Mary Cannon pleads guilty to the 1995 murder of her husband

Tuesday the 1995 murder of Darren Kelley was solved as his former wife and business partner pled guilty.

Cannon was charged per a plea agreement with the lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter, which is a second-degree felony, and was sentenced to 15 years by Judge Gary Bergosh.

Cannon was indicted back on May 7, 2008 on the charge of homicide-willful kill of Kelley, who was 23 at the time of his death.

As part of the plead agreement, Cannon allocated the detail of her crime to the court.

According to Assistant State Attorney Bobby Elmore, Cannon said that she and Kelley were in the middle of a physical fight and she grabbed a hammer and struck him in the head causing his death. Cannon claimed after killing Kelley, she buried his body on the Munson Highway property they owned the next day.

Back in 2008, investigators uncovered a leg bone believed to belong to Kelley.

The ‘cold case’ had been actively investigated by local law enforcement for over 13 years when they found Kelley’s fibula [lower leg bone] confirming Kelley had been murdered and his body disposed of on the property he had lived on with Cannon.

A DNA analysis revealed that characteristics of the bone were similar to DNA sample given by Kelley’s relatives following his disappearance.

During the course of the investigation, numerous searches had been executed at the property previously owned by the couple.

During the last search conducted on January 11, 12, and 13, Louisiana Search and Rescue Dog Teams and University of West Florida students who were assisting with the search located a human bone.

The bone was sent to Baylor University for special analysis due to its condition. Baylor University concluded the bone shared the DNA of the victim’s mother and brother.

Based on the results of the investigation, Sheriff’s investigators were able to establish probable cause Cannon had killed her husband and disposed of his body on their property.

After obtaining a warrant Santa Rosa County investigators traveled to Leon County and met with Leon County Sheriff’s Deputies who assisted with the apprehension of Cannon.

According to Sgt. Scott Haines, when Cannon was taken into custody she attempted to escape by slipping out of her handcuffs and fighting with the deputy transporting her to the Leon County Jail.

Cannon also tried to disarm the deputy by attempting to remove his gun from his holster. She also tried to run away and at this time she was tazed by the deputy and taken back into custody.

According to Elmore, Cannon repeatedly screamed, “I cannot spend the rest of my life locked up. Please shoot me!” after being tazed and taken back into custody.

Cannon who has been married five times with Kelley being her third husband was married to her fifth husband at the time of her arrest. She has three children, one by her first husband, one by her fourth, and the youngest by her fifth husband.

The case originated back on Aug. 13, 1998, when Cannon’s first husband filed a missing person report with the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Department.

The report listed Kelley as missing since the end of May/early June of 1995, which was a few weeks after Kelley married Cannon n May 21, 1995.

Kelley began his relationship with Cannon in 1994, shortly after he moved to the area. She was married to her second husband at the time they began residing together.

Cannon and Kelley started a business together called ‘K & K Lawn and Housekeeping Service’ cleaning houses and providing lawn services.

In 1994, Kelley purchased 14 acres on Munson Highway and a doublewide mobile home was placed on the property. In February of 1995 the home burned and the cause of the fire was determined to be electrical malfunction.

According to Cannon’s arrest warrant, Kelley told his mother at this last meeting “If you don’t see or hear from me again, I will probably be dead.”

The warrant also revealed the evening before Mrs. Kelley left to go back to Germany, she received a telephone call from Daren Kelley and she heard screaming in the background. Daren Kelley told his mother Cannon was throwing things, pulling things off the wall, and had just left with her daughter.

It was at this time, according to documents from Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Department; Kelley told his mother Cannon had threatened his life. He also told her if he didn’t call her [his mother] back tomorrow, then he would probably be dead.

The last time Kelley’s mother heard her son’s voice he said, “see, I told you. I just wanted you to hear this because no one believes me.”

Cannon filed for a divorce from Kelley in Santa Rosa County in October of 1995 and stated in the Petition for Dissolution the last date she saw or heard from her husband was June 12, 1995, 22 days after they were married.

After her arrest Santa Rosa County Sheriff Investigators were able to develop evidence that Cannon had deceived Kelley’s mother into believing he was alive by sending typewritten forged letter to have the DNA of Cannon, rather than Daren Kelley, on the stamp.

Investigators also discovered that Cannon was cited for traffic violation in Kelley’s Explorer in August of 2005 after he supposedly drive away in the vehicle back in June of the same year.

Cannon was awarded Kelley’s vehicle and the two properties he owned in the divorce.

Cannon previously was being held without bond at the Leon County Jail on their charges of Escape, Battery on a Law Enforcement Officer, and Resisting an Officer with Violence.