Man now charged with murder in Marine veteran’s death

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) — New court documents show a man knew more about his girlfriend’s death after she was found hanging inside their St. Petersburg home in February, according to the St. Petersburg Police Department.

Police said they were called to a home on Whiting Drive Southeast on Feb. 20 to investigate a suspicious death.

According to police, 48-year-old Gregory Shinn found his girlfriend, 59-year-old Katrin Simpson, hanging in their garage and asked his neighbor to call 911.

Shinn originally reported her death as a suicide, but he now has been charged with murder in her death.

He was arrested after a medical examiner raised a red flag to detectives that Simpson’s injuries were too egregious to be self-inflicted.

“We have been waiting for this for so long,” said Johanna Monighan, a friend of Simpson. “It almost seemed unreal.”

Monighan said Simpson was a proud marine who was a creative artists and passionate about serving the community.  However, the couple had a strained relationship.

When paramedics arrived, they said they found Simpson with a black wire wrapped around her neck, connected to a beam in the garage.

Police said Shinn told them that Simpson was suicidal in the days leading up to her death. However, investigators said Simpson’s injuries “were not consistent with the allegation that the victim hung herself.”

“I saw in the report that she was obviously abused,” Monighan said. “She had broken ribs, not just little fractures, but a contusion on her head and neck fractures.”

Throughout the investigation, detectives said they noticed inconsistencies in Shinn’s statements and determined there was a history of domestic violence.

Police records show there were several 911 calls from their home in recent years.

“These were very serious cases and serious enough where she had visible injuries and he was taken to jail both in 2021 and 2022,” said Yolanda Fernandez, a community awareness division manager for the St. Petersburg Police Department.

The medical examiner’s office said an autopsy determined Simpson died of strangulation with contributing factors of blunt force trauma and multi-drug toxicity. Her death was then ruled a homicide.

Shinn was charged with first-degree premeditated murder.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFLA.