A Deltona woman who confessed to stabbing and strangling a missing neighbor, has been charged with second degree, Volusia County deputies said.
Angela Stoldt, 40, was taken into custody yesterday afternoon after investigators recovered the remains of James Sheaffer, 36, who went missing on April 2.
Sheaffer, a limousine driver and a neighbor of Stoldt and who resided at 1610 Horsesshoe Terrace in Deltona, was reported missing by his father on April 4. According to investigators, Sheaffer was last seen after he returned in the early morning hours of April 3, from driving a client to Tampa and then dropped off his limousine at his work place in Deltona. He was later seen getting into someone’s vehicle, and his personal vehicle was left behind at his job. Sheaffer failed to return to work for his next assignment and hadn’t been seen since.
Investigators who canvassed Sheaffer’s neighborhood looking for clues to his disappearance had talked to Stoldt on more than one occasion. She acknowledged being friends with Sheaffer and said she handled some of his financial affairs. She told investigators that she last saw Sheaffer on April 5, even though family members hadn’t seen him since a few days earlier.
On Sunday, investigators received a 911 call around 12:41 a.m. from a relative of Stoldt’s who said she was acting suicidal and had admitted to family members to killing Sheaffer. The caller told the Sheriff’s Office’s telecommunicator that Stoldt was hugging her children and saying goodbye. “Why’s she hugging her kids goodbye?” the dispatcher asked. “Because she came to the house and she told my parents that she committed a crime and that she’s being investigated for it.” When deputies arrived at the house, they learned that the family was referring to the Sheaffer disappearance.
Stoldt initially declined to talk to Sheriff’s investigators on Sunday, and she was taken in for a mental health evaluation because of her suicidal statements.
Investigators obtained a court order to search Stoldt’s house where they located evidence indicating a crime had been committed there. She subsequently confessed to stabbing and strangling Sheaffer and then disposing of his body. Stoldt then led investigators to a location where human remains were recovered. Sheaffer’s phone, identification and clothing consistent with Sheaffer’s work attire were also recovered, investigators said.
On Tuesday, investigators with the Sheriff’s Office’s Major Case Unit obtained a warrant charging Stoldt with 2nd degree murder, abuse of a dead human body and tampering with physical evidence. She was taken into custody Tuesday afternoon.
Stoldt was taken into custody on Tuesday afternoon and transported to the Volusia County Branch Jail in Daytona Beach, where she will be held without bond.
