Crime Fix with Angenette Levy - Obsessed Stalker Hunts and Kills Mom as She Drove Son to School

Episode Date: August 24, 2025

Jillian Angner was shot to death by a man she briefly dated as she drove her young son to school in March 2023. Jillian died several months later. Thankfully, her son, Aiden, survived the shooting in Okatie, South Carolina. John Patrick Shea was charged with murdering Jillian and trying to murder Aiden. Shockingly, he pleaded guilty on the second day of his trial in June. Law&Crime's Angenette Levy talks with Jillian's parents about the case in this episode of Crime Fix — a daily show covering the biggest stories in crime.PLEASE SUPPORT THE SHOW: If you’re ever injured in an accident, you can check out Morgan & Morgan. You can submit a claim in 8 clicks or less without having to leave your couch. To start your claim, visit: https://www.forthepeople.com/CrimeFixHost:Angenette Levy  https://twitter.com/Angenette5Guests:Ron and Beth AngnerProducer:Jordan ChaconCRIME FIX PRODUCTION:Head of Social Media, YouTube - Bobby SzokeSocial Media Management - Vanessa BeinVideo Editing - Daniel CamachoGuest Booking - Alyssa Fisher & Diane KayeSTAY UP-TO-DATE WITH THE LAW&CRIME NETWORK:Watch Law&Crime Network on YouTubeTV: https://bit.ly/3td2e3yWhere To Watch Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3akxLK5Sign Up For Law&Crime's Daily Newsletter: https://bit.ly/LawandCrimeNewsletterRead Fascinating Articles From Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3td2IqoLAW&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrime/Twitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can binge all episodes of this Law and Crimes series ad-free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. He felt the bullet go over his own head. You know, he told us he felt it and that he was sorry he didn't tell his mom to duck. A little boy survives the murder of his mother in their SUV as she drove him to school. Now Jillian Angner's killer is in prison for life. When this happened, did you immediately think he did this? Yes.

100%. Yep. He was the top of the list. I talk with Gillian's parents about their daughter, how their grandson is now doing, and how they're turning their pain into purpose. Welcome to Crime Fix. I'm Anjanelle Levy. There is nothing more painful than losing a child. Any parent who has lost a child will tell you that.

And when a child is murdered, the pain and the loss is compounded. That pain will never go away for Ron and Beth Angner. Their daughter, Gillian Angner, was murdered in 23 in South Carolina by a man she'd briefly dated who had stalked her and even broke into her home. The story is heartbreaking. And thank goodness, Jillian's young son, Aden, survived the shooting. the shooting. Gillian's murderer, John Patrick Shea, is now in prison after pleading guilty

on the second day of his trial to murdering Gillian and trying to murder Aden. The guilty plea came as a shock to all involved in the case. It was March 2nd, 2023, when Shea shot at Jillian as she drove Aiden to school in Ocotee. The bullets just missed Aiden because he ducked. But those bullets hit Jillian. She fought for her life for months in the hospital. hospital, but died in August of 2023. There was a prime suspect, John Patrick Shea. He knew Gillian's schedule and that she would be off work that day, driving Aden to school. And Shea had been stalking Jillian and even broke into her home, as I mentioned earlier. When detectives searched Shea's home, they found disturbing evidence, including defaced photos of Jillian, a voodoo doll,

a makeshift shrine, tarot cards, and literature related to Satanism and the occult. And prosecutors said detectives found even more disturbing evidence, including a list that Shea made of women that he had dated going back to 2008, along with notes about each encounter. Shea had planned the attack on Jillian, even leaving his car at a bar to establish an alibi. Detectives interviewed Shea, and he denied being involved. But those detectives later found that Shea had asked a friend to drive him to the area, and he laid in wait for Jillian to drive by and then fired. Now, we'll hear more on that driver shortly from Gillian's parents. For more than two years, John Patrick Shea denied killing Gillian. But then on the second day of his trial in June, Shea surprisingly decided to plead guilty.

This has all been a complete and utter mistake. The morning of March 2nd is the biggest regret of my life, and it will be the biggest regret of my life. I think about it all day long. wish I could have gone back and changed things. I'm mentally sick. I had a psychotic break. I was so sick from what had happened between Jillian and I, and I can't bear this pain anymore.

And I know that the family needs closure. I know that everyone needs closure. And that's why I am doing this today. I don't want to hurt people anymore. I want there to be closure. I want there to be solace for your family. And every day and every night,

I pray for the peace of your family. Every day. Have you heard about Upside? It's a great app that gives you cash back on things like gas, groceries, and takeout. Upside gives you real money that you can transfer from the app straight into your bank account.

When I pump gas, I use Upside. I've also used it when I go out for ice cream. Here's how it works. Download the app, claim an offer for whatever you're buying and pay as usual using a debit or credit card and follow the steps and get paid. To find out how much you could earn, click the link in the description to download upside or scan the QR code on your screen and use our promo code crime fix to get an extra 25 cents back on your first tank of gas. That's promo code crime fix for an extra 25 cents back on your first gallon of gas. I want to bring in Ron and Beth Angner. Jillian's parents. And they have been through so very much over the last few years. And Ron and Gillian, thank you so much for joining me. First of all, how are you doing after Shea has now pleaded

guilty? He's admitted to what he did after saying for so long that he didn't do it. I think we're feeling like we can finally turn a page and, you know, the stress of not knowing as a human being, what's going to happen, whether it's work or personal, is sometimes more unbearable than when the end result comes out. So, you know, those, I don't know, it was like 28 months where we just didn't know if Aiden was still going to have to fear for his life. life. It's nice to, it's nice to be at a point where we can actually close that chapter and try to heal. Beth, how are you doing with all of this? Because from, from what I know about the story, I mean, you heard the sirens when Gillian was shot. Yeah, I actually heard the gunshots and I was the first one to find her. Actually, I was the second one. We didn't realize someone else had come upon the car first. And we learned that at the trial. But I actually, you know, had pulled over

and found her slumped over the wheel and found Aden running in the marsh. But I have to say, like, once he pled guilty, I knew that we weren't going to have to rely on a jury and we weren't going to have to worry about, you know, guilt or innocence. And it was out there. And, you know, It was undeniable because he admitted to doing it. So it was a huge weight lifted. It doesn't bring Jillian back, of course, but it did make me feel a little bit better, knowing that we don't have to deal with him anymore,

worry about parole hearings and appeals and all that kind of nonsense. So that part was a little bit comforting in such a stressful situation. It had to be really shocking, though. you're you're preparing yourself for this trial you're preparing to go through all of this and then day two of the trial this guy stands up and says yeah i did it after saying for so long that he didn't yeah i mean it was a a big shock we had expected a tremendous fight aden is living with ron and beth angner they're raising their sweet little grandson since jillian's passing, Aden's biological father has come back into his life. It's important to note that

Gillian's ex-husband and Aden's biological father were both quickly ruled out as suspects. I asked Ron and Beth to tell me about their daughter. Yeah, she's the oldest of our three daughters and she was a single mom. She was going to school to get a pharmacy tech certification. She was a licensed pharmacy tech, but there's additional certifications. that you can earn so she was super excited about that um she pretty much did everything in her life revolving it around aden and his needs so um you know she was she was actually you know doing the best she could live in living her life the way that she wanted to and raising aid and they were they lived right next door to us it was nice to have them right there we were always there to help

out with him whenever she needed us and you know we this was the furthest thing from our imagination that could have been her you know her future so much envisioned we our property has two structures on it and when she had Aiden years ago we sought out a property where we could help raise him there was a detached garage with an apartment over it so they actually lived on our property. But getting back to Jillian, she had a great sense of humor. I think I do too,

but this isn't about me. And we enjoyed having them that close because we could be part of his life more so than a lot of other grandparents, where the kids live states away or even a couple hours away. We got to see him anytime we wanted to, and it was also good for her.

So when she needed time with her friends, that we were just right there for her and we could watch them. When did she start seeing John Patrick Shea? I mean, and was this somebody that she really was seeing for any length of time? No, not at all. But he had been pursuing her for a while. So it had been about a year. We believe he first encountered her at the pharmacy. and where she worked

and I think his mom had been a customer there and he had come in I think for a COVID shot and they were doing COVID shots at that time so he saw Jillian he got her information not her phone number but I think maybe her Instagram or something and had messaged her I even have the message still and it had said something like oh gee I forgot to get your number before I left

maybe we could get together and she replied something along the lines of, you know, I'm not in a place right now where I want to date anyone. She was going through a divorce. But, you know, I wouldn't mind being friends. I could always use more friends. And he said something about, you know, sure, we could grab coffee or drink sometime. And so that was about a year before they started dating. And then I believe they began dating the July before the shooting. He was at our house in August for Aiden's birthday. They went on a weekend trip in Asheville in October. And then right after that trip is when she broke things off. So between July and October was the dating part

of the relationship. But he had asked her out quite a few times before they even began actually dating. And she only kind of did it because I think she felt like she didn't have anything else going on. She was maybe feeling a little down on herself. So she figured she'd give this guy a chance, you know, he wanted to go take her out to dinner. So she just figured why not. And you know, that's how that started. But they really only dated maybe, I don't know, four months at the most. In hindsight, now it feels like the stalking started back then. He would show up at her work, I don't know, once a month asking her out. And it was no, no, no. And finally, it's almost like she felt beaten down. It's like, all right, I don't have anything else going on.

Let's give it a try. Oh, it's horrible. When this happened, did you immediately think he did this? Yes. 100%. Yep. He was the top of the list. Yep.

Yeah. 100%. Just like we knew when he broke into the apartment. We knew 100% who it was. I mean, there were too many coincidences, and I understand it from, well, I don't know that I understand it. But I can understand why law enforcement doesn't want to do anything based on coincidence. But the guy chewed blue gum all the time. And there's a nail under her tire held up with blue gum. It was just things like that that you're like, it's too coincidental. Yeah.

Now, there was a lot of circumstantial evidence pointing right at John Patrick Shea in this case. Thankfully, Gillian's son Aden survived the shooting, as I mentioned. But as you can imagine, but as you can imagine. Witnessing his mother's murder has been traumatic for him. Aiden was in the car when this happened. Yeah. Yeah. I just can't even imagine. I mean, he was a little boy. I can't imagine it happening no matter what his age was. Yeah. And he was, she was driving him to kindergarten. So that gives you some sense of just how young he was. He's in a car seat. There were bullet. Basically, he emptied the gun into the car. There were bullets that went into the back of the car.

Into the door panels and stuff. Where Aiden was sitting. So we know that he was trying to kill both of them. And we do think that the only reason he didn't kill Jillian when he broke into the apartment, we think he was probably looking for Aiden as well. And Aiden wasn't there that night. He had had a sleepover at my dad's house. So when he broke in with a knife and carved up her apartment, he didn't find Aiden there that night.

So, you know, that that's what gives me the feeling that he probably was a target because the reason she broke up with him was mainly because of Aiden. Because she didn't feel that Aiden should be around someone like him. Well, and she found the voodoo doll in his apartment. And the altar. And she just knew it wasn't a good situation for Aiden to be in. Aiden still talks about them because when they were dating, Gillian would bring them over to the apartment. They played video games.

So in his mind, it was just a friend. And he doesn't know that that's who actually shot them. So Aden, does he just think somebody else? Some random person. Well, his name is John Patrick Shea, and he went by his middle name. He didn't go by John. So Jalien and Aiden both called him Patrick. So when he was arrested and we told Aiden that the bad man's in jail, he wanted to know who it was.

So we just said it's somebody named John. And he doesn't even know that's part of Shea's name. He just knows him as Patrick. So we were able to kind of skirt that by telling the truth. We'll have to tell him one day, but we just think it's too much trauma, you know, at the ripe old age of six to really, you know, have to go through all that. So we're hoping that his memory of him fades. And by the time we do tell him, he won't be as attached to that person that he knew as Patrick. I can totally see that completely.

Beth, it's my understanding that you found Aiden that day and that he said to you that mommy's dead. Is that true? Yeah, he did. When I found him running through the marsh, he ran up to my car. I threw him inside. I called 911. I think some of that may have been on the 911 recording, but he told me that his mom got shot and that she's dead. And later on, we had learned that when he was trying to get out of the car, because the doors were locked and the windows were up, the only window, really, he could have gone out was the one that was shot out, but he would

have to climb over her. And he said that she was covered with blood and she was bleeding. So he didn't want to do that. So he wound up crawling out of one of the windows that was cracked a little bit. And that's how he got out of the car. And it wasn't even open all that much. I don't know how he even got out of the crack of the window. But he saw her. You know, he was in the front seat. He said he wished he had kissed her goodbye before he left the car. And the first couple of weeks, he also said it was his fault because he didn't tell his mom to duck. To duck. And He felt the bullet go over his own head. You know, he told us he felt it and that he was sorry.

He didn't tell his mom to duck. Is Aiden getting any type of, Ron, I'm so sorry. Is Aidan getting any type of therapy or help to cope with this? Yeah. He has a really awesome psychologist and he also has a school community that has rallied around him and our family and they're very supportive. of the school counselor, the principal, all the teachers, all that support staff, even the parents and, you know, of the other students at school. So we definitely have a really awesome, you know,

community that is supporting Aden in every way that he needs to be supported. And we had hooked up with bikers against child abuse. They were awesome, you know. They were there that weekend. So this was happened on a Thursday and they were there on Saturday. He was in hopeful, Horizons is a organization down here, a nonprofit that's for kids that have gone through trauma. And Jillian was actually there when she was going through her divorce and her ex-husband was more mentally abusive than anything, but there was a little bit of physical stuff. But they saw him that day. That afternoon, he was in Hopeful Horizons getting help already.

And, you know, it went from three or four times a week to two times a week to once a week. And now we're twice a month. He goes and see somebody. And then if we need some extra time, we just have to call and she'll fit us in. Tell me about the foundation that you've started in Gillian's memory. So after the trial, I mean, I think there was always a thought in the back of our heads that, you know, at some point, we're going to try to turn this into something good. And so we started Gillian's Love Lives On Foundation.

It is to support victims of violence, any kind of violence. And our role is, so both of our companies are involved, we donate some profits and then we have fundraising activities. We're going to give it to organizations that do the work, but our role is going to be to collect the money and help other people that have gone through any kind of violence in the family. Once a quarter, we're going to change who we give the money to.

So, you know, it'll be rotating. It won't be the same organization all the time. That's really nice. Really nice. And I know that you want Jillian's passing also to raise awareness. I know you want women possibly, and even men, I'm sure, in some instances,

to watch this and realize maybe the signs of stalking and domestic violence, those types of things. Yeah. So there's a lot of things that don't really make sense to me. She was asking for help. And I, you know, I'm not blaming any person or department. I think there's a lot that needs to change in our country right now. You know, this is a young woman who is asking for help for five months.

Her apartment was broken into. Our well pump house was broken into. stalking at work and for some reason it wasn't taken seriously enough to do anything about it and that just doesn't make sense to me I just I mean I was watching

or listening and watching to a story that woman in New Jersey that you just did that last week and similar situation she was asking for help I don't remember how long and she and her boyfriend are dead and the killer killed themselves she couldn't get help either.

I don't understand. I mean, it's just there's something wrong when that kind of thing is not taken seriously enough for somebody to do something about it. Maybe it's just staffing. I don't know. But it just feels like something's deficient. The anger's grief has been compounded by the fact that they feel that John Patrick Shea's family knew that he was mentally unstable. and didn't take any type of action. And then there's anger about the man who drove Shay to the scene

not facing any type of criminal charges. One of the things that really bothers me right now is the fact that the driver got off scot-free. I just, in no world can I see where that's reasonable. You know, he didn't pull the trigger and maybe you don't charge him. but he didn't do anything about the situation until he got caught. So it just feels, the primary target is gone.

That was the most important thing. I get that. But I still don't understand why he gets off Scott Free. He had some of the $1,500. Yeah, he paid his rent with the blood money that he earned for our daughter's death and our grandsons attempted murder. And he made his rent payment with that money. $1,500, that's all, that it was worth.

And he testified at trial. Yes. He did testify at trial. And, you know, I believe that was probably pivotal, in Shea's decision to change his mind. But it still doesn't change the fact of what he did. I don't know, that's just one thing that really bothers me. It's like, you know, I'm, I've heard that if you're in a car when a murder is committed,

that you're just as culpable, but I don't know why it doesn't apply here, you know. Yeah, I understand what you're saying. I'm sure the prosecutor probably took his cooperation into consideration. I'm sure. Yeah. Ron and Beth Anger, I am so sorry for the loss of Jillian and everything that you've been through. And I can only hope that Aiden is able to heal and start to heal and move forward and grow up and have a good life. And I wish you all the very best.

Thank you. Thank you. We appreciate your time. Her love will live on in us and in him and in everybody else that she touched. John Patrick Shea will never leave prison alive. He's at the Kirkland Correctional Institution in South Carolina. And that's it for this episode of Crime Fix. I'm Ann Jeanette Levy.

Thanks so much for being with me. I'll see you back here next time.