David Lokeith Worley, Toni Marsha Talley: ‘Fatal Attraction’ Probes North Carolina Wreck That Turned Out To Be A Case Of Domestic Violence, Murder On TV One
David Lokeith Worley, a North Carolina man who was stabbed to death by his wife, Toni Marsha Talley, three years ago, will have his case documented on Fatal Attraction on TV One. The hit show, geared toward African American murders, will detail how a husband and father-of-four was thought to have died in a car crash, until an efficient mortician spotted stab wounds. The episode that will cover David Lokeith Thomas Worley’s death is titled, “Wrecked By Love.” The story will be told through interviews with family members and law enforcement officials of North Carolina.
Car Accident Or Murder?
It was July, 2013, when police received a 911 call from a neighbor who stated that a vehicle had crashed on Ray Road, and there was a body nearby. By the time paramedics arrived on the scene the man was already deceased. The victim was identified as 39-year-old David L. Worley of Fayetteville, North Carolina. Authorities say that David Worley was driving about 90 mph, a high rate of speed, just before veering off into another lane and leaving the road, causing the car to flip several times before it finally crashed. David’s body was thrown from the vehicle. He was not wearing a seat belt at the time of impact. Detectives learned that Worley was headed to Spring Lake at the time of the accident at about 6:52 a.m.
It was determined that David Lokeith Worley had injuries that were consistent with a car crash, and his death was listed as an accident.
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The Truth Comes To Light
However, the case was turned on its head when a family member contacted the funeral home with suspicions that something else may have happened. The family member learned from David Worley’s son that David had argued with his 32-year-old wife, Toni Marsha Talley, about an hour before the car wreck. His son also stated that Toni Talley had stabbed him. When the mortician at Unity Funeral Home examined the body, he found stab wounds to the back. An autopsy later determined that the butcher knife had pierced the man’s lung. Specifically, the affidavit read this way, according to WRAL.
“The medical examiner determined that Worley had been stabbed with an 8-inch butcher knife and that one of the wounds had punctured a lung, the affidavit states. He told investigators that the wound was the cause of his death, as it would have caused Worley to lose control of his motor skills within an hour.”
David Lokeith Worley’s mother, Ella Grant, was outraged that the medical examiner had missed the stab wounds the first time around. The funeral home’s findings led to criticism from community members once she brought the mistake to the attention of the public. It turns out that the body was checked for gunshot wounds only. Ella Grant said had it not been for the funeral home, her son would have been cremated and no one would have known otherwise. Mortician Vernon Peterson elaborated on the stab wounds in an interview with WRAL.
“We all were in agreement that this was something a lot bigger than a traffic accident. There are wounds that I think about with an accident, but these wounds that we saw were not consistent with damages from an automobile accident.”
Harnett County investigators were able to match the gold fingernail polish found on Toni Marsha Talley’s nails with flecks of polish found at the scene of the accident. She was arrested and charged in her husband’s death.
Wife Toni Marsha Talley arrested for murder of husband after funeral home employee spots stab wounds … http://t.co/KhvXt3Nkxg
— samuel gonzalez (@lasttradion) August 1, 2013
The death of her son still haunts Ella Grant, and she believes that speaking out about it might help someone else. Very few articles were written about the case, so not much is known about David Lokeith Worley and Toni Marsha Talley’s personal life. It will be interesting to see how the producers of Fatal Attraction develop the story.
According to domestic violence in America stats provided by Safe Horizon, women between the ages of 18-34 are at the highest risk to be victims of domestic partner violence. Two-out-of-three female homicide victims are killed by a family member or a lover.
To find out how the case ended, watch Fatal Attraction this Monday night at 9/8 p.m. Central on TV One.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtube_gdata&v=gvwifMo39tw
[Photo via Lehtikuva/AP File]
