Bluffton man facing trial after 2023 shooting death of beloved pharmacy worker
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The murder of Okatie’s Jillian Angner
A Bluffton man faces a murder trial for what prosecutors called a calculated execution of his ex-girlfriend, a beloved employee of a local pharmacy who was fatally shot as she drove her child to school in early 2023.
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Beginning Tuesday morning, a Bluffton man will stand trial for a 2023 roadside shooting that ultimately killed his ex-girlfriend, a beloved employee at a local pharmacy.
John Patrick Shea, 29, faces four felony charges including murder, attempted murder and discharging a firearm into a vehicle. If convicted, he would face a prison sentence ranging from 30 years to life and would be eligible for the death penalty under South Carolina law.
Police say Shea opened fire the morning of March 2, 2023, on a red Jeep driven by Okatie resident Jillian Angner, 25, as she took her 6-year-old son to school. She was struck by multiple bullets, leaving her with critical injuries that led to her death about five months later. Her son was not injured in the shooting.
Rescue personnel arrived shortly after the shooting around 7:45 a.m. near Angner’s home on Harrison Island Road, an offshoot of Pinckney Colony Road that stretches toward the Colleton River. She was taken to a Savannah-area hospital, where she “fought hard” for five months before succumbing to her injuries, her coworkers said.
Born in New Jersey before finding a home in the Lowcountry, Angner graduated from Bluffton High School and went on to earn her nursing license, according to her obituary.
She was a certified technician at the Ulmer Family Pharmacy & Wellness Center in the Bluffton area, where coworkers and customers alike remembered her for her hospitable spirit and bubbly personality.
“We will miss her smile and her daily dedication to help our business grow,” pharmacy co-owners Cindy and Cathy Ulmer wrote in a social media post after Angner was taken off life support Aug. 5, 2023. “She loved helping people and taking care of them. We would not be the business we are today without her.”
About one week after the shooting, Beaufort County deputies arrested Shea, who had dated Angner for a short time in 2022. He was charged with two counts of attempted murder, later facing a murder charge following Angner’s death.
Shea was denied bond and remained in jail for over two years as he awaited trial. He was indicted by a grand jury in May 2024 and pleaded not guilty, according to Beaufort County judicial records.
He appeared Tuesday morning in the Beaufort County Courthouse wearing khakis and a gray button-up shirt as he conferred with his defense attorney.
Jury selection in the murder trial finished Monday. Opening statements were expected to begin Tuesday morning.
This is developing story and more details from the courtroom will be reported as the proceedings continue.
This story was originally published June 24, 2025 at 10:59 AM.
