Episode 15-Murder-The Legal Office Murder & The Escape Artist
Episode 15 – The Legal Office Murder & The Escape Artist
20-year old Marie Willis had only been married to Senior Airman Jeromy Willis for 4-months, but he had already attempted to kill her twice, once by setting her on fire, and once by strangling her in front of their neighbors. Marie was fed up and decided to press charges against Jeromy Willis. Although Jeromy had tried to kill Marie twice, he was still a free man. The Air Force had decided he was no longer a threat to Marie, because Marie had moved from South Carolina to Rhode Island. Jeromy was restricted to the confines of the military base in an attempt to ensure he didn’t do any funny business. But no one was watching him, as he plotted, plotted, and plotted. He knew his wife would have to return to the base to testify against him.
On January 4, 1993, Marie Willis returned to Myrtle Beach, AFB, SC, to testify against her husband at an Article 32 hearing (equivalent to a preliminary hearing). But no one thought Jeromy would be ballsy enough to pull any funny business. Well – everyone was wrong. Jeromy would stroll into the legal office where Marie was waiting to speak to the lead prosecutor and shoot her dead. But he would escape from a military base, after shooting his wife, and would be on the run for 15 days before being caught. Join me as I discuss this bizarre case, and the aftermath. And you won’t want to miss it, because there is so much more that happens.
Photo Credit: Times Magazine, 23 May 1994
Marie Willis
Newspaper Clipping: The Greenville News, 8 June 1993
Jeromy J.J. Willis
After he escaped from the Maximum-Security Prison
Photo Credit: Times Magazine, 23 May 1994
Jeromy Willis
Being Escorted to trial.
Photo Credit: Prison Scholar Fund
Jeromy J.J. Willis
Episode 15 Resources:
- https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/caaf/96-0910-AF/96-0910-AF-1997-07-07.html (CAAF 1997)
- https://apnews.com/b24b19a20863680f3030f3c1738f989a – 1993 AP News
- https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-1993-01-21-9301210834-story.html – 1993
- https://books.google.com/books?id=DOxmCHY6UjIC&pg=RA1-PA13&lpg=RA1-PA13&dq=jeromy+willis+shaw+air+force+base&source=bl&ots=gqgUhnyBhD&sig=ACfU3U0Rni8C2OfBxbJJEwd7mfXOMr-kCg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjRpPzoku3mAhUEnlkKHU4fBC0Q6AEwGXoECAoQAQ#v=onepage&q=jeromy%20willis%20shaw%20air%20force%20base&f=false Airman Magazine, Volume 38 – January 1994, Page 13
- https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=oEEjAAAAIBAJ&sjid=K68FAAAAIBAJ&pg=1326%2C3043069 (Psychologist testified)
- https://deweypub.com/store/media/TextSample/19PWD-Sample.pdf – Preventing Workplace Disruption (Michael Corum – Dewey Publications Inc)
- https://sasalvini.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/pao-crisis-management-booklet-july-242013-version.pdf – PA Plan – last escaped inmate
- The Army Lawyer, April 1998, DA PAM 27-50-305, pgs 21-24
- Thompson, Mark, Time Magazine, “The Living Room War.” May 23, 1994, pages 48-51.
- Greenville News, “Hunt for Escaped Navy Prisoner Goes Nationwide, June 8, 1993.
- https://www.prisonscholars.org/who-we-are/our_team/
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