A 58-year-old Missouri man has been arrested and charged with the murder of his wife nearly two decades ago in Georgia, with help from his former live-in nanny — an 18-year-old he was having an affair with at the time.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said that Jon Worrell was arrested at his home in Maryville, Missouri, and waived his extradition to Georgia, where he is now being held in the Coffee County jail.
The GBI said that Morrell killed his wife at the business the two of them owned in Douglas, Georgia, on September 20, 2006, then played the part of the grieving husband.
Investigators learned, however, that Jon and Doris Worrell had been having marital troubles, not the least of which was his affair with their live-in nanny, Paola Yarberry, who was then 18. After Doris Worrell’s death, Yarberry ws deported to her native Venezuela while Jon Worrell moved to Fernandina, Florida, and eventually to Costa Rica, where Yarberry joined him. They lived there for a number of years, raising the Worrell’s children.
At some point during the investigation, two men were charged with conspiracy to commit the murder, but the charges were dropped due to lack of evidence, and one of those men has since died.
In more recent years, Worrell and Yarberry’s relationship ended, and Worrell came back to the United States.
“After another in-depth review of the case, it was decided that investigators would travel to Costa Rica, where Paola eventually cooperated,” the GBI said. “Based on the facts gathered in the early years of the investigation, additional information either learned, confirmed, or corroborated in recent years, along with Paola’s cooperation, investigators were able to obtain arrest warrants for Jon for Doris’ death.”
“I want to be clear. This case has never been forgotten,” said Coffee County Sheriff Fred Cole. “While the road has been long and often frustrating, we never gave up. Justice delayed is still justice. Today we honor Doris and her loved ones with this long awaited breakthrough.”
Worrell has been charged with malice murder, felony murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and aggravated battery. He is being held without bond, Law&Crime said.
Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the GBI regional investigative office in Douglas at (912) 389-4103 or the Coffee County Sheriff’s Office at (912) 384-4227. Anonymous tips can also be submitted by calling 1-800-597-TIPS (8477), online at https://gbi.georgia.gov/submit-tips-online, or by downloading the See Something, Send Something mobile app.
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[Featured image: Jon Worrell/Coffee County Sheriff’s Office and Doris Worrell/Georgia Bureau of Investigation]
