An active-duty Marine assigned to Naval Air Station Pensacola was arrested Wednesday and is being considered a primary suspect in the alleged murder of an escort.
Willie Ellington, 20, was taken into custody Dec. 18 by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office on charges of first-degree premeditated murder and possession of child pornography after ECSO deputies, assisted by police officers from Mobile, Alabama, located the deceased remains of Tshey Bennett in a pond in a Mobile neighborhood, according to AL.com.
Investigators stated that Bennett, who was first reported as missing on Dec. 14, met Ellington at the Sweet Dreams Inn in northwest Florida shortly before her disappearance, according to the report.
Shortly after locating Bennett’s remains, the investigating team found and arrested Ellington in Opelika, Alabama.
“Due to the suspicious circumstances surrounding [Bennett’s] disappearance, investigators have been working the case as a potential homicide,” the Sheriff’s office stated in a release.
Additional information was not yet made available.
Inquiries regarding Ellington’s service record were not available as of press time.
J.D. Simkins is the executive editor of Military Times and Defense News, and a Marine Corps veteran of the Iraq War.
