Chattanooga, TN: Update: New Details In Deadly Domestic Assault Attack

John Wiser's Preliminary Hearing
October 05, 2010 4:54 PM

Karen Zatkulak
Emotional details behind a brutal beating that took a mother's life, come out in court Tuesday. John Wiser faces several domestic assault charges as well as first degree murder in the death of his wife Shannon. It all stems from two separate incidents. Police say the first involves abuse of several friends. The second involves extreme force to his wife's head and neck that led to her death.

John Wiser listened to terrifying testimony Tuesday from victims telling the court about how he abused them and his wife Shannon "Shae" Wiser back on September 4th. Blair House said, "She came out and said he hit me, but you could hear her scream stop, you could hear her scream and you could hear scream."

Friends say Wiser also pushed and hit others, but said he beat his wife the worst. House says "Her eye was turning black, her face was swollen where he had hit her, her lip was busted, and she said he hit her in the back of the head."

But it was three days later that police say the continued domestic violence turned deadly. At their home on Sleepy Hollow Road, investigators say Wiser beat, kicked, threw and choked Shae in front of her two young sons. Her friend says she got a nervous, crying call from Shae just moments before Wiser laid his hands on her for the last time.

Stephanie Jarrett says she rushed to Shae's house to try to save her. "I jumped out of the car, she was laying on the walkway, she grabbed ahold of my pants said hopsital twice and had blood coming out of her mouth and then she went unresponsive."

The detective who interviewed Wiser says he admitted he was more angry than he'd been in a long time. Alexis Mercado says, "He had been married for over 7 years, and in the last 2 or 3 days had beat his wife more than he had ever hit her or any other woman before."

Jarrett says she saw blood and broken glass inside the house, and the autopsy showed Shae later died from blunt force trauma to her head and neck. Tuesday, her friends, co-workers at Blue Cross, and family came to court to show their support of Shae. "To me all domestic violence cases are bad but this is one of the severe ones yes, we hate that it ultimately ends like this."

Judge Sell bound the case over to the grand jury. Wiser is being held without bond. So far there is no indication of exactly what set Wiser off in either case. But during Tuesday's hearing, Shae's friend testified that earlier Wiser had threatened to kill her if she didn't stay with him.