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New York Times
24-05-2025
- New York Times
U.S. Man Who Lived Abroad With Family's Nanny Is Charged in Wife's Murder
After arriving at the family business in Douglas, Ga., and finding his wife fatally shot on Sept. 20, 2006, Jon Worrell called 911 and crumpled to the ground in sobs. His wife, Doris Worrell, was 39 when she was killed. The couple had three children. She died of a gunshot to the head at their business, Jon's Sports Park, amid its arcade, batting cage, go-kart track and mini-golf course. It was a recreational destination for families in that rural part of southern Georgia, about 130 miles southwest of Savannah. With such a backdrop, investigators and others in the city of about 12,000 first thought that Mr. Worrell was as he appeared, a devastated husband. The authorities said they initially believed that Ms. Worrell died in a bungled robbery attempt or by someone in retaliation for being barred from the amusement park by Mr. Worrell. But on Friday they said they had no doubts that he was behind her death. 'Jon instigated a conspiracy to commit this murder,' said Jason Seacrist, the lead agent on the case for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Mr. Worrell, 57, was arrested on Tuesday and charged with malice murder, felony murder, conspiracy to commit murder and aggravated battery. He was denied bond during his first court appearance on Friday. He did not have a lawyer present. 'We know Jon was not there,' Mr. Seacrist said at a news conference on Friday, explaining that the authorities have yet to determine who shot Ms. Worrell. Two men, who had been park employees, were arrested 17 years ago for conspiracy to kill Ms. Worrell. But, Mr. Seacrist said, the charges were dropped after several weeks because of a lack of evidence. One of the men has since died and the other was recently released from prison in an unrelated case, he said. The investigation into Ms. Worrell's killing had gone cold until investigators traveled to Costa Rica and found the family's former live-in nanny, who was willing to cooperate. The information she gave corroborated evidence that the authorities had been collecting for years, they said. That led to Mr. Worrell's arrest at his home in Maryville, Mo., on Tuesday. Sheriff Fred Cole of Coffee County, Ga., said on Friday that he felt relieved. 'This case was never forgotten,' he said. 'And while the road has been long and often frustrating, we never gave up. Justice delayed is still justice.' In 2006, the Worrells had a live-in nanny from Venezuela, Paola Yarberry, who also worked at Jon's Sports Park. Ms. Yarberry, who was 18 when Ms. Worrell was killed, was working in another area of the park on the day she died, officials said. Investigators soon learned that the Worrells were having marital issues, some of which were caused by what Mr. Seacrest described as Mr. Worrell's 'inappropriate relationship' with Ms. Yarberry. Investigators said that Mr. Worrell worried that a divorce would cause him to lose access to his children. He then began looking for someone to kill his wife, they said. Several months after the killing, Ms. Yarberry, who was not a U.S. citizen, was arrested in connection to her immigration status. She spent months at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center before being deported to Venezuela. A district attorney in Georgia said at the time of her arrest that he believed that she was withholding information crucial to a murder investigation and that Mr. Worrell had become the main suspect. Investigators said that Mr. Worrell moved in 2007 to Florida, where he lived briefly, and then to Costa Rica in 2008. Ms. Yarberry soon joined Mr. Worrell in Costa Rica, where they ran an ice-selling business as they lived together as a couple for years and raised the three Worrell children. Investigators pursued leads, domestically and internationally, and they learned in the last few years that Mr. Worrell and Ms. Yarberry had ended their romantic relationship, and that Mr. Worrell had moved back to the United States. He bought a home in Maryville, Mo., in March, according to property records. Investigators said they reviewed the case again, and went to Costa Rica, where Ms. Yarberry eventually cooperated, giving them the breakthrough they had sought almost two decades ago. They said that they do not consider her a suspect. They did not disclose what critical information Ms. Yarberry had revealed to help the investigation. She could not be located on Saturday for comment. Speaking at the news conference on Friday, Ms. Worrell's sister, LeAnn Tuggle, remembered her as a generous person. 'Sometimes she was too kind for her own good,' Ms. Tuggle said, pointing to Ms. Worrell welcoming Ms. Yarberry into her home. 'Paola did not have a place to stay,' Ms. Tuggle said. 'She was by herself. She was about 14 or 15 years old, and my sister said, 'Sure, you can stay on our sofa.' Well, the nights on the sofa got longer. She stayed longer.' 'Her being kind is ultimately what caused her death.'
Associated Press
23-05-2025
- Associated Press
Georgia man who fled with the nanny after his wife's killing is charged with murder 19 years later
SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — Investigators first believed Doris Worrell was killed in a botched robbery after her husband found her fatally shot at the South Georgia business they ran in 2006. When suspicion later turned toward Worrell's husband, he fled the U.S. to live in Costa Rica with the couple's live-in nanny. Nearly 19 years later, Jon Worrell was jailed on murder charges Thursday in rural Coffee County, where the sheriff said authorities never gave up on the cold case. They got a big break in April, when investigators traveled to Costa Rica and found the nanny willing to talk after her relationship with Worrell had ended. 'This case was never forgotten,' Sheriff Fred Cole told reporters at a news conference Friday. 'And while the road has been long and often frustrating, we never gave up. Justice delayed is still justice.' Doris Worrell had worked as a teacher and an interior designer before deciding stay at home to raise three children. She and her husband operated a recreation business, Jon's Sports Park, in the small community of Douglas, about 130 miles (209 kilometers) southwest of Savannah. Worrell called police from the business on Sept. 20, 2006, saying he had returned from running errands to find his wife's body. 'Many believed he was a grieving husband and his wife was the victim of a robbery gone wrong,' Jason Seacrist, an agent with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, told reporters. Theories about Doris Worrell's killing evolved as investigators gathered more evidence. In 2008, two employees of the sports park were charged with being conspirators to her murder, but the case was dropped for lack of evidence. Meanwhile, Seacrist said, investigators learned that Worrell had been having an affair with the nanny at the time of his wife's death. 'Jon was concerned that if he divorced Doris, he would lose his children,' Seacrist said. 'And it's those thoughts that led him to begin recruiting someone to murder his wife.' He said Worrell fled to Costa Rica, where he and the nanny spent years living together while raising the Worrells' children. Then investigators learned that the relationship had ended and Worrell had returned to the U.S. Georgia agents and sheriff's investigators traveled to Costa Rica in April and met with the nanny, the sheriff said. He said information she provided corroborated other evidence that authorities had been collecting for years. Worrell was arrested Tuesday at his home in Mayfield, Missouri, north of Kansas City. He waived extradition to Georgia and arrived at the Coffee County jail late Thursday. Doris Worrell's sister, LeAnn Tuggle, thanked investigators for their persistence. She recalled her sister as a gifted artist and loving mother who had agreed to let the nanny live at her home because the young woman had nowhere else to stay. 'Sometimes she was too kind for her own good,' Tuggle said. 'Her being kind is ultimately what caused her death.' Worrell was denied bond during his first court appearance Friday. The sheriff said Worrell had no attorney at the hearing, but told a judge he planned to hire one. Authorities are still trying to determine who shot Doris Worrell. One of men charged 17 years ago in the killing and later released has died, Seacrist said, while the other recently got out of prison in an unrelated case. The nanny has not been charged. 'In our mind, she is not a suspect,' Seacrist said.
