AG Marshall announces Court of Criminal Appeals upholds capital murder conviction in Lee County
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Special to the News
On Wednesday Attorney General Steve Marshall announced that the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the capital murder conviction of Marcus O’Keef Wigley, 40, of Lee County. Wigley was convicted in the Lee County Circuit Court on February 12.
The evidence at trial showed that the victim, Thomas Green, was abducted from a party that he had been attending by several individuals who apparently believed that Green had stolen something that belonged to them.
Green’s body was discovered several days after his abduction, and he had been shot numerous times and his body left alongside Lee County Road 188 near Waverly.
In addition to eyewitness testimony, investigators were able to trace the whereabouts of the killers through analyzing their cell phones and viewing footage from numerous surveillance cameras from the night of the killing.
Lee County District Attorney Jessica Ventiere successfully prosecuted this case and obtained a guilty verdict. Wigley was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Wigley sought to have his conviction reversed on appeal.
The Attorney General’s Criminal Appeals Division handled the case during the appeals process, arguing for the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals to affirm Wigley’s conviction. The court did so in a decision issued Friday, September 18.
Attorney General Marshall commended Assistant Attorney General Riggs Walker for his successful work on this case and thanks District Attorney Jessica Ventiere and her staff for their valuable assistance in obtaining the conviction.