The Murder ofAdrienne Shelly

By: Aaron Krein

BiographyAdrienne Levine was born in Queens, New York on June

24th, 1966. She began acting at the age of ten and made her debut in a production of “Annie” at Jericho High School in Jericho, New York. She went for a major in film at Boston University but dropped out her junior year. She started auditioning for roles with her stage name, Adrienne Shelly. Shelly made her film debut in the 1989 independent comedy “The Unbelievable Truth” and followed with an adult comedy “Trust” the year after. “Trust” was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. In the 1990’s, along with acting she started directing and writing screenplays for films. She won the Film Discovery Award at the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival and Best Director at the Tróia International Film Festival for the 1999 flick “I’ll Take You There.” She made numerous television appearances of shows like “Law and Order,” “Oz,” “Homicide: Life on the Street,” and “Early Edition.” In 2006, Shelly wrote, directed, produced, costume designed, and played a supporting role in “Waitress.” It starred Kerri Russell, Nathan Fillion, Cheryl Hines, and Andy Griffith. Adrienne played Dawn, a co-worker of the protagonist at a diner. The movie was going to be premiered at the upcoming Sundance Film Festival the following year.

DeathOn November 1st, 2006, Shelly was found dead at 5:45 PM in her

Manhattan West Village apartment. She was found hung from a bed sheet on a shower rod by her husband, Andrew Ostroy. It was first believed to be suicide. Her husband dropped her off at the apartment that same day about eight hours earlier.

The next day, Shelly’s autopsy was completed. The New York State Police Apartment found sneaker prints inside the bathtub that didn’t match Shelly’s shoes. Her husband also claimed her wallet contained money that went missing.

MurderSix days after Shelly was found dead, Diego Pillco, a

construction worker confessed to the police he killed her and was arrested. Pillco was an illegal immigrant from Ecuador that was working below her apartment. He claims Shelly complained about the noise and killed her because he was “having a bad day.”

Two years later, Pillco’s guilty plea was released. He admitted that the motive he told police the day he was arrested was false. Shelly actually caught Pillco stealing money from her apartment out of the blue. She tried to call the police but Pillco took the phone from her hands and covered her mouth from screaming. He strangled her with a bed sheet around her neck. Believing she was dead, he hung her from the shower rod in her bathroom to make it look like a suicide. The coroner for this case confirmed that Shelly was still alive when she was hung. On March 6th, 2008, Pillco was sentenced to 25 years in prison without bail.

Aftermath

The Adrienne Shelly Garden was established at Abingdon Square Park in New York City. The site faces the apartment building where she died.

Two years later, Ostroy produced the flick, “Serious Moonlight.” The screenplay was written by Shelly before her death. It was directed by her “Waitress” co-star Cheryl Hines. It starred Meg Ryan, Timothy Hutton, Kristen Bell, and Justin Long and was released on December 9th. The movie achieved minor success and received negative reviews.

Shelly’s husband Ostroy founded the Adrienne Shelly Foundation in her honor. The foundation gives out scholarships to inspiring female filmmakers.

Her last film, “Waitress,” was released on May 25th 2007 after the distribution rights were sold to Fox Searchlight Pictures. The film received critical acclaim and several accolades.

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