WEST MELBOURNE — A 22-year-old Fort Pierce man has been charged with the shooting death of his former girlfriend, whose body was found in early November lying along a road in West Melbourne
Travion Demetrius Dean was arrested last week in connection with the Nov. 4 shooting death of 20-year-old Aniya Sheppard, also of Fort Pierce. Both had been in a previous relationship that Sheppard’s family described to investigators as “toxic and violent,” including a history of the two pointing weapons at each other during past confrontations, court records show.
Dean, taken into custody by U.S. Border Patrol agents in Fort Lauderdale after returning from Jamaica, was charged with first-degree premeditated murder. He is being held without bail at the Brevard County Jail Complex in Sharpes.
The case was one of 38 reported homicides to take place in Brevard County during 2024.
Aniya Sheppard
“As Agents went to work, they determined that Sheppard had been staying with Dean at a local hotel and were observed on surveillance video the morning of the incident, leaving together,” Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey said in a statement released following the arrest.
Investigators said Sheppard and Dean, who had been in a relationship, were staying at the Extended Stay America motel on U.S. 192. The pair then left the motel in a rideshare that dropped them off on Hollywood Boulevard, the sheriff’s office reported.
The case unfolded early Nov. 4 after a resident alerted a Brevard County sheriff’s deputy about an unresponsive person seen lying near the road along Eber Boulevard just east of Buddy Drive in West Melbourne. The deputy went to the site and found Sheppard lying unresponsive along the shoulder of the road. Six bullet casings were found nearby.
An autopsy later determined that Sheppard was shot in the leg, wrist, chest and head, records show. Sheppard also provided a crucial key to identifying the suspect in the case after apparently sending a Facebook Messenger video showing a man walking with her a short time before she was fatally wounded, court records show.
Investigators recovered Sheppard’s cellphone and found the Messenger video captured minutes before the shooting. Sheppard had sent the message to her mother. Investigators also located other surveillance clips that showed the couple together in the area. Dean used another rideshare service to leave the site. He then left Brevard County and traveled to Jamaica while investigators put together evidence in the case, police said.
“Conveniently, Dean then took a vacation to Jamaica not long after this, but unlucky for him, our Agents had an arrest warrant with his name on it patiently awaiting his return home where he was charged with 1st Degree Premeditated Murder with No Bond!!” Ivey said.
“We continue to pray for Aniya’s family and friends as they navigate through these times,” he said.
J.D. Gallop is a criminal justice/breaking news reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Gallop at 321-917-4641 or jdgallop@floridatoday.com.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Fort Pierce man charged in death of woman found dead in West Melbourne