A Bedford County grand jury indicted a Moneta man Tuesday on a first-degree murder charge in the death of his estranged wife.
Wesley Brian Earnest, 37, is charged in the Dec. 19 death of Jocelyn Branham Earnest, who was found in her Forest home with a gunshot wound to the head. Along with the murder charge, he also was indicted on a charge of use of a firearm in a felony.
The indictments were consistent with the charges prosecutors had previously said they would seek against Earnest.
His trial is set for July 29.
Bedford Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Wes Nance and Earnest’s attorney, Joseph Sanzone, could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
Prosecutors have said Wesley Earnest murdered his wife after a protracted divorce and financial struggles. During a preliminary hearing in a Bedford County court last month, they cited his fingerprints on a purported suicide note as a key piece of evidence.
Earnest’s attorneys say he was in eastern Virginia when his wife died and say prosecutors’ evidence is circumstantial.
Earnest was an assistant principal at Heritage High School and most recently at Great Bridge High School in Chesapeake.
He is being held in the Bedford Adult Detention Center without bond.
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