Bonne Terre man arrested in connection to 1989 homicide

BONNE TERRE, Mo. (KBSI) – A Bonne Terre man faces charges in connection to a 1989 homicide.

Wesley P. Marler, 69, of Bonne Terre was arrested on August 30 in connection to the 1989 death of Jimmie Wade Martin of Bonne Terre.

An investigation by Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Division of Drug and Crime Controlled the St. Francois County Sheriff’s Office led to Marler’s arrest.

Jimmie Wade Martin was found mortally wounded in front of a home in Bonne Terre on October 14, 1989.

Martin was later pronounced dead from his injuries at a Farmington hospital.

In December of 2020, members of the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Division of Drug and Crime Control and St. Francois Sheriff’s Office began a review of the investigation into Martin’s death.

The case was presented to the St. Francois County Prosecuting Attorney and the Missouri Attorney General’s Office.

On August 22, 2024, a St. Francois County Grand Jury indicted Marler with one count of assault in the first degree.

A warrant was issued for Marler’s arrest on August 30.

Marler was found the same day and taken into arrested by the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the St. Francois County Sheriff’s Office.

Marler was taken to the St. Francois County Jail where he is being held, with a $500,000 bond.