Shani K. Smith, a 40-year-old Caucasian female, was found deceased in her Dubuque, Iowa, home on the morning of Thursday, February 24, 2011. Colleagues became concerned when she failed to arrive for her job as an accounts manager at Medline, prompting a welfare check at her residence at 2995 John F. Kennedy Road. At approximately 9:48 a.m., Dubuque Police officers entered the home and discovered her body, immediately launching a homicide investigation.
Authorities indicated early on that they did not believe the act was random and that the person responsible was likely known to her.
The investigation quickly focused on her significant other, 52-year-old Teodoro Borrego, who also lived at the residence. He was located and taken into custody as a material witness in Oklahoma the day after Smith's body was found. Following the ongoing investigation by the Dubuque Police Department and the Dubuque County Attorney's Office, Borrego was charged with first-degree murder in connection with Smith's death, which was caused by gun violence. He was subsequently incarcerated in the Dubuque County Jail on a $750,000 bond.
Born on September 15, 1970, in Burlington, Iowa, Shani was a graduate of Burlington High School and had earned a BSN from Clarke College. Before working at Medline, she was employed by Hope Haven in Burlington and later spent 10 years at Hillcrest Family Services after moving to Dubuque in 1994. Described as a sports "junkie," particularly a fan of the Duke Blue Devils, she enjoyed traveling, listening to music, and, most of all, spending time with her family and friends. Her family remembered her greatest joy as the time she spent with her loved ones and thanked friends and her Medline "family" for their support.
