Wes Nance prepared to present the Commonwealth’s case against Wesley Earnest with some trepidation. “Once every twenty years, you encounter a case with a complicated nature like this one.” He hoped his communication skills were good enough to pull all the pieces together in a way that made sense to the jurors—that was daunting enough. Add to that Nance’s knowledge about the opposition. “Joey Sanzone has a lot of natural ability. The courtroom is a natural environment for him. He is quick on his feet. Not going to catch him flat-footed. Facing him is quite a challenge.”
The first witness was Marcy Shepherd, Jocelyn’s co-worker, who was not only the person who found the body but the one who said she was the “new love” referred to in the suicide note. Over defense objections, Marcy told jurors that Jocelyn had expressed fear of her husband and had said, “If he knew anything or found out anything, he would kill us both.” She said that Jocelyn had recently had a security system installed because of her fear.
Marcy sobbed as a large television showed a crime scene photo of Jocelyn lying with her feet to the camera. She told the jury about the events of the night of December 19. Joey Sanzone questioned her aggressively about her text messages and her visit to Jocelyn’s home that night and walking through the house on the morning she found the body—he did everything he could to paint her as a likely suspect. Sanzone asked if she went to work that evening in order to type up the suicide note. Marcy denied that allegation and said she’d gone to drop off a Christmas present on Jocelyn’s desk.
Bedford County deputy Jason Jones, the first on scene, testified that the thermostat had been set for ninety degrees. He described what he saw in the home and the position of Jocelyn’s body. Investigator Gary Babb testified that the revolver was out of place where it was found near her armpit and her hair was stuck in a pool of blood on the carpet. Sheriff’s investigator Mike Mayhew testified that two of the cartridges in the gun had been expended, but they did not find any evidence of a second shot at the scene. The murder weapon had been purchased by Wesley Earnest, and there was no indication of a forced entry.
He was later called back to the stand to enter Wesley’s will into evidence. The language in that document indicated that Wesley considered himself the owner of the murder weapon.
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On the next day of the proceedings, Mike Mayhew told the jurors about the journals they’d found at Jocelyn’s home and in her office; he read aloud two letters that were sent by Wesley to Jocelyn referring to his suicidal feelings, problems with his brother, Tyler, and his desire to reunite with his wife.
On cross, Mayhew told Joey Sanzone that there were no fingerprints on the thermostat or on the keypad of the security system. He denied Sanzone’s allegation that he’d asked Marcy and Maysa to collect files and evidence at Genworth Financial. The defense then asked leading questions about whether the computers of Jocelyn’s friends were searched. Mayhew said they were not.
Mayhew was replaced in the witness box by Jocelyn’s close friend Jennifer Kerns, who testified that in March 2006, she and Jocelyn had witnessed Wesley having sex with Shameka Wright, whom she referred to as “Wesley’s mistress.”
A number of Jocelyn’s co-workers testified to her positive frame of mind. “She was a friendly person, very upbeat . . . always encouraging, always smiling.”
None of the Genworth employees said they’d had any inkling of a romantic relationship between Jocelyn and Marcy Shepherd.
Susan Roehrich, Jocelyn’s therapist, told the jury that Jocelyn came to see her in 2005 with “depression issues” caused by the disintegration of her marriage. Her client, however, had gotten over the heartache and was “looking forward to having a life.” Roehrich said Jocelyn was “upbeat and happy” the last time they’d met, on the day of her death.