Charges of first degree murder are facing a 21-year-old Milan man who is accused of killing his wife.
According to a probable cause statement, Edward James Elijah “Eli” Withey, is charged with first degree murder, a class A felony, armed criminal action, an unclassified felony and abandonment of a corpse, a class E felony.
Withey is being held without bond and is accused of killing his 21-year-old wife, Mattie. He was arrested May 13 by Milan Police Chief Gail Hayes at Smithfield Foods in Milan, where he was employed. According to the probable cause statement, two friends had gone to the couple’s home at 302 N. State St., in Milan after not being able to contact Mrs. Withey. The door was locked and after they made entry into the home, the body of Mrs. Withey, who had sustained a gunshot wound to the face, was found.
Withey’s mother told law enforcement that she had met her son outside the home at approximately 8:45 p.m. to give him a ride to work. The couple’s two children were with him and he told her she needed to take care of them because his wife had gone out with friends.
When Chief Hayes went to talk with Withey at work, he reported that Withey was “nervous, trembling and sweating profusely.” He also had three stains that appeared to be blood on his hooded sweatshirt. Those stains are being tested for DNA evidence. A .22 caliber rifle was found between a mattress and the foam mattress pad in the house, with ammunition also found in the residence.
According to a gofundme.com page set up to help the family pay for expenses, the couple’s children, Aaliyah, age 10 months and Elijah, 2 years, are being cared for by relatives on their mother’s side of the family.
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