Jackie Shroyer: Formally charged with husband's murder in Angola
Beau Shroyer spent the last few years spreading the word of God in Africa, while police suspect his wife had an affair with a security guard and didn't want to return to the U.S.
The death of Beau Shroyer, a U.S. man in Angola while doing missionary work for his church in October 2024, sent shockwaves through his family and community.
At the start of November, a statement from the Lakes Area Vineyard Church in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, confirmed that his wife has been arrested for being what Lead Pastor Troy M. Easton calls a “co-author” to 44-year-old Baeu’s murder while overseas.
Easton wrote his statement on Nov. 1, 2024 that Beau was “killed in a violent, criminal attack in Angola, Africa on Friday, October 25.”
“Today our grief and sadness has deepened immeasurably as we’ve learned that his wife, Jackie Shroyer, has been arrested in connection with his death,” Easton continued.
In Feb. 2025, prosecutors formally charged Jackie with her husband’s murder.
The Independent confirms that police arrested Jackie Shroyer, 44, and two other men in connection with the murder four days after finding Beau’s body in the city of Lubango on Oct. 25, 2024.
The Criminal Investigation Services (CIS) in Angola said via a statement in the Angola Press Agency that the couple’s security guard, 24, and another accomplice, a 23-year-old man using the name “Vin Diesel,” are both in custody, along with Jackie. One other suspect remains on the loose.
Superintendent Manuel Halaiwa of the CIS said they believe Jackie plotted the murder and offered the men a combined total of $50,000 to murder her husband. He added that police strongly suspect a “romantic relationship” between Jackie and the security guard took place.
Halaiwa also noted their belief that Beau’s mission in Angola was coming to an end, marking a return to the U.S. for him, Jackie, and their five children. The family had been there since 2021 performing missionary work through an organization called SIM, based in North Carolina.
The CIS claimed that all three men allegedly involved with the murder have criminal records for armed robbery and kidnapping, as per the Detroit Lakes Tribune.
On Nov. 7, 2024, the CIS said they believe the suspects lured Beau to a remote area while faking engine failure with their vehicle, then stabbed him to death. Police allege that Jackie wasn’t on the scene when it happened.
But when police arrived at the scene, they believed she was only pretending to be distraught at the state of her husband, the Tribune adds. Halaiwa said he suspects that Jackie didn’t want to leave Angola when her husband’s mission was over.
Halaiwa added that police took into evidence the vehicle from the scene; the murder weapon, which he says is a knife from the U.S. that Beau apparently offered to the security guard; and 4.5 million kwanzas (about $5,000) which police seized.
The judicial process Jackie faces overseas
If, indeed, Jackie Shroyer intended to get away away with murder and remain in Angola, she may get at least one of those wishes. She didn’t slip away from the law, but she could spend the rest of her life in Angola, even if it isn’t the one she dreamed of.
According to the Advocates for Human Rights website, the Angolan Parliament first abolished capital punishment in 1992 and has stood by that decision since. In 2010, the Parliament approved a new constitution that continued to prohibit it.
Jackie won’t face a death sentence.
A glance at other murder cases in the country shows that convicted murderers seem to face sentences of 14-25 years in prison. But Lakes Area Radio notes in their short report that high-profile cases and her alleged role as mastermind in her husband’s death could lead to a life sentence.
Jackie will have the right to access consular assistance from the U.S. Embassy but their help is limited to ensuring her human rights are respected and that she gets a fair trial. They cannot control the judicial process.
Her process will follow Portuguese civil law. Under that criminal code, a typical sentence can range from eight to 16 years. However, the code notes that if “the death produced in circumstances which reveal special censurability or perversity, the agent is punished with sentence of imprisonment from twelve to twenty five years.”
That “censurability or perversity” applies to those accused of murdering their spouses, as well as if the crime is shown to have been committed against the victim out of greed or the pleasure of killing.
Also covered under this are suspects accused of committing “the act together with, at least, two more persons or uses a particularly dangerous mean or which consists of the commission of common danger crime.” Premeditated murder falls beneath this category, too.
If a court, which Lakes Area Radio notes in Angola will be overseen be a panel of judges instead of a jury, determines that Beau’s murder meets this criteria and Jackie is convicted, she could face life behind bars.
Beau Shroyer: a devoted father and former police officer
When Beau moved his wife and five kids to Angola, Africa in 2021, he left behind his careers as a police officer and real estate agent to commit the next few years of his life to spreading what his family on GoFundMe said was “a higher calling.”
“With a heart full of faith and compassion, Beau’s mission was to make a difference and spread kindness wherever he went,” says Marina Roering on the page.
Roering added that Beau’s death “left an unimaginable void in the hearts of his family and friends to whom he was a source of inspiration and support.”
Funds from the page accumulated to to just over $15,000, which Roering said was to bring Beau’s body home, give him a funeral, and pursue justice.
The family held a service for Beau on Dec. 21, 2024. In an update to the GoFundMe page, Roering stated that his body was boarded onto a flight on Dec. 11, though the connecting flight from France to Minnesota was canceled. He arrived in the U.S. on Dec. 14.
“Customs was not open, so our funeral director was not able to take him into his care until December 16. Initially, we had planned his interment for December 14, but due to the delays, we had to reschedule to today, December 21,” Roering wrote, adding:
“Beau was laid to rest during a short, but meaningful graveside service surrounded by his family. We feel so blessed to have him ‘home’, where we’ll be able to visit him when we need that comfort. Thank you again for your support.”
“Lastly, if you knew Beau, we hope you’ll find humor in the fact that he was literally late to his own funeral! There’s no doubt he’d have had a good laugh about it!”
In an update on Feb. 20, 2025, the SIM USA President Randy Fairman said the children were in the care of family.
“By God’s grace we were able to help the Shroyer children home to America, and they began settling in with a godly family member who is now their guardian,” he said.