A Maryland resident is currently in custody after being accused of murdering the mother of his child, concealing her body in a container filled with concrete, and constructing a wall to hide his crime. Alexis Shuler, a 29-year-old mother of three, was reported missing to the Washington, D.C., police by her family on Jan. 14 when they lost contact with her for several days. The family suspected she was with her intermittent boyfriend, Devontae Gray, 30, at his residence in Capitol Heights, Maryland.
When law enforcement officers visited Gray’s home, they detected an unusual odor but found no evidence of foul play or any trace of Shuler, according to a probable cause arrest affidavit. However, subsequent surveillance footage confirmed Shuler’s presence in the house, as revealed by Prince George’s County police Chief Malik Aziz during a press briefing on Tuesday.
The surveillance video also reportedly captured Gray entering and exiting the house on Jan. 12 and 13, carrying construction materials such as cement, cinder blocks, chemicals, and large storage containers. A search warrant executed on the house on Sunday led to the discovery of a newly built wall. Upon breaking through the wall, police found a container under a stairwell with Shuler’s body encased in concrete and covered with a significant amount of soil and hay, as per the affidavit. The cause of death was determined to be a gunshot wound.
The recovery of Shuler’s body took approximately three hours. “Evidentially some major construction work was going on inside that house,” Aziz commented during the press conference.
Aziz also revealed that Gray confessed to killing Shuler during an argument. The couple shared a child, and Shuler had two other children. Shuler’s family, who were present at the press conference, issued a statement.
“Although the outcome is not what we had hoped, we take solace in knowing that Alexis has been found, and we now have the closure to lay her to rest in peace,” her cousin Derrick Felder said. “Alexis will be deeply missed, and there is a void in our family that can never be filled. Her three children will no longer feel their mother’s embrace or hear their mother’s voice.”
Gray is currently held at the Prince George’s County Jail on a murder charge without bond. His next court appearance is scheduled for Feb. 19.