He was spotted at murder scene 18 years ago — and just arrested, Georgia officials say
The bodies of the Wideman family were found inside a burning home off a rural highway in Georgia almost 19 years ago, according to state investigators.
But it wasn’t the fire that killed them.
An autopsy report revealed Thomas and Deborah Wideman and their pregnant daughter Melissa Wideman were shot before the house went up in flames on March 22, 2002, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said Wednesday in a news release. Now their accused killer has been caught.
Jason Michael Walker, 47, was arrested Wednesday and charged with murder, feticide, aggravated assault and arson, according to the release. Walker was reportedly the biological father of the unborn child Melissa Wideman was carrying at the time of her death.
The case dates to the start of spring in 2002. According to investigators, the Turner County Fire Department and the local sheriff’s office responded to a house fire in the city of Rebecca, Georgia — population 187 — in the early morning hours on March 22.
A truck driver passing by the house on State Highway 112 called to report the fire, officials said.
When law enforcement and first responders arrived, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said they discovered three bodies, including a pregnant woman. Thomas Joseph “Tommy Joe” Wideman was 51 and his wife Deborah Wheeler Wideman was 48. Their daughter Melissa Wideman was 20. She was reportedly eight-and-a-half months pregnant at the time.
The Medical Examiner’s Office later determined all three died from gunshot wounds before the fire started.
Someone reportedly saw Walker leave the house around the time the alleged murders occurred — but it took them years to come forward.
In the weeks that followed, investigators collected evidence, conducted crime lab analysis and interviewed witnesses “until all leads were exhausted,” according to Wednesday’s release.
“This initial investigation developed possible suspects in the murders; however, no persons were charged at that time,” officials said.
The case was reassigned in 2014, and new investigators with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and Turner County law enforcement began looking at old evidence and interviewing witnesses again.
“While the case was actively being investigated, a new witness contacted law enforcement,” officials said. “The witness identified a white male leaving the scene of the Wideman residence during the time frame in which the murders occurred. This new information corroborated the evidence obtained during the initial investigation and the follow-up investigation conducted by the GBI and Turner County Sheriff’s Office.”
Investigators brought the new information to the district attorney, who signed off on law enforcement presenting it to a grand jury on Dec. 1. A true bill of indictment was subsequently returned against Walker.
Walker — who lives about an hour south of Macon in Pulaski County — was arrested Wednesday, according to the release. He’s being held in the Turner County jail, and the case has been turned over to the DA’s office.
How to help
Anyone with additional information is encouraged to contact the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Region 13 Office at at 478-987-4545, the Turner County Sheriff’s Office at 229-567-2401, or the Tifton Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office at 229-386-7900.
Tips can also be submitted at 1-800-597-TIPS(8477) or online at https://gbi.georgia.gov/submit-tips-online.
