Deputies: Hernando teacher was beaten to death

Hernando County high school teacher Lee Anne Shoeman was beaten to death last weekend during an argument with her live-in boyfriend, deputies said Friday.

Jerome Sheridan, 49, who was later arrested in Hillsborough County, has been transferred to the Hernando County Detention Center, officials said. He faces a first-degree murder charge in the slaying.

Shoeman and Sheridan, who were in a romantic relationship for several years, had a verbal dispute early Sunday inside their home at 1267 Meredith Drive, Spring Hill, deputies said.

During the argument, Sheridan became enraged and struck Shoeman several times with his fists and objects within the home, deputies said. Shoeman, 55, died from the beating, deputies said.

Until Friday, Sheriff Al Nienhuis publicly described the manner of death as only “homicidal violence.”

Shoeman’s body was discovered Monday morning after she failed to report to work at Brooksville’s Central High School, deputies said. Authorities began looking for Sheridan, who was located about 11 hours later by Hillsborough sheriff’s deputies in the parking lot of Westfield Citrus Park mall.

Deputies said Sheridan was in his car attempting to cut his wrists. He was treated at a Tampa hospital for self-inflicted wounds and interviewed by investigators after he was medically cleared. He had been at the Hillsborough County Jail until his transfer to the Brooksville facility.

Hernando court records show Shoeman filed a domestic violence injunction against Sheridan in December 1997.