Man charged with murder after girlfriend found dead in St. Pete garage

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) — A man was charged with murder in his girlfriend’s death Wednesday after she was found hanging in 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.

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.”

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

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.

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