 reward for any information leading to the arrest and conviction of Sheila’s killer.

If you have any information regarding the murder of Sheila Ann Deviney, please contact her family at the link below:

Contact Us (sheiladeviney.org)