New Hampshire Union Leader / St Albans Daily Messenger

June 3, 2004

Husband confesses to killing missing wife

By Wilson Ring

Hyde Park, Vt. -- The husband of a Johnson woman missing since last week has confessed to killing her, police said last night.

Earlier in the day investigators discovered the body of a woman but officials said they could not positively identify it as that of Jodie Whitney.

The sheriff's office announced last night that Edgar Whitney had confessed.

Deputy Sheriff Andrew Glover said an autopsy on the body was scheduled to be performed today, when officials from the state crime lab would also continue to search the Whitney's house.

At a news conference held yesterday to announce the discovery of the body, Lamoille County Sheriff Roger Marcoux described Edgar Whitney as a suspect in the disappearance of his wife.

"Right now he is the best suspect we have," Marcoux said.

He tried to kill himself by overdosing on pills yesterday morning, said Marcoux.

Edgar Whitney was taken to Fletcher Allen Health Care in Burlington after relatives called for an ambulance. Investigators were talking to him yesterday afternoon.

Marcoux said he expected a positive identification of the body later Wednesday.

"We are operating off the common sense there is a good chance of it (being Whitney's body)," Marcoux said. "We don't have a lot of missing females."

Marcoux said investigators were still looking for links among the cases of two other missing women from the region. Marcoux and a state police detective were still planning to meet Friday with New Hampshire detectives to look for links among the cases.

"We are still going to proceed with that meeting," Marcoux said.

In February Maura Murray, a University of Massachusetts student, disappeared after a single vehicle traffic accident in Haverhill, N.H., about 75 miles from Johnson. In March, Brianna Maitland of Sheldon disappeared after leaving her job in Montgomery, about 25 miles from Johnson.

Marcoux said that information gathered from relatives helped lead to the discovery of the body.

"I can tell you this really stepped up this morning after we got the call about him taking the pills," Marcoux said of Edgar Whitney.