Marcia Kelly

Marcia Gayle Kelly (born December 21, 1970) is a convicted American female murderer serving life without parole for orchestrating the murder of her husband James. She is incarcerated at the Mountain View Unit in Gatesville, Texas, and her Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) Offender number is #1381826.^[1]

Crime

On October 23, 2005, truck driver James Kelly was shot to death in his Cushing, Texas home. Initially, his stepdaughter Shaina Sepulvado and her friends Dallas Christian and Colton Weir were the prime suspects. All three were later charged in Kelly's death. When interviewed, however, Kelly's widow, Marcia, was implicated in his death. Weir said that Shaina and Marcia had orchestrated the plot to have Kelly murdered, and that Weir had been promised a vehicle as payment for committing the crime. In a police statement, Marcia admitted that she overheard some of the juveniles make statements about wanting to kill her husband, but did not admit to offering them anything to kill her husband.^[2] On October 26, 2005, Marcia was charged with capital murder.^[3]

Trial

On July 31, 2006, Marcia Kelly's murder trial began. At the trial, prosecutors presented the jury with what they believed to be the motive. Marcia had a $100,000 life insurance policy on James. Prosecutors also stated that Marcia and James argued on how to punish Marcia's unruly daughter Shaina. Other testimony was presented at the trial from men who claimed Marcia had also solicited them to kill her husband,^[4] along with that of Colton Weir.^[5]

Marcia did not testify in her own defense, but her daughter Shaina did take the stand to defend her mother. On the stand, Shaina testified that she was responsible for the murder and that her mother was not involved. Shaina had also claimed that James had been beating and molesting her. Jurors did not believe her, and Marcia was convicted of capital murder.

Aftermath

Following her conviction, Marcia was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. While the capital murder charge could have allowed for a death sentence, the Nacogdoches County district attorney had not sought the death penalty against her.

Colton Weir and Shaina Sepulvado were each convicted of the capital murder of James Kelly at separate subsequent trials in Nacogdoches County, Texas; they are each serving life without parole. Dallas Christian pled guilty to murder and was sentenced to 40 years on June 23, 2008. Two other males, Billy Loftin and Gary Batchelor, were convicted of lesser charges of tampering with evidence, in connection with James Kelly's death.

Marcia Kelly's conviction was affirmed by the Twelfth District Court of Appeals on January 23, 2008. Marcia still maintains her innocence and is further appealing her conviction.

In the Media

Marcia's case was featured on the Oxygen Network series Snapped in March 2011; the program contained testimony from Marcia and Shaina. The case also appeared on the Investigation Discovery series Redrum in 2013; the program contained statements from Shaina and Colton; Investigation Discovery re-visited the case in the 2014 Fatal Vows episode, "Murder by Proxy."

References

http://www.freemarciakelly.com (where you will find Marcia's side of the story). http://www.marciakelly.net (more information about Marcia's story).