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Alexis' mother, Stacey Robinault, said police had recently informed her of Tom's pending arrest. They then notified her of Tom's suicide.
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"I'm super sorry for Tom's family," said Robinault. "It's just such senseless loss that has happened with my daughter and then him. I'm just sorry for all of that. It's been a horrific year."
She expected he'd be brought back to Houston to finally face a judge. Robinault said his suicide surprised her grieving family.
"We definitely would give our condolences to Tom's family because they're so innocent in all of this. I'm sure they're very sad, especially for his daughter, for how that went down. I just really thought that it would end with a trial and that he would come in and make his case. He chose not go that way," said Robinault. "I will admit. We have felt that Tom was guilty of this from pretty much the beginning. Loss of life is never good. I do feel like in a way he did serve himself justice."
In an interview with ABC13, Robinault called Houston Police Department homicide investigators consummate professionals. She thanked them for their work on the case.
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Robinault said 10 months after her daughter's death she still hasn't been able to retrieve Alexis' belongings including clothing, family heirlooms and her three cats -- Asia, Jack, and Smokey. Alexis documented her pets with social media posts on Instagram.
Robinault said she asked Tom for her daughter's items in the weeks after she was found dead. She said when he left Texas, she was told by apartment management that Tom's friends cleaned out the couple's west Houston apartment.
"It was heartbreaking when everything settled and it was time for us to get her belongings, the heirlooms that she had ... that were our family's. Just to have a touch of her as an adult. Nothing. It's all gone. It was all taken from the apartment. We asked Tom for it many times. He would tell us, 'I'll get it to you. I'm going through it.' Then he ghosted us. We have no idea where any of it's at," said Robinault. "We begged him for her cats because they were like her children. We just wanted to have something. We just wanted to have something of hers."
Robinault is asking anyone with knowledge on where the items and the animals went to reach out to her family. She'd love to have them back in her possession to remember her daughter.
In the lengthy conversation with ABC13's Steve Campion, Robinault opened up about Tom's bizarre behavior during and after Alexis' disappearance.
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"We had red flags from the beginning because she went 'missing' on Friday," said Robinault. "We never heard from Tom until Saturday evening. That was after her friends called the police and he was questioned. He knew we were going to hear about it, then he called us. He never communicated with us until, kind of, his feet were against the fire. They were ugly conversations. Not of .. 'I'm so sorry and I miss her so much. Condolences and what can we do.' It was nothing like you would expect from someone that was desperate about the loss of his wife. Every conversation was how horrible she was and how wonderful he was, that this is her fault in a way."
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Robinault said the husband refused to claim his wife's body from the medical examiner's office, forcing her family to wait weeks to claim Alexis' body.
"I don't understand. I don't understand why you would ever leave your loved one in there any longer than they have to be," said Robinault. "It was so bizarre. It was so disheartening. It was a double hit. We're dealing with the loss of our daughter. We're dealing with a son-in-law that is doing everything opposite of showing that he's sad that she's gone and that he wishes we could figure out what happened. It was very difficult, very challenging, and extremely excruciating."
Robinault said since her daughter's murder she's read books and done research on domestic violence. She never experienced it herself. She said now looking back at Tom Sharkey's behavior toward her daughter he showed "incredibly controlling attributes."
HPD said this murder case will likely be closed soon. Tom Sharkey was the one and only suspect.
For additional coverage on this story, follow Steve Campion on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.