On the morning of December 14th, 2024, the Escambia County Sheriff's Office received a call about a missing person. 26-year-old Shay Bennett hadn't been seen since the day before. Deputies arrived at the Sweet Dream Inn on Plantation Road to conduct a welfare check. Her car was still in the parking lot, but there was no sign of Shay. At this stage, it was a standard missing person's case, but as investigators began to look closer at the hotel grounds, the timeline of Shay's last known movements started to raise red flags. >> Okay. Okay. Can you take me to the room? Did you see anything? >> Um, the only camera I got is it only face that way. >> Face is that way? Okay. >> My night shift girl called and she was like, "The friend is worried about her." And he said that she was heavily medicated and I was like, "Well, go check." And she called me back and said the door was wide open. >> And I said, "Did you see anybody?" >> Yeah, she said, "No." So, I just closed the door. >> Okay. >> And then around 1:00, I got another call about the same room, I guess the same girl. >> Okay. So, are the phones and stuff still in the tub? >> Inside room 130, the scene was far from normal. Shay's personal belongings were still there, indicating she never planned to leave. But the most chilling discovery was in the bathroom. Both of Shay's cell phones were found discarded in the bathtub, a clear sign that someone wanted her silenced. Forensic teams moved in, recovering a false eyelash near the bed and hair strands from a towel. Every surface was swabbed for DNA, turning this motel room into a critical piece of the puzzle. >> That one right there is hers? >> Yeah. That's where I think my stuff is at. >> Shay Bennett, a 26-year-old single mother and college student, also appeared on Scrip Boot Camp as AbnT and worked as an escort and dancer. On December 13th, she went to the Sweet Dream Inn to meet 20-year-old Marine Willie Richard Ellington Jr., not knowing it would be her final meeting. >> Ramirez got to tell her best friend she is pregnant, and Tache was going to be an auntie. That's why when she didn't hear back from Bennett this weekend, she knew something wasn't right. >> We're all trying to be like detectives and trying to figure out, you know, where she was. >> She said that her sister like contacted her last time around like 4:00 last night or so, but then she wasn't able to make contact with her again. Um she saw that she had been at this hotel over here cuz of her GPS. She contacted the staff. The staff came to her door, saw the door was wide open, but there's no one inside, you know, that they could see. So, they shut the door, then when they came out to check out, they went in there today, and they found like her two phones in the bathtub. That's like the only thing that's in there. And then her her rental car is still out here with all of her bags and everything in the back. >> You were here last night, right? >> Yeah. >> So, did you see anyone go in and out of that room or anything like that? >> No. >> You just were walking by. Those are the doors. >> No, I walked right by and they called. And they called you? >> And then some of her friends called you? >> Yeah. >> Okay. Then what did you do then? >> Well, she called me and said that her friend asked her to check on her. No, she said that it's her friend at the hotel, her name is Tache Bennett. I said, "Yes." Um she said that she she's going on Well, she's up getting her. She's on meds, and if anyone could check on her. And she asked about security. I told her there was no security available, and I went over. Walked to the room, I saw the door cracked a little bit. Knocked on the door, went inside, no one was inside. >> Okay. You went to the door, you shut the door. Okay. Well, how do you spell your first name? Do you have any idea what she looks like? >> No, I just I mean if I looked at it, I did, but I don't know what she looks like as a guest. >> Yeah. Okay. >> I like trying to think about who that was. >> Did you get her name? And she was supposed to be heading back today, correct? Or was she going to head back last night? Today, okay. And then she worked at Babes not last night but the night before, correct? Yesterday at a look, okay. And then she came back to the hotel is where you contacted her. And then you said at like 5:00 the phone got disconnected, you couldn't track the GPS anymore. Okay, I got you. I looked around the room, there's an eyelash on the ground, I'm not seeing any like nothing's out of place, no blood. Okay. She came back to the hotel, I talked to her sister at 4:00 saying something about she's going to cash out for some money and then she was supposed to be heading back to Texas today. Uh no, I haven't I forgot to run that. Um I'm going to run that. The hotel saying that's the car they believe that she was in. They're not 100% sure on that, but I'm going to run it. But then I tried calling the phone and it went straight to voicemail. Asked the sister what kind of phone she had, she said she believes she said purple but then she's like I'm not sure if it's purple but it's a iPhone and then and one of the phones is purple iPhone, so. Yeah, and it just went straight to voicemail. No. 26 >> Deputies found the body of Touched Bennett in a pond at an abandoned neighborhood in Mobile yesterday. Sheriff's office says they were notified that Bennett disappeared on Saturday. They say she was working at it as an escort at the time. Willie Ellington was arrested for Bennett's >> By December 17th, 2024, investigators hit a major breakthrough. Dash cam footage from a utility truck parked near the motel captured a red Mazda CX-5 outside Shay's room during the exact window she vanished. This footage allowed detectives to trace the rental directly to 20-year-old Willie Richard Ellington Jr., an active-duty US Marine stationed at NAS Pensacola. GPS data from that vehicle led authorities across the state line to a remote wooded pond in Mobile, Alabama. There they found Shay's body hidden inside a duffel bag submerged in the water. Physical push marks in the grass at the water's edge confirmed this was the final stop on a calculated 120-mile round trip. While Ellington's status as a serviceman gave him access to the military base, it couldn't hide the digital trail he left behind. On