PORT RICHEY, Fla. — The Pasco County Sheriff's Office has identified the body found at a Port Richey home last week as Jamie Ivancic.

  • Body identified as Jamie Ivancic
  • Ivancic's family found dead on New Year's Day
  • Suspect is Ivancic's husband, Shelby Nealy

Law enforcement has been searching for Jamie since her husband, Shelby Nealy, was arrested in connection to her family's murders. 

Ivancic's father, mother, and brother were found dead at their Tarpon Springs home on New Year's Day.  The victims are identified as Richard Louis Ivancic, 71, Laura Ann Ivancic, 59, and Nicholas James Ivancic, 25. 

Officials believe the three family members were killed sometime around December 20, 2018. 

The suspect, Nealy, was arrested in Ohio on Thursday, January 3, after law enforcement tracked down his in-laws' vehicle at a home there. 

Police said Nealy admitted to his involvement in the triple murder after his arrest.  At the time, his wife was still thought to be missing. 

Authorities got a lead about a house Nealy and his wife used to rent in Port Richey, and that's when they began to search for a possible fourth victim, Jamie Ivancic. 

Investigators found a body at the home over the weekend but had not been able to identify it until Tuesday, January 8, confirming that it was Nealy's missing wife. 

Officials believe Ivancic may have been killed as far back as a year ago.  During a press conference, officials said Nealy had lied to his wife's family when they tried to communicate with her, saying things like she couldn't come to the phone and making them believe she was still alive. 

Nealy is now accused in all four murders.  He is still being held in Ohio and is waiting to be extradited to Pinellas County. 

Officials also noted that the couple's two young children, ages 3 and 2, were not harmed by Nealy and are now in child protective services.

Victim's brother: Nealy "tried to avoid us"

We spoke to James Zindroski, Laura Ann Ivancic's brother, about Nealy. Zindroski said there was always something suspicious about him.

“We had some inkling, some suspicion, some feeling, that there wasn’t something correct there,” Zindroski said.

Zindroski is a former police chief from Ohio. He feels for that reason Nealy tried to stay away from him whenever he visited.

“He knew my background. He basically tried to avoid us," Zindroski explained. "Whenever we would come over, he would all of the sudden disappear out in the garage or down in the basement."

On Tuesday, investigators said that Jamie Invancic may have been dead and buried behind a Port Richey home for nearly a year. 

The question now is – how did Nealy hide that from the family?

“Initially my sister felt maybe she had said something,” Zindroski said. "That maybe she had done something to upset Jamie to cut her off from the grandchildren. Now we know that not to be the case.”

Investigators said that Nealy may also have tricked family into thinking everything was okay.

“We’re fairly certain that Shelby took over Jamie’s cell phone and was texting my sister, saying 'don’t worry everything is fine,'” Zindroski said.