Army veteran faces trial for murder of adult entertainer wife using absinthe bottle

Kathleen Dawn West was found half-naked and unresponsive outside her home in Alabama, USA by her 19-year-old neighbour. A murder investigation was launched after she was pronounced dead on January 13, 2018. Police arrested William Jeffrey West on suspicion of the murder of his wife. Since his arrest in 2018, the suspect has remained in jail awaiting trial. Shelby County Circuit Judge William Bostick set the date of the trial for September 14.

In 2018, three years since Kathleen and William moved to Calera, Shelby County with their daughter, the woman was found dead on the street. A teenage neighbour was on her way to work when she spotted the victim face down on the ground at around 5 am local time. The panicked witness alerted her father who came to check on their neighbour.

The victim's body was sprawled across the neighbour's lawn and the street in front of it. He touched the back of the body to check if she was breathing, but she was completely unresponsive. The witnesses claimed that William came out and confirmed that the woman was his wife.

Emergency services were notified and Kathleen was pronounced dead at the scene. She was found wearing only a sports bra and close to her body was a green liquor bottle and a cell phone. A murder investigation was initiated and police suspected that she had been killed the night before her body was found.

On February 22, 2018, police arrested William for the murder of his wife. According to Al.com, the victim died after being struck on the head with a bottle of absinthe. Surveillance footage from R & R Wine and Liquor in Calera showed the couple buying a bottle of Lucid Absinthe and Jameson Irish Whiskey before the incident. The couple appeared to be happy and affectionate in the footage.

Since his arrest in 2018, William has remained in custody with his bail set at $500k (£398k). His lawyer John Robbins contended that the excessive bail amount was detaining the defendant unfairly. He pointed out that the defendant is a US Army veteran who was honourably discharged and he was employed until his arrest. According to Robbins, William is not a flight risk so the exorbitant bail amount is unjustified.

The suspect is supposed to appear in court on September 14 for his trial. The backup date has been set as October 19. On August 24, a pre-trial conference is scheduled. William continues to plead his innocence.

Before the incident, William worked as a campus security officer, while Kathleen had a subscription-only adult entertainment website. She used her social media presence to gain subscribers to her website.