Man who found influencer’s naked body shares grisly details of her mystery death

Her body was found naked on the side of a road, just 5kms from her home. Now grim details from her mystery death have emerged.

The naked body of an influencer found dead on the side of a road was initially mistaken for a possible mannequin, according to one of the men who made the gruesome discovery.

John Richardson, who works for the sanitation department in the US city of Houston, said he received a concerning call from a colleague driving a rubbish truck about 5km from 26-year-old Alexis Sharkey’s apartment.

“He said he thought he’d saw a body or a mannequin. He wasn’t too sure,” Mr Richardson told news station KHOU.

“He wasn’t going to stop because he was scared or whatever the case may be, so he asked me to come out there to check it out.”

Mr Richardson said he met up with his colleague and the pair drove over together to check it out.

“When we were driving, we could see the feet,” Mr Richardson said.

“We got out and looked, and there it was. She was laying there deceased, no clothes on.”

Mr Richardson said he was unaware the body was the missing influencer, who had vanished over Thanksgiving weekend after reportedly having a fight with her husband, Tom Sharkey.

“I just got on the phone, and I called 911,” he said.

RELATED: Influencer’s naked body found on road ‘hours after argument’

Influencer Alexis Sharkey was found dead on side of the road on November 27. Picture: Instagram/AlexisSharkey

He said he’s still haunted more than a week later by the grisly scene.

“It plays back in my head. It’s been playing back in my head every day,” Mr Richardson said.

No cause of death has been released in Ms Sharkey’s case, but her family has said they believe it was “absolutely foul play”.

“The way in which she was found – my child would never do that to herself,” her mum Stacey Robinault told KPRC.

“That doesn’t even make sense. That is absolutely foul play.”

It’s unclear whether there are any persons of interest in the case.

Sharkey’s husband has denied any marriage rift and claimed that he’s co-operating with detectives.

He said he feels confident the Houston Police Department is “going to find everyone that was involved”.

It had previously been reported that Ms Sharkey’s body had no visible injuries, with the coroner currently conducting a full autopsy in a bid to uncover what happened.

The influencer had almost 24,000 followers on Instagram.

She married her husband last December before moving to Houston in January – with Mr Sharkey paying tribute to his wife on social media, calling “her the most amazing woman”.

Sharing pictures of her in her wedding dress, he wrote: “Never seen or felt such beauty! You are my world!

“You made life so incredible! Made sense of my existence! My purpose! And showed me how to truly love!”

Her husband has disputed claims there were problems in their marriage after his wife went missing following an argument at home. Picture: Instagram/AlexisSharkey

Her mother previously announced her daughter’s body had been found.

She wrote: “It’s with deeply broken hearts that Mike and I want to let you all know that Lexi’s body has been found.

“We cannot begin to thank you all for your love and the kind words you’ve extended to our family!”

Speaking before the grim discovery, Ms Robinault told Eyewitness News friends had last heard from Ms Sharkey at 6pm, before calls to her phone went straight to voicemail.

“[Thanksgiving] was a busy day on her end and our end and so it was just one of those passing, type of ‘Love you’ things,” she told reporters.

“Then Friday … honestly, Friday got away. [It was a] busy day. We never talked, and then she went missing Friday night and I have not seen her or heard from her since.”

Ms Robinault also told outlet KPRC 2 that there was an argument and Ms Sharkey left and didn’t take her car.

Her family have claimed her death is ‘absolutely foul play’. Picture: Instagram

An initial Facebook post about Ms Sharkey’s disappearance had been shared thousands of times on the social media platform.

The post read: “Please share this post! My daughter, Alexis Sharkey, is missing! No one has heard from her for over 24 hours and the police are involved.

“She has lived in Houston, Texas since January and that was where she was last seen.

“Please help us find her and bring her home safely! We are so very desperate! Please share!”

The last post Ms Sharkey made – a photo of herself in a black bikini taken in a bathroom mirror in Mexico – has been flooded with messages of condolence and shock.

“So sad to just hear about this,” one person wrote.

“You were a beautiful inspiration even just through social media,” another said.

“RIP beautiful,” another said.

Parts of this article originally appeared on The NY Post and was reproduced with permission