Birmingham, AL 07/18/2016
Sheriff’s detectives are investigating the discovery of human skeletal remains believed to be those of a missing Morris woman near the 2200 block of Gurley Road in Trafford.
On Friday July 15, 2016 forty-three year old Joseph Poe III was arrested by the Tarrant Police Department. The following day he told Tarrant Police that he needed to talk to a detective concerning the disappearance of his wife in 2014.
41 year old Paula Anne Worcester was reported missing to the Sheriff’s Office by her sister on July 4, 2014. At the time it was reported that Worcester had last been seen with her husband, Joseph Poe III, on June 14, 2014. Poe was questioned by detectives about her disappearance. He told several conflicting stories including that the couple had been in an argument and he had let her out of their truck at a location in Bessemer. Detectives followed up on several tips, but Worcester was never located.
On Saturday Tarrant Police detectives again spoke to Poe. He admitted that he had killed Worcester by shooting her. He told detectives that he had left her body in a wooded area off of Gurley Road in Trafford. Tarrant Police notified Sheriff’s Detectives.
Detectives went to the area he described and located skeletal remains. A perimeter was established and plans were made for a forensic team to recover the remains today.
Due to the advanced stage of decomposition and the remote location the recovery process could take some time.
This morning Sherriff’s detectives obtained an arrest warrant charging Joseph Poe III with Capital Murder during Kidnapping 1st Degree for the death of Paula Worcester. He has no bond.
He is currently in custody of Tarrant police pending transfer to the Jefferson county jail.