Hey y’all, it’s Julie Mattson, your Forensic Nurse Death Investigator and host of Pushing Up Lilies. This week, we’re diving into a case that stunned an entire community, Fairfax, Virginia, where a teenage boy brutally took a life in a way no one could have imagined. I’ve seen a lot in my years of working crime scenes, but when someone so young commits such a calculated act of violence, it hits differently. In this episode, I’ll walk you through the chilling details of what happened, the shocking motive behind it all, and how the community, and law enforcement, responded to the horror that unfolded. Grab a blanket, turn down the lights, and let’s talk about the teen murderer who changed everything in Fairfax. * Listener discretion is advised.
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00:06
Welcome to Pushing Up Lilies. I'm your host, Julie Mattson. Pushing Up Lilies is a weekly true crime podcast with spine tingling, unusual and terrifyingly true stories from my perspective as a forensic death investigator and a sexual assault nurse examiner.
00:24
Do I have some stories for you? Are you ready? Hey guys, welcome back. We're here for another week and it's been kind of a, I don't want to say it too loud, a slow week at work so far. I mean yesterday was a little bit… a little bit busy.
00:46
We had a couple hospital deaths, some hospice deaths. Those you would think would be super quick, but many times a hospice death can take just as long as a case. I mean, there's a lot of information to get.
01:02
It's not always easily accessible, especially when the person is new to hospice. Many times, they've barely been admitted before they pass because, I mean, their prognosis is not good, right? So, we don't expect them to live a lot longer, but sometimes they're barely placed on hospice before they're pronounced.
01:26
It's always still sad though, because it's close to the holidays and you know, you know that these families are going to be struggling to be without their family members for the holidays. So even though it's expected, I know it doesn't make it any easier for these families.
01:43
So, we just always try to remember that, you know, it's every death is a loss of a person, and the families still have to survive. And it's not always easy. Anyway, I'm so glad. that you're here with me today you're gonna hear one of the most shocking cases to come out of Ohio in years, and this is the murder of Sheila Tenpenny.
02:12
Sheila was only 64 years old she lived in Fairfax and she was very loved by her family. She was a second mother to her nieces and nephews, and she was known as someone who showed up for people and cared about people and we should all be that way but not everyone is.
02:36
Sheila was loved is what it sounds like. Her death was very sudden, her death was violent and it was carried out by a boy who lived nearby but the really sad part I mean it's all sad, but he was only 13.
02:54
The case is disturbing and it raises real questions about premeditation at a very young age. It raises questions about warning signs, and it raises questions about what justice looks like when the suspect is a juvenile.
03:16
And it's scary that kids think the way they think sometimes. And a lot of it could be related to social media and a lot of it could be related to what they've seen on television or just curiosity. But I want to walk you through this story step by step because you will hear what happened inside her home.
03:39
You'll hear how investigators solve the case, what the boy researched before the murder. And you will hear the fear expressed by the lead investigator and also the pain carried by her family. Take a deep breath if you need it because this case might stay with you.
04:03
Sheila Tenpenny lived on Germania Street in Fairfax, Ohio. Sheila was 64 years old, very young as I get closer to that age. She was a sister. She was an aunt. And again, her family described her as nurturing.
04:24
Her nieces and nephews called her their second mother. She lived a very quiet life. She kept a peaceful home. There were no signs of turmoil, no disputes with her neighbors, nothing about her background, really put her at risk for being a murder victim.
04:45
Her home became the location of a brutal homicide, the kind of homicide that leaves the whole community shaken. This is the interesting part. The suspect lived nearby. He was only 13 at the time of this murder, and he was a juvenile with no criminal history at all.
05:08
His mother had concerns, she kept a journal, and she wrote that he was interested in serial killers. She sensed that something was not quite right, something was wrong, but she did not realize how far he'd gone.
05:27
Investigators later found out that he had spent months researching violent topics. So, he was looking at things like how to strangle someone. He looked at how to find the perfect victim. He searched for guidance on how to defeat a police interrogation.
05:48
Now that's really scary too, because not only is he trying to find ways to do it, he's asking for help finding a victim and ideas on how to trick the police. His online activity revealed deliberate planning.
