Community Corner

Westchase Remembers Kelley Allen

The swim coach was shot to death over the weekend.

News of Kelley Allen’s murder at his Oldsmar home has rocked Westchase, where residents are mourning the passing of the longtime swim coach.

Allen, 49, was shot to death Oct. 28, along with his live-in girlfriend, Imari Shibata, also 49. According to Pinellas County Sheriff’s deputies, Shibata’s 18-year-old son, Benjamin Bishop, used a 12-gauge shotgun to kill the couple.

Allen was a swim coach at the Westchase Swim and Tennis Club. He was one of the instructors for the Little Flippers class for children and was well thought of in the community.

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Since news of Allen's death broke, Westchase residents have been expressing their condolences on Westchase Patch and its Facebook page.

“Kelly was a gentle spirit who seemed to have found a special place in the world,” wrote Westchase Patch reader Janice Rush. “He infused drive in myself and my children. We will are saddened to know he was taken too soon.”

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“Such a tragedy,” agreed Ann Rhodes. “Coach Kelley you will be very much missed by many. Rest in peace.”

“Coach Kelley, you will be missed by 3 generations of the Bried family,” Mellisa Bried wrote. “This senseless tragic act of violence took you far too soon from your family, your friends, your swimmers, both current and former, and from the sport you so loved and coached with great dedication and hard work and caring.”

“Coach Kelley was a great coach and will be missed and remembered by myself and my two daughters on the swim team,” wrote Westchase Patch Facebook fan Chris Senior.

Sarah Snyder Tomacruz perhaps summed up the community's feelings the best by simply writing, “so sad.”

Do you have a memory about Kelley Allen to share? Photographs of him in action at the pool? Share them in the comments section and by uploading your photos to this story.


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