A former Richland Road man found guilty for the murder of his wife has asked the courts for a new trial. Jewell Moses Bess, a convicted child rapist, was found guilty for the 1986 murder after authorities reopened the cold case in 2011. Bess was found guilty this past June of 2015.

Last Friday on April 1st of this year, Bess asked for a new trial in the murder of his wife Deborah Sherfield Bess. Prior to the case being reopened in 1986, the cause of death was labeled as a suicide.

District Attorney Jennings Jones stated...

The outcome of the April 1st hearing has not yet been released.