Camp Wood Hills Woman Indicted for Murder

     On September 12, 2016, The Edwards County Grand Jury handed down a Murder Indictment on Paige Michelle Weatherby (49) formally of Camp Wood Hills, for killing her husband Jay Sim Weatherby on July 31, 2009.  The case was finally referred to the Attorney General's Office for prosecution by the District Attorney of the 452ND Judicial District and upon presentation of the case by the assigned attorney, Sheriff Elliott and TX Ranger Dixon the Grand Jury indicted the suspect for Violation of Article 19.02. MURDER.  (b) A person commits an offense if he: (1) intentionally or knowingly causes the death of an individual; (c) an offense under this section is a felony of the first degree.

      The case was initially investigated at the time of the incident by former Deputy Pamela Elliott who is now the Sheriff of Edwards County, Retired Sheriff D. Letsinger and Former TX Ranger Juan Lozano. The case became stagnate while awaiting various lab results, blood spatter analysis and other requested services by outside agencies so on August 1, 2013, Sheriff Pamela Elliott assigned CPT Darrell Volkmann to prepare the case for submission, which he quickly did by removing the dust and re-assembling the case for the 452ND District Attorney who was presented the Cold Case Murder of Jay Sim Weatherby for prosecution, but it again stalled in the criminal justice system for unknown reasons.

     In an effort to re-invigorate a case that had not yielded any type of justice for the victim or his family, CPT Volkmann requested a review of the case by the Cold Case Review Team located in Austin, TX. The Cold Case Review Team was established in 1985 by the Sheriff's Association of Texas to provide assistance to Law Enforcement Agencies on unsolved sex crimes and homicide cases, including "Cold Cases" and has provided assistance on more than 225 homicides and numerous sexual assault cases since its inception. There is no charge to the agencies to utilize the services of the Cold Case Review Team and on September 24, 2014, CPT Volkmann presented the "Cold Case - Weatherby Murder" to the team for review and to solicit their expert opinions on the initial investigation, laboratory reports, and any additional or needed analysis prior to presentation before the Edwards County Grand Jury. Accordingly, the Cold Case review was completed with no errors noted. A probable cause affidavit was submitted on October 8, 2014 seeking an Arrest Warrant for Paige Weatherby for the murder of Jay Sim Weatherby. The Honorable Joe Baker, Justice of the Peace for Edwards County issued the Murder Warrant and Paige Weatherby turned herself into Sheriff Pamela Elliott on October 14, 2014 without further incident. On October 27, 2014, CPT Volkmann re-submitted the "Cold Case - Weatherby Murder" to the Texas Rangers, Company D located in Del Rio for review and 452ND Judicial District for prosecution and yet again to only sit idle in the Halls of Justice without any justifications provided to the victim's family.

     So, on October 11, 2016 when the Edwards County Sheriff's Office notified the surviving family members of Jay Sim Weatherby that Paige had been Indicted by the Grand Jury of Edwards County for Jay's Murder they were just overwhelmed with emotions and thanked Sheriff Elliott and CPT Volkmann because this case was solved only out of their efforts and determination for justice. It was the tenacity of a little Sheriff and her deputy that kept the case from becoming another lost file in dusty box that never made it off the shelf. Sheriff Elliott stated, "I am sad that such an incident occurred but I am pleased with the assistance that Edwards County received from various entities surrounding this case. I knew all along that Paige Weatherby had shot and killed her husband, Jay Weatherby, on that day but we had to wait for numerous reasons for the case to move forward in the criminal justice system. I am just pleased to have provided Jay's family with some renewed confidence in the system that had yielded only barriers before today so they know his death meant something to all those involved. No one is ever just a case number to us no matter what the incident may be."