Judge denies Beisly bond

Bob Beisly II has been arrested and charged with first degree murder in connection with the July shooting death of his wife Belinda. Beisly was arrested without incident at his home at 805 N. Oak St. in Nevada on Friday, Feb 8, 2013.

Nevada resident Bob T. Beisly II, charged with the July 2009 murder of his estranged wife, Belinda, was denied bond during a brief hearing in Vernon County Circuit Court Friday morning.

Beisly appeared by closed circuit video from the Vernon County Jail. After hearing arguments from defense attorney Tyce Stewart Smith and Prosecuting Attorney Lynn M. Ewing, Associate Circuit Judge Neal Quitno rejected Smith's motion for reasonable bond and ordered Beisly held in custody until trial.

A May 10 date was set for a preliminary hearing in the case.

Beisly and Jeremy Maples, also of Nevada, are charged with first-degree murder in the death of Belinda Beisly, whose body was discovered in her rural Richards home July 15, 2009. An autopsy determined she died of a gunshot wound. The Beislys had been separated for several years, and according to court documents, Mrs. Beisly had received a court date to finalize a divorce.

The murder remained unsolved for more than three years, despite a $10,000 reward offered by her family. Beisly was arrested Feb. 8 at his home in Nevada after officers with the Vernon County Sheriff's Office received an arrest warrant and took him into custody without incident.

Maples, a part-time farm hand employed by Beisly at the time of the murder, was arrested the next day in rural Cedar County, near El Dorado Springs, after the Vernon County Sheriff's Office received an anonymous call concerning his whereabouts.

Court documents filed at the time of the arrests allege that Maples told investigators in August 2012 that Beisly offered him $10,000 to kill Belinda Beisly. Maples allegedly said on July 14, 2009, Beisly said that Mrs. Beisly had to die that night, "even if he had to do it himself." Her body was discovered the next day.

Beisly and Maples both face the first-degree murder charges and a wrongful death suit has been filed by Mrs. Beisly's family. Maples also remains in the Vernon County Jail without bond. He is set for a preliminary hearing before Quitno on May 22.