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News Brief

May 27, 2025 |  By: Gavin McGough

Nineteen year search for Georgia woman's murderer ends in Maryville

Jason Seacrist is speaking with the GA Bureau of Investigations

Pictured is Jason Seacrist, speaking with the GA Bureau of Investigations. 

 

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Doris Worrell was shot and killed at the business she owned with her husband in Douglas, Georgia back in 2006. THe Georgia Bureau of Investigations initially suspected gang members had murdered the 39 year-old mother, but those leads were dead ends. 

Still Georgia law enforcement officials persisted. Over years, they uncovered information about a nanny, Paula Yarberry, who was living with the family. Due to an alibi, she was never a suspect. Originally from Venezuela, Yarberry was deported back to her home country in the years following the murder. 

But investigators say she held vital information. Speaking at a press conference on May 23rd, Special Agent with the Georgia Bureau of Investigations Jason Seacrist says they drafted a plan. "The GBI and the Coffee County then implemented this plan, which included traveling to Costa Rica where Yarberry eventually cooperated," he explained. 

That ciiperation gave investigators what they needed in order to obtain an arrest warrant for Jon Worrell, Doris's husband at the time of her murder. It appears Mr. Worrell and Yarberry were romanitcally involved. For a period after the murder, and Yarberry's deportation, they lived together in Costa Rica. 

Worrell then returned to the United States and Investigators tracked him to Maryville. "He lived here," confirmed Nodaway County Sherriff Austin Hahn. "I don't know what day-to-day looked like for him, but he was certainly not new to the area."

Hahn's Office jumped into action to assist the out-of-state investigators. Then, on May 20, the agencies took Worrell into custody without incident. "What I said that day was 'I don't think there's one aspect of this operation that could've gone smoother," Hahn reflected. 

Fred Cole Sheriff of Coffee County, Georgia where the crime took place, said the moment marked decades of effort. 

"I want to be clear, this case was never forgotten." Said Fred Cole, Sheriff of Coffee County, Georgia where the crime took place.

Speaking at the May, 23rd press conference, he recognized that "the road has been long and oftentimes frustrating. But we never gave up. Justice delayed is still justice. Today, we honor Doris and her loved ones with a long-awaited breakthrough."

Following arrest, Worrell was extradited to Georgia where he is awaiting trial.