Authorities Reject Rumors Linking Cudjoe Key Homicide To Key West Lighthouse Death
Bradley Shadduck charged with murder in wife’s death; investigators say apparent suicide was unrelated.
CUDJOE KEY, Fla. — Bradley Shawn Shadduck, a 56-year-old Cudjoe Key man and well-known musician, was arrested Friday on a murder charge after investigators said he fatally beat his wife, 62-year-old Lynne Alane Shadduck, inside their Lower Keys home.
Deputies with the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office responded to the couple’s Maracaibo Lane residence at approximately 5:51 a.m. May 28 after Bradley Shadduck went to a neighboring home wrapped in a blanket and asked residents to call 911 because there was “blood everywhere,” according to investigators.
When deputies arrived, they found Lynne Shadduck unconscious on the floor of a hallway with severe injuries to her face, head and hands. Investigators reported finding blood throughout the residence, along with signs of a violent struggle and household items scattered throughout the home.
Lynne Shadduck was transported to Lower Keys Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead at 9:40 a.m.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, Bradley Shadduck initially told deputies only that “this just happened” and offered few details about the circumstances leading to his wife’s injuries.
During a later interview, investigators said Shadduck stated the couple had been drinking at a restaurant before returning home and claimed he could not remember what occurred because he blacked out after drinking alcohol. Detectives said he later requested an attorney.
Authorities reviewed surveillance footage from neighboring homes that allegedly showed Shadduck at nearby residences during the early morning hours, including video of him asking a neighbor to call 911.
A search warrant executed at the residence documented blood throughout the home, broken household items, bloody towels and other evidence detectives said was consistent with a significant physical struggle.
Investigators also noted that Shadduck did not appear to have injuries despite evidence suggesting an extensive altercation had taken place inside the residence.
According to the arrest report, detectives believe Shadduck caused his wife’s death by striking her with multiple objects or instruments, resulting in fatal blunt-force trauma.
21-year old dies in apparent suicide at Key West Light House
In an unrelated incident late Thursday, a 21-year-old man died after apparently jumping from the Key West Lighthouse on Whitehead Street.
The death prompted widespread speculation locally and on social media that the man may have been related to either Bradley or Lynne Shadduck and that the two incidents were connected.
However, sources within the Monroe County State Attorney’s Office told Above the Fold that investigators have found no indication the cases are related and currently view them as separate incidents.
Shadduck was booked into the Key West Detention Center, where he remains. The investigation remains ongoing, and final autopsy results are pending.
Filings regarding the Cudjoe incident were not yet available on the Clerk of Courts website.
This is an evolving story. Watch this space.