Wesley Earnest, charged with murdering wife, granted bond

Wesley Earnest

By Chris Dumond
Published: May 31, 2008

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BEDFORD — The man accused of murdering his wife and staging her Forest home to appear as if she killed herself was granted bond Friday in Bedford Circuit Court.

Brian Wesley Earnest, 38, of Moneta, could be released from the Bedford Adult Detention Center on $200,000 cash bond or a $400,000 real estate bond, Judge James Updike ordered.

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Earnest, who is charged with first-degree murder and use of a firearm in commission of a felony in the Dec. 19 slaying of Jocelyn Earnest, was denied bond at his April preliminary hearing.

Bedford Commonwealth’s Attorney Randy Krantz argued against the bond Friday.

“I think that’s a reflection of the court’s view of the evidence,” Krantz said of the circuit court decision. “Even though it’s a first-degree murder charge, it is a heavily circumstantial case.”

During the preliminary hearing, prosecutors revealed they found Wesley Earnest’s fingerprints on a purported suicide note found near his wife’s body. Investigators also recovered a gun case matching the revolver used in Jocelyn Earnest’s death at a home in Campbell County, where her husband was staying at the time of his arrest.

“The other factor was that Mr. Earnest, except for this charge, and I know it sounds ridiculous,” Krantz said, “but for this charge, he has no other criminal involvement.”

Defense attorneys Joseph and Blair Sanzone have argued Wesley Earnest left the gun with his wife for her protection after their separation and that her will shows that.

Court records show bitter divorce proceedings, filed between the two in 2006 and last year.

The Sanzones have also argued that the drive time between Chesapeake, where Wesley Earnest worked as a school administrator, and Forest, where his wife lived, is questionable. Wesley Earnest usually left work around 4 p.m., they said. His wife was believed to have been shot around 7:30 p.m. He was at work the following day.

If he is released from jail, Earnest must remain in Virginia and not have any contact with his wife’s family or others involved in the case.