Donna Sheppard’s Death Ruled A Suicide

By Matt Wiley

Just more than a month after her mysterious death, it has been determined that Donna Sheppard, the wife of former Freedom High principal David Sheppard, committed suicide.

According to the Hillsborough County Medical Examiner’s office, Donna Sheppard, 44, drowned herself in the family’s pool at their Lutz home on October 29. The autopsy report states that Mrs. Sheppard was found at the bottom of the six-foot pool with a weight-belt holding a 25-pound dumbbell strapped to her waist.

Sheppard was found deceased just four days after her husband David stepped down as principal of Freedom High (located off Commerce Park Blvd. in Tampa Palms), citing health reasons. On September 11, Tracey Seenath, 40, of The Hammocks community in New Tampa, was arrested on charges of aggravated stalking, a Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) report states.

One month after Sheppard became principal at Freedom in 2011, he ended an affair with Seenath that had gone on during their time working together at Paul R. Wharton High, located on BBD.

After ending the relationship, Seenath continued to harass Sheppard and his family, leaving notes on the family’s mailbox and vehicles and packages at their front door. She reportedly also sent thousands of emails to Sheppard, many threatening to expose their affair, and also made hundreds of phone calls and text messages to the couple’s cell phones.

Seenath, who has since been released, was arraigned on December 10 and the case is scheduled for a disposition hearing on January 23.

Hillsborough County Public Schools (HCPS) spokesperson Tanya Arja says that David Sheppard has been reassigned to Gaither High, located on N. Dale Mabry Hwy., where he will teach science, which was his background before becoming an administrator.

Arja says that due to the nature of the situation that unfolded, the HCPS human resources department made the decision that Sheppard will no longer be in a position to evaluate employees.

Seenath remains suspended without pay, Arja explains, and her future with HCPS will be determined by the outcome of her court case.