In the summer of 2015, the life of 27-year-old Kelly Lorraine Shortt-Hamilton was tragically cut short in a harrowing sequence of events that began with an act of arson and ended in a murder-suicide. On August 10th, a fire erupted at her apartment building in Brunswick, Maryland, a blaze that was deliberately set by her estranged husband, 44-year-old Daniel Ray Shortt Sr.
Witnesses reported seeing Daniel Shortt forcibly remove his wife from her apartment just as the flames began to consume the building.
The search for the couple ended with a grim discovery approximately three miles away from the scene of the fire. Inside a vehicle parked along Keep Tryst Road in Knoxville, authorities found the bodies of both Kelly and Daniel. Both had sustained fatal gunshot wounds. Investigators also located a firearm inside the vehicle that belonged to Daniel Shortt. The investigation that followed pieced together the tragic timeline of that day. It was revealed that Daniel had picked Kelly up from her job that morning under the guise of finalizing their divorce papers.
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore later confirmed the devastating conclusion that had begun to unfold. Kelly Lorraine Shortt-Hamilton's death was officially ruled a homicide, a direct result of the gunshot wound inflicted by her estranged husband. Daniel Ray Shortt Sr.'s death was ruled a suicide. The investigation determined that after setting fire to her home, Daniel abducted and murdered Kelly before taking his own life. Law enforcement officials concluded that there were no other suspects involved in the violent incident that claimed the life of the young woman.
