By Shannon McFarin News Director
Paris, Tenn.–A cold case murder that dates back to 2001 has been nolled (dismissed) with plans by the prosecution to re-present it to the Henry County Grand Jury.
Douglas Wayne Talley was charged in 2019 with first degree murder in the death of Etta Etheridge who was found dead in her home on Rison Street in Paris June 8, 2001.
The case had been scheduled for trial in Henry County Circuit Court in February 2025 but the case was dismissed with intent to re-file.
After charges against him were announced by Paris Police in 2019, Talley was placed on the TBI’s Most Wanted list and was arrested in Nashville.
With his arrest, the TBI provided more details on the charges filed. On June 8, 2001, the Paris Police Department responded to a home at 322 Rison Street in Paris, where investigators found Etta Etheridge inside unresponsive. She was 72. Her death was ruled a homicide.
At the request of 24th District Attorney General, over the years that followed, TBI Agents and investigators from the Paris Police Department conducted an extensive joint investigation.
The Henry County Grand Jury in November of 2019 returned indictments charging Talley with one count of First Degree Murder and one count of First Degree Murder in the Perpetration of a Felony (Criminal Attempt to Commit Robbery).