December 18th, 2024, the search ended in Opelika, Alabama. Police intercepted Ellington as he was attempting to board a Greyhound bus to flee the state. He was arrested on the spot and charged with first-degree premeditated Held without bond as the evidence from the motel, the dashcam, and the pond finally came together. >> The only thing I would like to talk about is the officer's report. I read I read the beginning of it. You guys said that I escaped the military base. I didn't escape the military but the rest of it the rest of the stuff y'all talked about on the report, I want to have a lawyer present while I talk about it but this I I feel like I want to I feel like I'm being like >> Well, if you're asking for a lawyer, I can't speak to you about it. >> I'm not I'm not speaking for a lawyer right now. I'm saying for but for this I would like to speak to you without a lawyer. >> Okay, but I I have to clarify this. If you want a lawyer right now, we cannot speak with you any further and me and him have to leave because if you're asking for attorney, we can't talk about the case with you. If you would like to give us your side and to speak out on whatever you want to speak to us about, you can do that but I just want to make that clear like it was when I read you this. If you ask for a lawyer, we have to leave and we have to transport you back over there. But if you would like to tell us whatever you want to tell us then that's something you can't have a lawyer for. >> I want you to write this down. I didn't escape from the military base. I was going on leave. >> Okay, I'm well I'm asking right now. So are you retaining a lawyer or you not retaining a lawyer? >> What does that mean? >> Are you wanting to speak with a lawyer right now or you not? >> Not right now. Not at this moment. >> So you know what we right now everybody thinks that you're child molesting and you like child because that's what we found on your phone. So So correct us if we're wrong. >> Now I'd like to speak to the lawyer before then. >> Okay. >> The arrest report reveals investigators found several videos showing young girls 11 to 16 years old being abused. After getting another search warrant signed and downloading the entire phone, investigators say they found over 50 more pictures and videos. >> I'm sorry. >> I still have three more kids to see. >> Okay. And and that's some of the things that we were asking him. You know, like if he had any brothers or sisters and he just didn't want to talk to us at all. So >> I know my son is crying for you, Willy. Please. Please release. >> [snorts] >> Okay. So I have your phone number. If you want to talk to me after the fact that you know, but I would wait till Thursday to like I said, if you want to come down to Pensacola. >> Okay. Thank you. Thank you. >> And and I will send you the address that where he's going to be. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Okay? But what he's being charged with, do you know what he's being charged with? >> No, what I have seen and nobody telling nothing what I have seen. You know, something like that. >> Okay. >> And with with that child something like that. >> Yes, ma'am. And then he had some more child porn, so that's like going to be more counts of it. >> Okay. Okay? >> While the physical evidence was overwhelming, it was the digital evidence that revealed the true darkness of the case. Investigators recovered Ellington's phone and discovered that in the hours and minutes leading up to the meeting, he wasn't looking for a date. He was preparing for a crime. His search history showed a calculated fixation on the mechanics He had searched for the sound of strangulation and how to hide a body. Most disturbing was a specific query asking if someone could be convicted if a body was never found. These weren't the searches of a man in a panic. They were the preparations of someone treating a human life as a forensic experiment. For investigators, these timestamps proved premeditation beyond a shadow of a doubt, turning his own phone into the most damning witness against him. >> He had Googled things uh things like what what does a a body look like a dead body look like after 2 days? Um how many uh do murders go unsolved? Uh does someone scream if they're being strangled? >> Why do you need that? >> Which one? >> Which one? >> The buccal what? >> The buccal swab? >> DNA swabs. >> Yeah, that's for the DNA. >> Huh? >> Why? >> For the DNA found on her, found in her room, was that the tools need? Well, we're going to going to compare it. We're going to compare the DNA that they're about to take from you to the DNA found on her and found in her room to see if it's a match. >> I I I joined this group. It's owned by this Russian person. I don't know the names, but using the Telegram is a Russian app. >> Okay. >> It It gives like updates and information about what happened. And then I stopped using Telegram like a long time after that. It was like cuz no one here uses it. Like people use WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram. And but before I had stopped, it had uh Telegram has this option where you have good Wi-Fi or 5G. So, like it doesn't matter where you are if you have 5G. You press auto save all messages and photos to gallery. And you you you you turn it on and then when you open the chat, it'll auto save everything. I go back to using Telegram. Like I open my my phone because I'm I'm running out of storage and I'm trying to see what's taking up all the storage and it's Telegram. I open it up and it's all that stuff on there. And I deleted it. I don't even know like what what are y'all even seeing cuz I I deleted everything. I I wasn't the one who sent it to me, who looked for it. I didn't even know they were sending that. >> So, what you're saying is that it just it just downloaded to your phone, you didn't mean to? >> They like they stopped at some point it stopped being a group chat for that and they changed it or maybe somebody hacked it the the member, whatever it's called, but they it stopped being a group chat for updates about the Russo-Ukrainian War. I don't know, maybe if one day they just decided to stop doing that and change to something else. >> Do you know why we originally had your phone? >> For the disappearance of the lady. >> This is what they took from you? >> Yes, I picked those up. >> From where? >> From the hotel place, but that's besides the point. I want to speak to a lawyer before I talk about the disappearance. >> Okay. >> But, please have it in your report that I'm not a child lover. >> You just requested an attorney, I can't talk to you. >> When the conversation turns to Shayna Bennett, Ellington stops cooperating. Throughout the interrogation, he refuses to answer further questions about the homicide and ultimately asked for an attorney. >> This is the GPS coordinates on your phone that matches that location. I mean, I guess now you know what happens to the body after 2 days. Last chance if you'd like to clear anything up because like he said, I mean, the car you rented, the car in front of the hotel. And if you want to say that you did not rent the car, I have your Turo account before you deleted it. The Shell station right before you went there. The hotel room, if you notice the bedding's missing. Cord that was left on the bed after you left her. Including conversations of you meeting up with her. Also, your web searches. Can we convicted without a body. How many prostitutes go unsolved? Why so many sex workers go unsolved? You document a woman found in creek multiple times. What happens if you leave water in a hotel? Burner phone number that don't collaborate with police. Burner phone number from China. If you change your number, will the police know? We do know. Burner phone. Can police track Snapchat? We can. Is 109 lb, 90 lb heavy? Which is the exact pounds that Tache Bennett puts on her ads. Missing people. How to delete Turo account. How does Turo track cars? Well, this is exactly how Turo tracks cars after a subpoena. Searches before you met with Bennett. You searched power cord, which was left in the hotel room. Uh you searched do people scream when being strangled? >> Documenting reality, which is not where you go to search for PlayStation cords. >> No, I searched for my power cord on for my PlayStation. >> Mhm, which is found in that hotel room. >> That's not that one. >> Okay. You also searched do people scream when being strangled? >> Just because I searched stuff up doesn't mean anything. >> It doesn't mean anything, but it means a whole lot when it's 2 hours before you meet up with somebody. >> This is serious. >> Especially >> I mean, if I search up, "Hey, where's the nearest Mexican restaurant?" And in 2 hours I go eat Mexican food. What's that? >> So, I'd like to speak to a lawyer before discussing this. >> That's a good idea. >> Cuz here's the reality, we don't need you. We don't need you to talk, we don't need you to say anything. This isn't even 10% of what we have on you. So, we were just being nice and giving you the chance to clear up some things if you wanted the chance. We didn't have to go, we could have told them to take you straight to the jail. But we stayed over you know, our time because we wanted to give you the opportunity to, like I said, if there was something that is incorrect, if there was something that you want to say, if there was something that you want to explain, we were going to give you that opportunity. Cuz like I said, this isn't even a portion of what we have from your phone, from your locations. We've tracked you from, you know, the beginning to the end. Your GPS or phone. >> you mean beginning? What we're going to get off your Apple Watch? >> Your DNA that they just took. >> My watch. Can I have that? >> Nope. >> You don't get anything. Then we're going to take your clothes, too. Because I have video of you in that after you turned in the rental car. I pulled video from the airport and I have you in that outfit getting out of a a taxi that I've spoken with the taxi driver. They gave me the confirmation of the card you used and you your Navy Fed. And that is used when you purchased that. Like I said, we didn't need you to be here. We were being nice and giving you the opportunity if you wanted to speak, if you wanted to, you know, say anything about the situation. This isn't even >> Like your mama said, "Clear your name." Cuz right now, we're the ones telling the story about what we have. And we said, "Hey, maybe he'll come in here, try to clear his name, try to say something was an accident, whatever it was." But no, the The thing you want to clear up is, "I didn't escape from the base. >> Okay. >> It's fine. The The news will just keep reporting about how you you know, someone >> and dumped her body in the water. >> We gave you the opportunity. That's something that, you know, we can say and later on you can think about it as we gave you the opportunity like your mom said it clear your name. We gave you the opportunity for you would like to give any more information that I could add to that report. We tried. So, later on down the road you can't say that we didn't try. >> By December 23rd, 2024, Willy Richard Ellington Jr. was officially booked into the Escambia County Jail. The charges against the 20-year-old Marine were staggering. Beyond the primary count of first-degree premeditated homicide, for which he was held with no bond, investigators added multiple felony counts for public order crimes, obscene communication, and possession of obscene material. These secondary charges carrying bonds totaling over $2 million, painted a portrait of a suspect with a deeply disturbing digital history. Amid the legal filings, the focus remained on Shay Bennett, a 26-year-old mother, student, and reality TV personality, who went on a date that day, unaware she had been targeted by someone she barely knew. >> We think that he used her occupation to to go after her. Like he felt like this was someone that he could victimize and get away with it. And I think that was important. This wasn't basically a random thing. He targeted this individual because he thought that her position would allow him to get away with it. >> As of early 2026, the case continues to move through the system. The proceedings have faced significant delays due to the complexities of Ellington's military background and the dual nature of the civilian and military investigations. Despite the mountain of digital evidence, a clear motive has yet to be established, leaving the court to determine how a young Marine could lead such a dark, hidden life.