TARRANT COUNTY, Texas — A Fort Worth man pleaded guilty to the 2017 capital murder of his estranged wife, the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s Office announced Monday.
After the guilty plea, 37-year-old Shalen Gardner agreed to serve a term of life in prison without the possibility of parole in the murder of Elaneia “Lana” Gardner, officials said.
In the early morning of Nov. 2, 2017, Lana Gardner was found dead by her two children in their duplex at Fairmount Avenue, according to court documents.
Police said Shalen Gardner sexually assaulted Lana before strangling her as the couple’s children slept in a nearby room.
Two months before the crime, Shalen Gardner served time in a substance abuse facility, and he and Lana separated and planned to divorce.
After his arrest for killing Lana, police said Shalen confessed to committing the crime and trying to cover it up.
Police said Shalen had a lengthy criminal history that included threatening family members, hitting the family’s dog with a hammer, a parole violation, unlawfully possessing a handgun and more.
During the sentencing phase following Shalen’s plea agreement Monday, a letter by Lana’s mother – which was directed toward Shalen – was read.
“We welcomed you into our family as one of our own. We accepted you as a family member,” the letter stated. “You decided to take away the very person who made life worth living. She loved you even when you were unlovable.”
It went onto say that the the children, who found their mother’s body before school that day, "will never forget how you took their mother’s life… God has taken over and we live wonderful lives. You may have taken their mother away, but you can never steal their joy, their spirit, their future or happiness or their hope.”
Tarrant County Assistant Criminal District Attorneys Allenna Bangs and Emily Kirby handled the capital murder case and plea. CDA Investigator Danny Nutt and Victim Advocate Clara Salvatierra helped work the case as well.
“Intimate Partner Violence is never limited to a single victim; the families of those suffering are so often left behind to pick up the pieces,” Bangs said. “Sentences like this are a reflection of how serious the Tarrant County community and the CDA’s office pursue IPV predators.”
