Georgia man who fled with the nanny after his wife's killing is charged
with murder 19 years later
[May 24, 2025]
By RUSS BYNUM
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.”
[to top of second column]
|
In this image from video provided by the Georgia Bureau of
Investigation, Coffee County Sheriff Fred Cole speaks with reporters
in Douglas, Ga., on Friday, May 23, 2025, to discuss the arrest of
Jon Worrell in the 2006 death of his wife, Doris Worrell. (Georgia
Bureau of Investigation via AP)
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.
All contents © copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved |
