The Tim and Lee-Ann Shannon case ended with Timothy Nathaniel Shannon, a 34-year-old Hart, Michigan city councilman, pleading no contest to second-degree murder for drowning his 34-year-old wife, Lee-Ann Elizabeth Shannon, in their bathtub on December 29, 2012. He was sentenced on July 15, 2013, to a minimum of 13½ years and a maximum of 75 years in prison.1MLive. Ex-Hart City Councilman Sentenced
What Happened on December 29, 2012
Shannon called 911 at about 11:28 a.m. from the couple’s home at 214 Courtland Street in Hart. He told the dispatcher his wife had “passed out drunk in the bathtub and I think she drowned,” and said he had already drained the water, which he described as “lukewarm.”2Shoreline Media. 911 Call vs. Detective Testimony: Timothy Shannon’s Story Changed Oceana County Sheriff’s deputies responded and found Lee-Ann dead. An autopsy confirmed drowning as the cause of death.3CBS News Detroit. Ex-City Council Member Enters Plea in Wife’s Bathtub Drowning
The scene was initially treated as an accident. It did not stay that way.
How the Case Was Reopened
Within days, Lee-Ann’s relatives contacted Hart Police Chief Dan Leimback and told him the circumstances “weren’t adding up.”4Shoreline Media. Timothy Shannon Suspected of Drowning Wife Lee-Ann Shannon in Bathtub, Arraigned Because Shannon sat on the city council, Leimback asked the Oceana County Sheriff’s Office to take over the investigation to avoid any conflict of interest.5MLive. Ex-Hart City Official Timothy Shannon Pleads No Contest to Second-Degree Murder
On the evening of January 8, 2013, Oceana County detectives interviewed Shannon, and his account shifted. According to later testimony from Detectives Shane Hasty and Mark Schneider, Shannon said he and Lee-Ann had argued about her drinking, their marriage, and his request for a divorce. He said she hit him and pulled him toward the tub, and he described a “teeter-totter” motion in which most of his weight was over the edge with his feet in the air. He then held her underwater for about three minutes, until he realized she was dead.6MLive. Police: Hart City Councilman Said He Held Wife Underwater
By his own account, Shannon then sat back, changed out of his wet clothes, put them in the washing machine, drained the tub, and waited some time before calling 911 to report the death as an accident.6MLive. Police: Hart City Councilman Said He Held Wife Underwater He was taken into custody that evening.4Shoreline Media. Timothy Shannon Suspected of Drowning Wife Lee-Ann Shannon in Bathtub, Arraigned
The Affair and the Motive
Investigators learned that Shannon had been having an affair with a woman in her 30s who rented a room in the Shannon home. Oceana County Sheriff’s Lt. Craig Mast said she had a “critical role” in the couple’s pending divorce. The relationship had gone on for months. In May 2012, police had responded to a domestic assault call at the house involving Shannon and the tenant, who was arrested for allegedly hitting him with her purse.7MLive. Police: Hart City Councilman Accused of Drowning Wife
Police said Lee-Ann was expected to move out of the family home the day she died so the other woman could move in.8CBS News Detroit. City Council Member Faces Trial in Wife’s Drowning The woman was not identified publicly, was not a suspect, was interviewed by police, and left the Oceana County area.7MLive. Police: Hart City Councilman Accused of Drowning Wife The couple had two children, a son and a daughter, who were three and four years old at the time of their mother’s death.
The Charges and the No-Contest Plea
Shannon was arraigned on January 9, 2013, in Oceana County’s 78th District Court on an open murder charge, which under Michigan law could support a conviction for first-degree murder, second-degree murder, or manslaughter.4Shoreline Media. Timothy Shannon Suspected of Drowning Wife Lee-Ann Shannon in Bathtub, Arraigned Bond was denied.9CBS News Detroit. City Council Member Charged in Wife’s Drowning At a preliminary examination on January 22, 2013, Judge Kevin Drake bound the case over to the 27th Circuit Court.2Shoreline Media. 911 Call vs. Detective Testimony: Timothy Shannon’s Story Changed Shannon resigned his council seat after his arrest.10MLive. Hart City Council Successor Elected
On June 3, 2013, Shannon pleaded no contest to second-degree murder before Oceana County 27th Circuit Judge Terrence R. Thomas. The open murder charge was dismissed as part of the plea.5MLive. Ex-Hart City Official Timothy Shannon Pleads No Contest to Second-Degree Murder A no-contest plea is not an admission of guilt but is treated as one for sentencing. Defense attorney Doug Springstead sought the plea in part because Shannon also faced a civil lawsuit and wanted to avoid speaking about the killing on the record.3CBS News Detroit. Ex-City Council Member Enters Plea in Wife’s Bathtub Drowning Pleading to second-degree murder also eliminated the possibility of a first-degree premeditated murder conviction, which would have carried a mandatory sentence of life without parole.
The Sentence
At sentencing on July 15, 2013, Michigan’s guidelines calculated a minimum-sentence range of 12 to 20 years. Oceana County Prosecutor Joseph Bizon asked for a 20-year minimum, calling Shannon “deceitful throughout this entire process,” saying he took “great steps to cover up his actions,” and showing “little or no remorse.” Bizon called the killing a “crime of opportunity” and said Shannon’s accident claim was “bogus.”1MLive. Ex-Hart City Councilman Sentenced
Judge Thomas imposed a minimum of 13½ years and a maximum of 75 years, closer to the low end of the guidelines. The judge cited the cost to taxpayers of housing a state prison inmate as one reason for the lower minimum.1MLive. Ex-Hart City Councilman Sentenced
Lee-Ann’s mother, Irene Chaffin, told the court her daughter “was a really bright young woman. She was so true to herself and true to her values,” and said, “There will never be a painless moment for me because she was just my beautiful daughter.” Lee-Ann’s cousin, Deborah Lariviere, read a statement from Lee-Ann’s brother, Tom Chaffin: “These scars run very deep and will never heal. He destroyed two families simultaneously and one of them was his own.” Lariviere added that Shannon’s “biggest mistake was underestimating Lee-Ann’s family.”11Shoreline Media. Judge Orders 13.5-Year Prison Sentence in Shannon Murder Case
Shannon pushed back on the claim that he lacked remorse, telling the court he wished “almost every day that I could undo what happened” and that he had “cried himself to sleep.”11Shoreline Media. Judge Orders 13.5-Year Prison Sentence in Shannon Murder Case
Parole Timeline
Under the sentence, the Michigan Department of Corrections sets Shannon’s specific release date within the 13½-to-75-year range.12Holland Sentinel. Man Gets Up to 75 Years in Bathtub Drowning He would first become eligible for parole consideration around 2026.