Man gets life with parole for killing wife, sexually assaulting woman held hostage in his McCalla home
A Jefferson County man has pleaded guilty to the 2019 murder of his wife and the kidnapping and sexual assault of another woman inside their home.
Belton Eugene Nettles was initially charged with capital murder in the shooting death of his wife, 52-year-old Linda Cole Jackson.
He was also charged with seven counts of sodomy, one count of attempted rape and one count of kidnapping involving another woman who was held hostage inside their Letson Farms home for 12 hours.
Nettles on Monday pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of murder, as well as attempted murder, rape and sodomy.
Jefferson County Bessemer Cutoff Circuit Judge David Carpenter sentenced Nettles to life in prison. He will be eligible for parole.
The slaying happened May 26, 2019.
The ordeal began just after 3 a.m. Sunday inside the family’s home in the 4700 block of Longmeadow Drive in McCalla. An argument led to gunfire and Jackson was fatally shot.
A woman was killed early Sunday and her adult daughter held hostage for at least 12 hours during a domestic incident at a Letson Farms home. The victim’s new husband is in custody after he later surrendered.
Authorities said Jackson was shot when she tried to defend another woman who was inside the home and being assaulted by Nettles. For the next 12 hours, the other woman was held hostage inside the home.
About 3 p.m., she was able escape after one of Nettle’s family members called and convinced him to allow her to leave and seek help.
The surviving woman was taken to the hospital. Nettles later turned himself in to Bessemer police.
The couple had only been married four months. Jackson’s death was a hard-hit to the large, close-knit family. She worked at Compass Bank in Hoover for at least 15 years, friends said, and left behind a daughter and son.
Nettles has remained in the Jefferson County Jail since his arrest more than three years ago.