Alexis Sharkey-Robinault's death over the Thanksgiving weekend in 2020 was shocking enough, as she was only 26. New updates, however, reveal that her widowed husband and mother had a dispute when the former didn't claim her body for a funeral and the latter wanted to arrange for the burial. Sharkey's death remains a mystery if it was a murder, accidental overdose, or suicide.
She went missing on Thanksgiving weekend, following a fight with her mother Stacy Robinault. Several utility workers found her in a Houston park the Saturday of that weekend and called for emergency services, upon realizing that she wasn't moving or breathing. She was a popular Instagram influencer, who may have been drawn into a pyramid scheme or signed up willingly, with that career situation being ambiguous. Even though the coroner's office has ceded custody of her body to her family, we have not seen any updates on an autopsy report.
According to the DailySoapDish, contentions have grown between the Robinaults and Tom Sharkey. The irony, however, is not that he had his own plans for burying Sharkey; it was that he was listed as her next-of-kin and that he put in no effort to make those arrangements or cede the body to his in-laws. Tom admits that the death of his wife has broken him. Not helping is that he received a series of death threats with people blaming him for Sharkey's death. There are rumors that he is living in his car now, but it's not confirmed or denied. The coroner's office had to help the Robinaults gain custody of the body so that they could start making the arrangements and headway through the grieving process.
The situation is pretty tragic already, and the fighting has not helped with the grieving process or aftermath. The fact that Stacy Robinault had to fight to have her wishes respected is sobering. In all likelihood, Tom wasn't considering the consequences of not claiming his wife's body because he has been dealing with the grief. He and Sharkey were only married recently, and many couples don't try to file for life insurance at that point. One can only hope he and his in-laws can move forward now that the situation is resolved.
Related: DailySoapDish