BEAUFORT, SC — A South Carolina man who stalked and ultimately gunned down his ex-girlfriend as she drove her 6-year-old son to school will spend the rest of his life behind bars.

John Patrick Shea, 29, pled guilty Wednesday morning to the 2023 murder of 25-year-old Jillian Angner, according to a news release issued by the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office.

The plea came on the second day of testimony in Beaufort County General Sessions Court, where prosecutors had already begun laying out what they called a “calculated and deeply disturbing” ambush.

According to WSAV, Shea apologized in court before entering the plea, addressing Angner’s grieving family as he admitted to the killing and to multiple related charges, including the attempted murder of her child.

Circuit Court Judge S. Bryan Doby sentenced Shea to life in prison for murder, the maximum allowed under South Carolina law. He also received the maximum penalties for attempted murder, discharging a firearm into an occupied vehicle, and possession of a weapon during commission of a violent crime.

The prosecution, led by Hunter Swanson of the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office, detailed a months-long campaign of harassment following the end of Shea and Angner’s relationship in fall 2022.

According to a news release from the Solicitor’s Office, Angner had reported multiple incidents of stalking and home break-ins—allegedly at the hands of Shea—in the lead-up to the shooting.

“This was a calculated and deeply disturbing act of violence,” Swanson said. “Today’s conviction cannot restore Jillian’s life, but it brings some measure of justice to her friends, family, and young son. I hope this helps them heal.”

The ambush unfolded just after dawn on March 2, 2023. Angner had just left her Bluffton-area home in a Jeep Cherokee with her son in the back seat when Shea—lying in wait—opened fire. Authorities say he struck her multiple times, including a fatal shot to the neck. She was placed on life support but never regained consciousness and died five months later on August 5, 2023.

The child escaped without injury.

According to officials, the boy crawled from the vehicle and hid in a nearby marsh. He later gave a forensic interview that corroborated investigators’ timeline and helped identify critical elements of the crime scene.

The investigation, led by the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office, revealed an elaborate and disturbing premeditation. According to the Solicitor’s Office, Shea orchestrated the ambush with the assistance of a friend who unknowingly drove him to Angner’s neighborhood under the false impression they were conducting a drug deal. Nearby residents reported hearing gunfire, and surveillance footage from a Ring camera captured a Ford F-150 in the vicinity at the time of the attack.

The truck’s driver cooperated fully with law enforcement, later reenacting the incident for detectives and confirming Shea’s intent.

Shea was arrested days later in the parking lot of his apartment complex, where officers found him loading suitcases into his vehicle, apparently preparing to flee. A search of his residence uncovered deeply disturbing items: defaced photographs of Angner, a voodoo doll, tarot cards, satanic literature, and a makeshift shrine. Investigators also seized a handwritten list cataloging Shea’s past romantic encounters dating back to 2008, alongside notes about each woman.

Additional evidence included a letter from Shea’s mother, in which she expressed concern over his escalating substance abuse and violent behavior—citing a previous incident where Shea allegedly threatened to kill his own brother.

Swanson called seven witnesses on the first day of trial before Shea entered his plea. His admission came before the prosecution could resume its case on Wednesday morning.