SELMA, Texas – James Rigsby, 50, is charged in what the city administrator of Selma said is the city’s first murder in years.
Rigsby is accused of murdering his 41-year-old wife, Jana, on Saturday night.
"He shouldn't be put in jail. It was just a freak, tragic accident,” said James Rigsby, the suspect’s son, who is named after his father.
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Selma police said the elder Rigsby ran over his wife Saturday night with his Ford F-350 outside their home in the 15000 block of Fair Lane.
"It wasn't murder. There was no motive to it,” the younger Rigsby said.
Selma police, who are being assisted by Texas Rangers, said, however, there was enough probable cause to charge the diesel mechanic with murder "based on the information and evidence collected at the scene."
Yet the elder Rigsby's son, who is part of a blended family of four sons, said he believes his father didn't see his wife, Jana, who had sat down in front of the truck about a foot or two away, below his field of vision.
He said the truck was parked on a downward slope on the driveway and his father was sitting up high in the cab. Also, he said it didn't help that the truck's front sensors weren't working.
"If they were arguing or whatever, I don't know why she would sit in front of the truck, instead of just standing in front of the truck to show that she was there," the younger Rigsby said.
In his one phone conversation with his father, who is being held on $500,000 bail in the Guadalupe County Jail, the younger Rigsby said his father told him he thought he'd run over the family's rottweiler.
He said his father stopped immediately, went to try to tend to his wife and then called 911.
"I've never heard of a murderer call the cops on himself," the younger Rigsby said.
Selma police report having answered previous calls to the residence, but none indicated a problem with domestic violence.
The younger Rigsby said his father lived by a code dictating, "Don't hurt or touch women or children."
"That's the way he always lived," he said. "That's how he raised me."