‘Heartbreaking’: Woman found hanging in St. Pete home was murdered, police say

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A woman found hanging inside the garage of a St. Petersburg home last week was murdered, according to newly-released court documents.

The St. Petersburg Police Department searched the home 59-year-old Katrin Simpson shared with her boyfriend Gregory Shinn, 48. Shinn is named in the investigation, but has not been charged with a crime or publicly identified as a suspect by police.

On Feb. 20, Simpson’s boyfriend found her hanging in the garage and went to a neighbor’s house to ask them to call 911. When asked why Shinn didn’t call 911 himself, the neighbor said he told her he “did not have a phone,” court documents state.

Shinn told police he was in the bedroom watching YouTube videos and went to check on his girlfriend because he hadn’t heard from her in a while.

When paramedics arrived, they found the victim with a black wire wrapped around her neck, connected to a beam in the garage. She was determined to have several injuries, including cuts on her face, hand and wrist, broken ribs, a neck fracture and a brain hemorrhage.

According to police, Shinn said she was suicidal in the days leading up to her death. However, investigators believe the injuries “were not consistent with the allegation that the victim hung herself.”

“Due to the severity of the Victim’s injuries and them not aligning with typical suicide by
hanging this investigation was deemed suspicious death,” documents stated.

“It’s just heartbreaking,” said Johanna Monighan, a friend of Simpson. “She was a veteran, a disabled veteran, so she had a lot of courage, was a strong person and it’s so hard.”

Friends remember Simpson for her bravery, strong faith and generousity.

“She made food for me,” Monighan said. “She just was somebody who just appreciated you, who said I love you.”

“Happy spirit,” Stacey McKnight said. “Very happy spirit about herself, but the last days that I did see her she was sad as if something was going on.”

Shinn was charged with domestic battery toward the same victim two times over the last three years, according to police. To explain her injuries, Shinn reportedly told them she hit a door with a sledgehammer while they were working in the garage, causing it to fall onto her.

Police sought a search warrant to locate the wire used in the hanging, tools, home cameras, the victim’s diary, DNA evidence and “any phone or electronic device capable of broadcasting YouTube to confirm or deny Gregory Shinn’s timeline.”

According to the warrant, investigators were looking for the diary, titled “My Feelings,” because a neighbor told the victim to document the alleged domestic abuse.

Police seized the following items on Feb. 22, according to the search warrant: