DCF draws criticism from source close to family in Lehigh murder-suicide

LEHIGH ACRES, Fla.  It was a “very dark, very dreary” place.

That’s how a source close to those involved in a murder-suicide last month described the Fourth Street Southwest home where Fort Myers High School student Heidi Shinn lived. Shinn, 18, was killed two weeks ago in the murder-suicide that took place there.

“The few windows that were there were always closed,” the source said. “There were very, very few lights.”

The Lee County Sheriff’s Office was called to the home 58 times in the three years leading up to the shooting for complaints like shots fired and disturbances. Jonathan Jensen, whom the sheriff’s office identified as the trigger man in the fatal shooting, made a habit of stepping outside the home and randomly firing his gun, neighbors said.

The Florida Department of Children and Families was also called numerous times over the past decade, the source said, but it’s unclear if they ever responded.

The source believes the DCF didn’t do enough to try to prevent Shinn’s death.

“They failed Heidi, and they should’ve done a lot more,” the source said.

The DCF would only say they’ve opened a child protective investigation and declined further comment, saying any information regarding prior involvement with the family is confidential.

Shinn lived in the home for about four years with Jensen and his wife, Tiffany Jensen, the source said. All three died in the murder-suicide.

The Jensens weren’t foster parents to Shinn — they were non-relative caregivers, the Children’s Network of Southwest Florida said.

Neighbors knew of other children who had lived at the home, and the source close to the family said they were all home at the time of the shooting.

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