Man suspected in wife’s killing leaves country with nanny, Georgia cops say
A man accused of murder in his wife’s cold case killing left the country with their live-in nanny after her death, according to Georgia investigators.
Agents arrested Jon Worrell, 58, in Missouri, nearly 20 years after his wife, Doris Worrell, was found fatally shot inside their Coffee County business in 2006, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said this week.
On May 23, agents held a news conference to provide additional details on the investigation.
“I want to be clear. This case has never been forgotten,” Coffee County Sheriff Fred Cole told reporters Friday. “While the road has been long and often frustrating, we never gave up. ... Today we honor Doris and her loved ones with this long-awaited breakthrough.”
Investigators said they learned the Worrells were having marital issues, which included Jon’s reported affair with the couple’s live-in nanny. Jon Worrell feared that he might lose his kids in a divorce and began looking for someone to kill his wife, agents said.
Doris Worrell, 39, was discovered dead at the couple’s business, Jon’s Sports Park in Douglas, on Sept. 20, 2006, the GBI said. At the time, Jon Worrell told deputies he went out to run errands and returned to find his wife fatally shot, according to state agents.
“Many initially believed that Jon was a grieving husband, and his wife a victim of a robbery gone wrong,” agents said in an updated release.
Investigators also noted the possibility that Doris Worrell was killed in an act of retaliation by someone her husband had banned from their business, according to the bureau.
Agents said further investigation led to information that linked Jon Worrell to his wife’s death.
The former nanny was deported to Venezuela as a result of an immigration issue, and Jon Worrell moved to Fernandina, Florida, and then to Costa Rica.
The woman joined him there, and they raised Worrell’s children together, according to the GBI.
During this time, two people were arrested in the case, but there wasn’t enough evidence, and the charges were dropped, according to authorities.
More recently, investigators learned Jon Worrell and the former nanny weren’t together anymore and that he was back in the U.S., the GBI said.
Agents traveled to Costa Rica to speak with the woman, who agreed to cooperate with the investigation.
“Based on the facts gathered in the early years of the investigation, additional information either learned, confirmed, or corroborated in recent years, along with (the woman’s) ... cooperation, investigators were able to obtain arrest warrants for Jon for Doris’ death,” the bureau said.
Jon Worrell was charged with malice murder, felony murder, conspiracy to commit murder and aggravated battery, according to the GBI. Agents said the investigation is ongoing.
Douglas is about a 200-mile drive southeast from downtown Atlanta.
This story was originally published May 23, 2025 at 4:54 PM with the headline "Man suspected in wife’s killing leaves country with nanny, Georgia cops say."