The Murder of Jim Webb
For this case, I watched an episode of Forensic Files. It’s season 10 episode 38, titled ‘Murder on the Menu.’
An executive chef is found dead in his office.
Background
Jim Webb was just 31-years-old when he died. He lived in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, with his wife Robin, and their two young children.
Jim was a very talented chef, and in 1995, he took over the General Wayne Inn, which was 297-years-old at the time. He, along with his business partner Guy Sileo, were going to renovate the inn. The inn was very historic, and was known for being “haunted.”
Jim was described as passionate, talented, and very hard-working.
Jim Webb
Jim Webb and Guy Sileo
The General Wayne Inn at 625 Montgomery Ave, Merion, Pennsylvania.
The Crime Scene
On December 27, two days after Christmas 1995, a 911 call was made. The woman on the phone said that the executive chef had fallen and hit his head. She also said he was purple and cold.
When the police arrived, they determined that Jim was killed sometime during the previous evening. He had a bump on his head, but it was a from a gun shot to the back of his head, not from a fall. The bullet had entered his head, but hadn’t exited.
A .25 caliber shell casing was found in a cash drawer, that was found sitting on Jim’s desk. A robbery was ruled out quickly. Jim wore a thick gold chain, and his money was still found inside his wallet. The police also discovered that nothing had been taken from the restaurant.
The Investigation
The police interviewed Jim’s wife Robin, and asked if she knew of anyone from the restaurant who’d want to hurt Jim.
Robin revealed that many employees didn’t like Jim’s management style. He was very strict, and hard on his employees. He demanded perfection, and wanted the old inn to succeed.
The police also questioned Guy, Jim’s business partner. Guy and Jim had taken out $650,000 life insurance policies on each other. The policies had been taken out for business reasons.
Those closest to Jim revealed that Jim hadn’t been happy with his partnership with Guy. Guy was known to drink on the job, and flirt with the women that worked with them.
Guy owned a .25 caliber gun, and he agreed to turn it over to police for testing. It wasn’t a match to the bullet that had killed Jim.
Possible Suspects
Guy told the police that he had been with a woman named Felicia Moyse, who worked as the assistant chef at the inn. Guy said he and Felicia had a drink with Jim after work, and left together to go to a Christmas party. They said Jim stayed behind to do paperwork, and was alive when they left. Felicia backed up Guy’s alibi, and passed a polygraph test.
The police checked into other potential suspects, including past and present employees. They discovered that a waiter named Ken Norcutt had been fired months before the murder. He had been using customer’s credit cards to buy personal items.
Ken had an alibi. He had been in jail on a forgery charge, on the night of the murder. Ken did reveal to the police that Guy had a second .25 caliber gun, a Beretta. Other employees back this story up, but Guy denied it. He was later caught on tape admitting to getting rid of the gun.
The Shady Business Partner
After all the other suspects were cleared, the attention turned back to Guy.
Two months after Jim was killed, on February 22, 1997, Felicia Moyse took her own life. It was later believed that she did it because she found out that she was used as an alibi.
Robin told the police that on the day Jim was found in his office, Guy had walked up to her, to offer his condolences. He also said who would have wanted to shoot Jim? This information about Jim’s cause of death, was withheld from the public. The police now believed Guy was the killer, they just had to prove it.
Sadly, it would take two years for the police to do just that.
The Evidence
The police now knew that Guy had a second gun. The police wondered if his leather gun holster would prove that the Beretta was once in there. It was tested, and the stitching was removed. The Beretta had left behind impressions from the logo and the safety switch.
Guy Sileo was charged with perjury in May 1998, for lying about his gun. He was eventually charged with first degree murder on October 25, 2000.
The prosecution believed that the motive was financial. The General Inn was losing money, and Jim had been planning to close it, and end his partnership with Guy. The inn was eventually sold, and Jim’s insurance policy was used to pay the bills.
The prosecution said that Guy knew that other employees would remember his Beretta, so he bought an “alibi” gun.
Guy and Felicia had gone to the Christmas party together that night, but in separate vehicles. Guy had gone back to the restaurant, parked across the street, and checked his gun, leaving behind another .25 caliber bullet. He then killed Jim, and discarded the gun, which has never been found.
The Conviction
On August 1, 2001, after a two week trial, Guy Sileo was found guilty of first degree murder. He was sentenced to life in prison. He still maintains he’s innocent.
His latest appeal for a new trial has been denied.
Other
In 2005, what was once the General Wayne Inn, was converted into a synagogue and community center.
FINAL THOUGHTS
It’s obvious that this guy is an arrogant piece of shit. He thought he could deny everything, and that he’d get away with it. He’s still denying it this day. He deserves to sit in his cell everyday to think about what he did to his former partner, and someone he most likely called his friend.
My heart also breaks for Felicia, and her family. She didn’t deserve to feel the way she felt. She had no idea that she was being used, and clearly felt so bad for what happened to Jim.
Sources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Wayne_Inn
https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-3rd-circuit/1869050.html
https://www.southjersey.com/article/3982/Sileo-Guilty-of-1st-Degree-Murder
https://ohcdphila.org/guy-sileo-kills-business-partner-jim-webb-over-debts/
https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/The_General_Wayne_Inn