06:06
It was not impulsive. It was not sudden. He obviously prepared for this. So, the night of the murder, this was February 2nd, between 2 and 5 in the morning, he entered Tenpenny's home and he went through the front door.
06:25
She was asleep in her bed, and I know that I'd talk to y'all about the importance of locking the front door. My husband's from North Dakota. They never lock their front doors. Again, when I'm there, I like to check the windows, close the blinds, lock all the doors.
06:41
They think I'm paranoid because there's never been a problem there. But that doesn't mean there never will be. So, I'm checking it and I'm checking it twice and I'm making sure everything is locked down.
06:55
Because again, just because there hasn't been a problem yet doesn't mean there never will be. And I'm not paranoid. Not paranoid, y'all. But I mean, everything happens the first time. And I don't want it to happen to me.
07:12
I know I had told y'all a story about a friend of mine whose daughter left for school and left the front door unlocked and the total stranger walked in and raped her at my point. Because the door was unlocked and I'm not blaming her on the daughter, but I'm just saying, please, please, please, please lock your doors.
07:28
I know that you may feel like you're in a safe area and you may feel like you're not at risk, but you are. So, prosecutors said that Sheila was struck. She suffered blunt force trauma to the head. And then she was strangled until she died.
07:49
But Sheila fought. She fought for her life. She scratched. She actually drew blood. Her broken fingernails held his DNA. A chunk of his hair was in her hands, and his blood was mixed with hers throughout the home.
08:07
I love dumb criminals. He left his watch behind. So, there you go. Investigators also found cleaning supplies near the bed. Her fight actually led to his identification. And I wanna talk a little bit about the fingernails.
08:24
You know, back when I did sexual assault nursing, we always swabbed under the fingernails. That's because you can get someone's skin cells under your nails or even on your hands if you touch them or grab them or scratch them.
08:38
So that's important. And so, I had a homicide a couple of weeks ago, and a couple of her fingernails popped off. Well, obviously, there was force used to pop them off, which made me think, well, she was probably scratching him, and they were long, they were glued on.
08:56
But I sent those to the medical examiner's office and a paper bag with the body. Because I want the doctors to swab not only underneath the fingernails that are still on, but also under the fingernails that popped off.
09:09
Because those were the ones that probably were most forcefully used. Or maybe they just weren't glued on good, but they were forcefully used to scratch him. Anyway, her fight told the full story of what happened.
09:27
Her brother found her. Her brother called 911. He found her face covered with a pillow. She didn't respond when he called her name. And he knew something was wrong. So, when police arrived, they had documented blood on the bed, blood on the tablet near her, and just blood throughout the room.
09:49
They found cleaning products scattered everywhere. They saw clear evidence of a violent struggle. The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation joined in on this case. And they believed, based on what they saw, that the suspect had visible injuries.
10:09
He probably had scratches. He probably had cuts. And he had marks that came from her attempt to defend herself. And they were right. The DNA told the story. The hair in her hands told the story. And her resistance became the keys to solving her very own murder.
10:33
Once he left the home, he went online and started posting on social media. Again, I love dumb criminals. He sent messages. He wrote, this one was a fighter. He announced what he did. And he talked about the crime.
10:51
And he showed absolutely no remorse. And later, when it investigators swabbed him and collected evidence, he posted again. And he said, I think I just got caught. His search history proved that he took steps to avoid accountability.
11:09
He sought advice, not only on how to commit the murder, but how to trick investigators. He actually studied interrogation tactics, and he tried to clean the scene, he tried to remove evidence. But he failed.
11:27
Investigators said that they had never seen someone this young plan and carry out a homicide of this nature. Now the investigation moved quickly, DNA match was strong. She did a great job. He could not explain the injuries on his face.
11:46
He could not explain the blood. He could not explain the watch, why his watch was in her house. He could not explain why his hair was in her hand. Every piece of evidence pointed straight to him. Of course, the social media posts added to the case.
12:06
He bragged. He acknowledged the struggle. He admitted fear that he had been caught. But the premeditation and the attempt to clean up became clear. Investigators did not have to build a circumstantial case.
12:24
They had direct evidence from the victim. They had DNA. They had statements. And they had digital searches. The courtroom was very emotional. Members of Tenpenny's family filled the room. Some couldn't attend because they never wanted to see the boy's face.
