Beisly II waives preliminary hearing on murder charge

A man charged with killing his wife in July 2009, appeared before Judge Neal Quitno on Friday and waived his right to a preliminary hearing on the murder charge.

Bob Beisly II, 57, of Nevada, is charged with murder in connection with the death of his estranged wife, Belinda Beisly, whose body was found in her rural Richards home July 15, 2009, when a deputy arrived at the home to check her well-being.

The Vernon County Sheriff's Office had received a call asking that someone check the residence and an autopsy determined she had died of a gunshot wound.

The Beisly couple had been separated for several years, and according to court documents, Mrs. Beisly had received a court date to finalize a divorce.

Beisly was arrested in February, along with Jeremy Maples, 33, who authorities have described as a part-time farm employee of Beisly. Maples also is charged with first-degree murder.

Acting on advise from defense attorney Tyce Stuart Smith, Beisly waived the preliminary hearing and all witnesses against him had already been dismissed by the prosecutor's office when the courtroom opened. Security was still tight, however and everyone entering the courtroom was checked with a metal-detecting wand by court bailiff Greg Prough.

Beisly was bound over for arraignment before Circuit Judge James R. Bickel on Tuesday at 10 a.m. and a motion to quash a subpoena served on Beisly by attorneys for co-defendant Jeremy Maples was withdrawn by his attorney.

The murder investigation slowed down and the case went unsolved for more than three years, despite a $10,000 reward offered by her family. Beisly was finally arrested Feb. 8 at his home in Nevada by Vernon County Sheriff's deputies with an arrest warrant.

Maples was arrested the next day in rural Cedar County, near El Dorado Springs, after the sheriff's office received an anonymous tip regarding his location.

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 told him Mrs. Beisly had to die that night, "even if he had to do it himself." Her body was discovered the next day.

In addition to the murder charge, Mrs. Beisly's family has filed a wrongful death suit stemming from the case.

Both men are being held in the Vernon County Jail without bond. A preliminary hearing for Maples is set for May 22.