‘Mercilessly beaten’ Kentucky woman dies. Search underway for accused suspect
The search is on for a homicide suspect after a woman was severely beaten and disfigured in a domestic violence attack that caused her brain to swell, according to the Marion County sheriff’s office and the victim’s family.
Pamela Renee Anderson, 57, died Wednesday at University of Kentucky Chandler Hospital, according to the Fayette County coroner’s office. She was assaulted early Sunday morning in her Marion County home, according to the coroner’s office.
The assault was believed to be domestic violence involving 58-year-old Edward F. Shewmaker, according to Marion County Sheriff Jimmy Clements. Shewmaker and Anderson were in an “off-and-on relationship,” Clements said. A murder warrant was issued for Shewmaker’s arrest, Clements said.
Michele Keegan, Anderson’s sister, said on Facebook that Anderson was “brutally and mercilessly beat.” She urged her sister’s friends to watch for Shewmaker and share information with others to help find him.
“Picture [Pam’s] beautiful smiling face,” she said in another post. “Now imagine that face beaten beyond recognition. A swollen, bulging, bleeding, purple mess. A broken nose, eyes swollen shut. A fractured skull behind which her amazing brain was bleeding and swelling uncontrollably.”
Furthermore, some of Anderson’s hair was “torn out by the roots in her killer’s attempt to humiliate her. Because simply killing her was not enough,” Keegan said on social media.
Anderson was a respiratory therapist at Lake Cumberland Regional Hospital’s cancer center, according to her Facebook. She studied at St. Catharine College.
Authorities are unsure of Shewmaker’s location, Clements said. Shewmaker has connections in multiple states, he said, and the sheriff’s office is investigating several different leads.
Shewmaker was described as a 5-foot-6-inches tall, 170-pound man with short brown hair, a light complexion, green eyes and no facial hair, according to Clements.
“We’re hoping that with enough eyes out in the state, and anywhere for that matter, we’ll turn over enough stones over that we’ll find him,” Clements said.
He’s believed to be driving a dark blue 2016 Nissan Frontier crew cab pickup truck with Kentucky license plate AFK 728, Clements said.
This story was originally published October 2, 2020 at 11:05 AM.