12:47
They only wanted to remember her, which you can totally understand. Her sister tried to give a statement but just couldn't speak through her grief. She had to have a liaison read it for her. Her brother-in-law actually faced the boy directly.
13:03
He told the teen he was sorry. Sorry that he lacked guidance and sorry that he was never taught right from wrong. Sorry that his family seemed to struggle with those same lessons. The teen remained quiet as they spoke.
13:21
And an investigator addressed the court next. He said he had worked violent crimes for more than 20 years. That he'd never seen someone this young carry out a murder with this level of preplanning. And he feared for the future.
13:38
He said the boy made mistakes during this crime. And those mistakes helped solve it. And he worried about what would happen if the boy learned from those mistakes. And tried to do this again. and knew now how to prevent things that he once had no knowledge of.
13:59
So, it was a powerful moment. The teen reached a plea agreement. He pled to aggravated murder, aggravated burglary, and strangulation. The remaining six felony charges were dismissed. He will serve time in the Department of Youth Services until he turns 21.
14:21
That is the maximum time allowed. By law for a juvenile. So, during that time, he will attend cognitive behavioral therapy. He'll complete a victim awareness program. He has to finish school, and then he has to write a letter.
14:37
So, the judge said something important. She said, six and some years is enough time to create a good growth record. Or not, that's up to you. The sentence reflects. the limits placed on juvenile cases, but it does not reflect the severity of the crime at all.
14:58
Tenpenny's family carries a very deep grief, and they lost someone they loved. They lost someone who supported them. They lost someone who shaped their lives. They live with the violence of her death, and they live with the fear expressed by investigators and the knowledge that her killer is a lot free when he's 21 years old.
15:23
Her brother-in-law said it clearly many family members stayed home because they wanted to remember her face and not his. The teenager who's not been publicly named because he is a minor. This happened in February of this year, so this is why I'm not mentioning his name.
15:40
He's a minor and they have not publicly announced who it is. I'm not just leaving that part out. Just wanted y'all to know that this did happen in 2025, so this is a pretty new case about nine months ago.
15:56
The really sad part is it shows pre-meditation the suspect took steps to plan the crime. He researched methods. He selected a victim based on his research. He practiced deception online and attempted to conceal evidence.
16:17
Forensic teams rely on patterns like search history, DNA, trace evidence. This case had every form of trace. It had mixed blood. There was hair transfer. There were skin cells under her nails. There were injuries to the suspect and there were abandoned personal items.
16:41
Again, dumb criminals. The victim fought hard. Her fight preserved critical evidence. Her fight revealed the timeline. Her fight revealed the injuries, her fight created the record that proved what happened.
17:00
So, this case raises questions about early violent ideation. And that's what's scary. It raises questions about risk assessment in juveniles. It raises questions about mental health intervention. And it raises questions about how early warning signs should get addressed.
17:21
At what point should parents be alarmed? The death of Sheila Tenpenny is tragic, and her family will never forget her warmth. They'll never forget that emptiness that was left behind. And they'll never forget the strength she showed as she fought for her life.
17:42
You have to wonder, did she know what she was doing? Did she know that she was preserving evidence? I mean, I'm sure that she was also trying to protect herself and fought for her life, but his hair was in her hands, y'all.
18:00
His blood was under her fingernails. She gave investigators the truth, and she protected her community in her final moments. Her resistance led directly to the arrest, and her story reminds us why forensic work matters.
18:19
It reminds us why details matter, and it reminds us why we keep telling these stories. I happened upon this at my last homicide, and my very first homicide I ever worked, the perpetrator attempted to clean up the crime scene, which we know, if you smear blood everywhere, it's gonna be obvious that you tried to clean up.
18:43
So why do people who kill others attempt, even attempt to clean up the crime scene? Because, I mean, if they've watched forensic files at all, they know that even if the blood's not visible, there are ways to see it.
18:57
There are ways that the police can see what was there, just like when you delete something on your phone, they can still find it. People who kill others often try to clean the crime scene. Of course, they're trying to protect themselves.
19:14
Their goal is simple. They wanna avoid getting identified and avoid being arrested. They wanna remove trace evidence. They're trying to get rid of blood, fingerprints, footprints, hair, skin. Because they know that physical evidence ties them to the victim.
19:35
And they underestimate how much evidence, though, remains invisible to the eye while they're cleaning all this stuff up. Many times they panic. They act out of fear after the violence stops. So panic drives them to scrub surfaces or move items, and these rushed attempts usually end up leaving stronger evidence behind.
20:03
Many times they believe cleaning is going to somehow change the timeline. They think removing blood or moving a body is going to somehow confuse investigators. And they think they can make the death look natural or even accidental.
20:21
They rarely understand forensic blood behavior or injury patterns. That's something he forgot to search. They want to delay the discovery of the body, and so some offenders clean to slow down the investigation because they hope a delayed timeline will weaken the case against them.
20:42
And... They think it's going to remove their DNA. A lot of offenders believe that DNA is limited only to blood. They forget about hair transfer. They forget about touch DNA. They forget about shoe impressions, tool marks, absorbent surfaces, and digital evidence.
21:05
And many times, they want to feel in control. Or all the time. Offenders try to regain control after a violent act. Cleaning actually gives them that sense of power over the situation. It's a psychological response as much as it is a practical one.
21:27
And they severely misunderstand forensic science. Most offenders do not understand how thorough scene processing is. They leave microscopic blood. They leave tool marks. They leave fibers. They leave digital breadcrumbs.
21:47
And they leave transfer patterns that tell the story even when the surfaces look clean to the naked eye. They think that removing the weapon or clothing is actually going to help. They often wash clothes.
22:04
They'll throw them in the washing machine. Law enforcement is not going to be like, okay, why are you doing laundry after you kill this person? They throw items away because they think that a missing object erases the action.
22:19
But investigators still find links through patterns, injuries, and, you know, reducing reconstruction. People try to clean because they fear the consequences of the truth. But the act of cleaning alone becomes part of the evidence.
22:38
It definitely shows intent. It shows awareness. It shows consciousness of giving. You know, on my first homicide, the guy had used laundry out of the laundry basket to try to clean up the scene. And it happened again this past couple of weeks where the perpetrator actually used laundry in an attempt to clean up the crime scene.
23:01
And there's a lot of blood. And you know, then what's he going to do with the towels? He's going to stick them in the washing machine? Is he going to start it? Is he not going to start it? It doesn't even matter because we look in the washing machine.
23:14
If there's new clothes in there or a bunch of towels, when we know that someone's trying to clean up, I mean, we can put two and two together. Again, processing the scene is so important. Forensics is so important.
23:28
And this is why I'm so passionate about it. And I'm excited to use my knowledge to try to educate. So, I hope you're having a wonderful week. I am looking forward to getting into the office and I may have stopped and get some donuts.
23:47
I always stop at Sonic, and I've told y'all this many times. I am addicted to diet Dr. Pepper with vanilla. Extra vanilla, actually. And so, I use the app every morning on my way to the medical examiner's office and usually even on my way to my med spa.
24:03
My husband and I own a mobile beer business, and I think I've told y'all about this before. We go to third Monday trade days in McKinney, Texas and we sell beer by the glass, and we started selling beer in a spear which is a beer with a pickle in it.
24:18
And then we also sell redneck mimosas which is beer with orange juice and regular mimosas made with either orange juice or watermelon juice on top of just the beer choices that we have on tap. So, trying to just like make our menu a little more well-rounded for those who don't like beer because I'm not a big beer drinker.
24:39
Beer's not my fave. Anyway, we did that this past weekend, and it was a lot of fun. So, taps and tunes. If y'all would like to log on it's tapsandtunesmobilebeer.com and we do hire out for weddings, HOA events, bachelor-bachelorette parties, birthday parties, just whatever.
24:59
We can supply the beer. We have our TABC license or you can supply the beer. We do not have our liquor license. It's beer and wine only but we can serve liquor if you purchase it. Anyway, just a little FYI.
25:12
I hope y'all have a great week. Be safe and hug your friends and family. Bye y'all. Thank you so much for joining me today on Pushing Up Lilies. If you like this podcast and would like to share with others, please do me a quick favor and leave a review on Apple Podcast.
25:31
This helps to make the podcast more visible to the public. Thanks again for spending your time with me and be sure to visit me at PushingUpLilies.com for merchandise and past episodes.