Man accused of murder-for-hire plot in wife’s fatal shooting nearly 20 years ago
DOUGLAS, Ga. (WALB/Gray News) - Nearly 20 years later, a Georgia man has been charged in the murder of his wife. Investigators say he hired someone to kill her in 2006 when the couple was experiencing marital issues.
Jon Worrell, 58, was arrested last Tuesday in connection with the 2006 murder of his wife, 39-year-old Doris Worrell, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. He is charged with malice murder, felony murder, conspiracy to commit murder and aggravated battery, WALB reports.
Doris Worrell was shot and killed on September 20, 2006, inside Jon’s Sports Park, the business she shared with her husband in Douglas, Georgia. Investigators now believe Jon Worrell recruited someone to murder her.
“It’s here. We fought the fight, and we didn’t give up,” said Doris Worrell’s older sister, LeAnn Tuggle. “This is the day we’ve been waiting on for almost 20 years.”
Officials with the GBI, Coffee County Sheriff’s Office and Waycross Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office provided information regarding Jon Worrell’s arrest at a Friday news conference.
According to GBI Special Agent in Charge Jason Seacrist, the Worrells were having marital issues. Part of those issues included Jon Worrell’s relationship with the then live-in-nanny, Paola Yarberry. Investigators believe that Jon Worrell recruited someone to murder his wife because he was concerned that if he divorced her, he would lose his children. They say he succeeded in that endeavor, leading to the fatal shooting of Doris Worrell.
After his wife‘s murder, Jon Worrell went to Florida then Costa Rica, where he and Yarberry were spotted together. Investigators say the two denied a relationship, but they raised the children as if they were their own.
In recent years, Jon Worrell and Yarberry ended their relationship, and the former moved back to the United States, Seacrist said.
Investigators interviewed Yarberry, who they say eventually cooperated. Her testimony, combined with other investigative work, led to Jon Worrell’s arrest in Maryville, Missouri, following an investigation of nearly 20 years. The arrest came just two days after what would have been Doris Worrell’s 57th birthday.
“I want to be clear: this case was never forgotten. While the road has been long and often frustrating, we never gave up. Justice delayed is still justice,” Coffee County Sheriff Fred Cole said.
Jon Worrell was extradited to Coffee County, Georgia, where he appeared in court Friday morning. He was denied bond.
Family and friends say his arrest brought a renewed sense of purpose in their fight for justice, but it’s not the end of the road.
“The closure will come when the verdict is read,” said Lisa Hays, Doris Worrell’s former classmate. “The agents always said they wouldn’t make an arrest unless they had enough evidence for a conviction. The conviction we want to see is that Jon Worrell is guilty of murdering his wife.”
The GBI and the Coffee County Sheriff’s Office are working together to complete their case file, so Jon Worrell’s case can be reviewed and prosecuted by Waycross Judicial Circuit District Attorney Marilyn Bennett.
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