A jury found Shannon Wright King guilty of first-degree murder this past Friday in the stabbing death of Jessica Steigelman, who was killed in 2024 in the parking lot of a Planet Fitness in Ocoee. Bystanders had pulled King off Steigelman and pinned him down before officers arrived, according to police accounts of the attack.
Ocoee police officers responded to the Planet Fitness at 10908 W. Colonial Drive after reports of a stabbing, according to the Orange Observer. A witness told investigators he saw King stabbing Steigelman with a large kitchen knife inside her Hyundai Tucson, and that witness, along with another person who was called for help, managed to get King off Steigelman and hold him down until police arrived. A separate account from the Daily Moth similarly described the witnesses restraining King after watching him actively stab her.
Officers found a large, bloody kitchen knife with a bent blade underneath the rear tire of Steigelman's Tucson. Police performed CPR on Steigelman, who had stab wounds to her back, chest, throat and arms, before she was transported to Health Central Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. King was then arrested on first-degree murder and stalking charges.
A Two-and-a-Half-Year Case
The guilty verdict came Friday, Oct. 30, capping a prosecution that stretched well over two years from the night of the killing. Ocoee Police Chief Vincent L. Ogburn credited the department's investigators and the prosecution team with methodically building the case against King, the Orange Observer's report notes.
“Over the past two-and-a-half years, our officers, detectives and crime scene investigators worked tirelessly with prosecutors to build a strong case,” Ogburn said, according to the outlet's report. He added that the police response reflected a team effort to ensure justice was served.
Family Closure and Sentencing Questions
Ogburn also said he hoped the verdict would bring closure to Steigelman's family and friends. King now will serve three-and-one-half years for his crime.
Steigelman's death and the gym parking lot attack drew attention well beyond Ocoee at the time, with outlets including the Daily Moth covering the case as it unfolded. More than two years later, the conviction closes out a prosecution that police say relied heavily on witnesses who intervened in the moment and the physical evidence recovered at the scene.
