DOUGLAS, GA – Nearly two decades after Doris Worrell was found shot and killed inside the family’s sports park in Georgia, authorities have arrested her husband, Jon Worrell, in connection with the crime.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) announced the arrest on May 20, 2025, bringing long-awaited movement in a case that had remained cold for nearly 19 years.
Arrest and Charges
Jon Worrell, now 58, was arrested at his home in Maryville, Missouri and extradited to Georgia after waiving his right to remain in Missouri. He is now in custody at the Coffee County Jail and faces several serious charges:
- Malice murder
- Felony murder
- Conspiracy to commit murder
- Aggravated battery
Authorities have not yet said whether Jon has entered a plea or hired a defense attorney.
The 2006 Murder of Doris Worrell
On September 20, 2006, 39-year-old Doris Worrell was found dead from a gunshot wound inside Jon’s Sports Park, a business the couple owned in Douglas, Georgia.
At the time, investigators believed the killing was either a robbery gone wrong or a retaliation from someone Jon had previously banned from the park.
Although two employees were arrested and charged with conspiracy to murder Doris, those charges were later dropped due to lack of evidence. One of those employees has since died.
A New Break in the Case
Over the years, the case went cold, but new leads brought it back to life.
At a May 23 press conference, GBI Agent Jason Seacrist said investigators now believe Jon Worrell planned his wife’s murder, despite pretending to be a grieving husband at the scene.
Authorities uncovered that Jon and Doris were having marital problems, and Jon had been in an inappropriate relationship with their teen nanny, Paola Yarberry.
“He feared losing custody of his children if he divorced Doris,” Seacrist said. “So he started looking for someone to kill her.”
Life After the Murder: Costa Rica and Return to U.S.
After Doris’s death, Jon moved with his children to Fernandina, Florida, and then to Costa Rica, where he lived with Yarberry as a couple. She had been deported to Venezuela due to immigration issues but later joined Jon in Costa Rica.
Investigators recently learned that Jon and Yarberry had broken up, and he had returned to the U.S. They traveled to Costa Rica, where Yarberry finally gave investigators crucial information that helped build the case against Jon.
Family Reacts and Seeks Justice
Coffee County Sheriff Fred Cole said at the press conference:
“This case has never been forgotten. Justice delayed is still justice.”
Doris’s sister, LeAnn Tuggle, also spoke at the event, saying:
“Doris loved being a mommy more than anything in the world. She was kind — sometimes too kind. That kindness is what led to her death.”
She said Doris allowed Yarberry, who was just a teen at the time, to live with the family out of compassion — a decision that sadly played a part in her tragic end.
