Lakewood police on Thursday arrested a man who has confessed to a trio of murders in western Florida.
Police received information from the Tarpon Springs Police Department in Florida that a homicide suspect may be in Lakewood. Automated plate readers determined that a stolen vehicle connected to the homicides had been recorded in Lakewood.
Police found the stolen vehicle in the 1500 block of Newman Avenue and conducted surveillance on the home, determining the suspect and his two young children were inside.
The suspect, identified as 25-year-old Shelby Svensen, was taken into custody as he exited the home. His 2- and 3-year-old children were transported to Cuyahoga County Children and Family Services.
WTSP reports that the stolen vehicle, a 2013 Kia Sorento, is connected to the murders of a couple, their son and their three dogs at a Juanita Way mobile home outside of Tampa.
The victims were 71-year-old Richard Louis Ivancic, 59-year-old Laura Ann Ivancic and 25-year-old Nicholas James Ivancic.
The connection to Northeast Ohio was deeper than just the arrest of Svensen. The car he was found in belonged to his mother-in-law Laura, the sister of former North Royalton Police Chief James Zindroski. Zindroski is remembering his sister as a "genuine" and "caring person." He tells Channel 3 that Laura was a foster mother who eventually adopted her two kids, Nicholas and Jamie. The family had moved to Florida several years ago.
Svensen confessed to the killings when questioned by police Friday, according to WTSP.
WTSP also reports that Svensen's wife, who is Richard and Laura Ann Ivancic's daughter, is now missing. Twenty-one-year-old Jamie Nicole Ivancic is considered "endangered" and missing under "suspicious circumstances."
Investigators along with a team of University of South Florida forensic anthropologists examined a home on Friday where a body may have been found in Pasco County, Florida. Authorities there confirmed to WTSP that Friday's investigation is connected to the triple homicide case in Tarpon Springs.
Svensen, who also goes by Shelby Nealy, is charged with receiving stolen property and a domestic violence warrant out of Broadview Heights. Tarpon Springs police detectives visited Lakewood to continue their homicide investigation on Friday.