Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, December 7, 1994 TAG: 9412070129
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: TODD JACKSON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ROCKY MOUNT LENGTH: Medium
She also inquired about her access to funds from a state victim-compensation program as the result of her husband's killing, Hapgood said.
"I was sitting there thinking, `If she only knew ...,''' he said.
Judy Jarrells was indicted Monday on a charge of murder in the death of her husband, Robert Jarrells. She was arrested without incident Tuesday at the home of a relative in Henry County, said Franklin County Sheriff W.Q. Overton.
Even though a man already charged with the killing implicated her at a hearing in October, Jarrells apparently had no idea of the charges pending against her, Overton said.
Hapgood said he hasn't decided if he will prosecute Jarrells as an accessory before the murder or as a participant in the second degree.
Sheriff's deputies found Robert Jarrells, 59, shot to death on the porch of his rural Endicott home April 15.
Later that afternoon, a phone tip led deputies to a field off Virginia 40 near Endicott, where they spotted a suspect identified earlier by Judy Jarrells - who was home when her husband was shot.
That suspect, Curtis Deel of Dickenson County, was arrested and later charged with first-degree murder. He will go on trial Jan. 19; Jarrells' trial date has not been set.
In testimony during a suppression-of-evidence hearing in October, Deel said Jarrells "asked me to help her do this."
Deel, 45, and Judy Jarrells, 43, were acquaintances, according to investigators, but the nature of their relationship has not been disclosed.
Judy Jarrells had told investigators she struggled with Deel after the shooting but managed to get away and run for help.
Franklin County Investigator Gary Shively, however, testified that he and other investigators discussed Jarrells' possible involvement in the killing the night Deel was arrested.
Deel camped out on a hill above the Endicott home the night before the slaying, according to testimony.
He obtained a 9mm pistol at a gun shop in Dickenson County, according to state police investigators. Deel has been charged by the state police with making a false statement to purchase the gun and with possession of the gun after being convicted of a felony. The latter charge stems from burglary and grand larceny convictions in Dickenson County in 1971.
Deel, who is hard-of-hearing and suffers from heart problems, remains in the Franklin County Jail.
Jarrells also was taken to the county jail Tuesday, but Overton said she will be transferred to a neighboring locality. Jarrells' bond was set at $100,000.
In addition to the murder charge, Jarrells is charged with using a firearm to commit a murder.
In Virginia, someone can be charged with the use of a murder weapon even though that person may not have been the one who used it to commit the crime, Hapgood said.
Deel's attorney, Wayne Inge, said he does not know if he will try to call Jarrells as a witness during his client's trial.
Hapgood said he has no plans to offer immunity to Jarrells for her testimony in the Deel trial, nor does he expect a plea agreement in either case.
by CNB