TARPON SPRINGS, Fla. -- Court records show Shelby Svensen, who authorities say confessed to killing his wife and her family, was found guilty of domestic violence against his first and second wife in recent years.
Svensen, who also went by the name Shelby Nealy, was described by a relative as a deeply troubled person. His wife Jamie Ivancic's family told 10News he would make excuses for her whereabouts; Pasco County law enforcement confirmed there was no recent direct communication between Ivancic and her family. Detectives believe Svensen, 25, used text and photo messages to fool Ivancic's family into thinking she was away while they think she was actually dead.
RELATED: Investigators: Tarpon Springs murder suspect ‘tricked’ family into thinking wife was still alive
The remains of Ivancic, 21, were recently found behind a Port Richey home following a days-long investigation. Hers was the fourth body discovered.
Ivancic's mother Laura, 59; father, Richard, 71; and brother, Nicholas, 25, were all found dead on New Year's Day at their mobile home on Juanita Way in Tarpon Springs.
Svensen reportedly admitted to killing all of them, according to law enforcement and a close relative.
It was allegedly a violent conclusion to a lengthy criminal past.
Ohio court records show Svensen was found guilty of domestic violence in November 2012 against his ex-wife. Divorced not long after they married, Kaitlyn Farahay told the Tampa Bay Times they rarely visited each other despite having a 6-year-old daughter together.
“I think he breathes lies," said Farahay, 23, to the Times.
Svensen was in and out of court since then, jailed and freed. Court documents show he pleaded guilty to theft in 2012 and guilty to drug use in 2013. In 2016, he pleaded guilty to domestic violence; Ohio TV station WOIO reports police learned Svensen tried to choke Ivancic, who reportedly told officers he had been physically abusing her for about a year.
“It’s bad enough if you lose one person through normal—you know, you get old, you die and have a heart attack—but to have your entire family wiped out by some atrocious act like this,” James Zindroski, Laura’s brother, a former police chief who lives in Ohio where the family is from originally, said as he trailed off.
Svensen was arrested in Ohio last week and is awaiting extradition to Florida.
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