Bonne Terre Man Arrested in Connection to 1989 Homicide

Bonne Terre, Mo. (KFMO) - A decades-old murder case in Bonne Terre, has led to the arrest of 69-year-old Wesley P. Marler, of Bonne Terre, after investigators reopened the investigation into the 1989 death of Jimmie Wade Martin.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Division of Drug and Crime Control, in collaboration with the St. Francois County Sheriff’s Office, arrested Marler on August 30, 2024. Martin was discovered severely wounded on October 14, 1989, in front of a residence in Bonne Terre and later succumbed to his injuries at a Farmington hospital. In December 2020, law enforcement officials decided to re-examine the case, launching a thorough investigation. The evidence gathered was then 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 on one count of first-degree assault.

A warrant for his arrest was issued on August 30, and Marler was apprehended the same day by the Missouri State Highway Patrol and St. Francois County Sheriff’s Office. He is currently being held in the St. Francois County Jail with a bond set at $500,000.