The Times-Journal

Thursday, September 9, 2010 | DeKalb County's Oldest Newspaper

Classifieds | Jobs | Homes | Autos

Murder cases continue to pile up

By Mark Harrison
The Times-Journal

Published July 28, 2010

Since December, five people have been charged with murder in DeKalb County, but court officials don’t expect to see all of those cases to be tried this year.

Assistant District Attorney Jeremy Taylor said Wednesday it’s unlikely all of the county’s pending murder cases will be resolved during the fall docket.

“I don’t foresee having the most recent cases on the docket, especially considering that they are still in the pre-indictment stage,” Taylor said.

He said two pending cases that would likely at least have a “first sitting” would be those respectively involving Nathan Wilder and Karri Denise Willoughby.

Wilder, 30 of Fort Payne, is charged with killing his estranged wife, Elizabeth Virginia Wilder, 28, in December 2009, by allegedly strangling her with a belt. Wilder has pleaded not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect. Wilder is in the DeKalb County Jail, where he has been since his arrest in December. His bond is set at $150,000.

Willoughby, 32 of Ider, is charged with capital murder in connection with the death of her stepfather, Billie Junior Shaw, 65, in April 2008. If convicted, Willoughby could face the death penalty. She has not entered a plea but has maintained her innocence. Willoughby is in the DeKalb County Jail. The court denied bond for her in June.

Two Boaz men are also charged with capital murder in a separate DeKalb case. Richard Sharp Shelton, 17, was arrested in June in connection with the alleged murder of Jerry Neal Burt, 63, of the New Harmony community.

Although Shelton is a juvenile, he is being charged as an adult with the crime of capital murder, for which the death penalty may typically be imposed. However, because of a recent Supreme Court decision, juveniles can’t be sentenced to death regardless of being charged as an adult of how charges are filed.

Because of the decision, District Attorney Mike O’Dell earlier said the maximum sentence Shelton could receive would be life in prison without parole.

Billy Ray Justice, 20, is also charged with capital murder in connection with the alleged murder of Burt, and could face the death penalty because he is an adult.

The DeKalb court system now also has another murder case to resolve involving Wayne Thomas McMinn, 62 of Fort Payne. McMinn is charged with the shooting death of Rickey R. McCallie during a dispute last weekend. During his initial court appearance Wednesday, McMinn said he acted in self defense.

Taylor said the cases respectively involving Shelton, Justice and McMinn probably wouldn’t make it to trial by the fall docket.

“I honestly can’t recall a time when we had this many murder cases pending in DeKalb at the same time,” Taylor said. “And, the district also includes Cherokee County, and we’ve got a lot of violent crime cases to dispense with over there as well.”

Share | Save | Mail | Print

Photo Reprints
Purchase select photographs from local games and events. New from The Times-Journal and The Times-Journal.

Subscription Services: Circulation | Home Delivery | Back Issues | Vacation Stops | Newspapers In Education

The Fort Payne Times-Journal | Publisher: J.D. Davidson

811 Greenhill Blvd.NW, Fort Payne, Alabama 35967 | Tel: 256-845-2550 | Email