Bethel Man
Arrested
In Mexico

By Sandy Vondrasek

State police announced yesterday that a 35-year-old Bethel man, wanted for his involvement in the 2006 homicide of James Saunders of Barre, had turned himself in to Mexican authorities on April 19.

Jonathan Whalley, facing a charge of accessory after the fact for homicide, was one of four men and three juveniles who were charged in the brutal beating death of Saunders, in May, 2006, apparently related to a drug deal gone bad.

Whalley, at the time a Northfield resident, helped break the case by coming forward with information four months later. Thanks to information from Whalley, police were able to find Saunders’ remains in a shallow grave behind a Vershire rental property, in September, 2006.

According to Lt. Brian H. Miller, at the Williston state police barracks, Whalley went missing earlier this year, after he failed to appear in court for a January 28 change-of-plea hearing on the accessory-after-the-fact charge.

Lt. Miller said Whalley was tracked to Mexico by the U.S. Marshal Service and by VSP investigators. Pressure on Whalley, including exposure on the "America’s Most Wanted" television show and website, contributed to his decision to surrender, Miller indicated.

Whalley is currently detained in Texas, and has waived his right to appeal extradition to Vermont, Miller said.

The 2006 homicide was a case with gruesome overtones. Saunders, a 32-year-old Barre resident, was brutally beaten to death, police said.

One of the most horrific allegations of the case was that drug dealer Leodor Rousseau of Barre had paid three Barre teenagers $500 to lure Saunders into a car. The three teens, ages 14, 15, and 17, allegedly witnessed the fatal beating in the car, en route from Barre to Vershire that May day.

The Saunders murder, however, was only a cold, missing-person case in late September, 2006, when Whalley told police about the fatal beating, and where to find Saunders’ remains.

At the time, Whalley was described as a Northfield resident and a Rousseau associate who had been recruited to sell cocaine. Whalley, who said he had witnessed events at the Vershire home, told police he had kept quiet for fear of retaliation.

Rousseau and two other men, Aaron Bassett and Joshua Darling, were charged with homicide and kidnapping, and their cases are still winding their way through court. Earlier this year, Bassett pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of second-degree murder and kidnapping, but he has not yet been sentenced. The teens have been prosecuted on accessory or "aiding" charges, with some of those cases partially handled in juvenile court.

Whalley was charged with accessory to homicide after the fact.

An arrest warrant was issued for Whalley in late January after he disappeared. He was also wanted on three counts of violation of conditions of release.

According to VSP Lt. Brian H. Miller, Whalley’s most recent registered address was Bethel. After he went missing, state police from the Royalton barracks searched several residences in the Bethel area, the lieutenant said.

Lt. Miller said he did not believe that Whalley fled because he was in personal danger of retaliation.

Although Whalley "was not in an enviable position," Miller said, many others have since given information on the case.

"He did the right thing, but there is still culpability there," Miller added.

The plea agreement that had been worked out for Whalley kept the original accessory charge, but called for a less-than-maximum prison sentence, Miller said.