A former Collierville attorney who tried three separate times to kill his wife is up for parole again next month, and his ex-wife is mobilizing thousands of supporters to keep him locked up. Staci Jones says she plans to attend Fred Wortman's parole hearing herself, still uncertain whether the man who once poisoned her toothpaste and twice tried to hire a hitman has changed after more than a decade behind bars.
Wortman, a onetime Collierville attorney, was convicted of trying to hire multiple people to kill his then-wife, according to WREG. He was sentenced in 2015 to 30 years in prison on two counts of attempted first-degree murder and one count of solicitation of first-degree murder. Court records reviewed by CBS News show the judge ordered the 30-year term and an eight-year solicitation sentence to run concurrently, capping his total exposure at 30 years rather than 38.
A Poisoning, Then Two Hitman Plots
According to the same WREG report, Wortman attempted to kill his estranged wife three times: first by poisoning her toothpaste, then by twice trying to hire someone to kill her, including an undercover Tennessee Bureau of Investigation agent he believed was a real hitman. The plant-based poison made Staci Jones and one of their children sick, and their oldest daughter was 9 years old when she used the tainted toothpaste, per the same account. Court documents from a 2024 appellate proceeding identified the toxin as Aconitum, or wolfsbane, after investigators found computer searches on Wortman's computer for lethal substances, according to Justia Law.
Tennessee Bureau of Investigation agents arrested Wortman on June 4, 2015, after a citizen tip led to an undercover sting in which he handed over cash, personal details, and his wife's schedule to an agent posing as a hitman, according to CBS News. Court records cited in that report showed Wortman instructed the undercover agent that it did not matter if his children were home during the attack, and he had requested the murder occur on his youngest child's birthday. Separately, per WREG, Wortman also attempted to hire his cellmate while in jail to carry out a killing.
Disbarred and Denied Parole Once Already
Wortman's legal career ended alongside his criminal case. The Tennessee Supreme Court permanently disbarred him on December 4, 2015, after he submitted a consent affidavit conceding he could not successfully defend against three formal complaints of attorney misconduct, according to the Board of Professional Responsibility of the Supreme Court of Tennessee. He had already been under a temporary license suspension since his June 2015 arrest.
Wortman went up for parole after four years, and the Tennessee Board of Parole denied that first release request in October 2019, imposing a maximum seven-year deferral due to the severity of his offenses, per the TBA Law Blog. That deferral meant the board would not hear his case again until September 2026 — the hearing now scheduled for September 9, 2026, which will mark his second bid for early release in seven years. Wortman is serving his sentence at the Morgan County Correctional Complex in Wartburg, Tennessee, and parole proceedings have previously been conducted via video link from that facility, the same outlet reports.
Years of Failed Legal Challenges
Wortman has repeatedly tried to overturn or soften his sentence through the courts, without success. In April 2026, the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed a lower court's denial of his post-conviction relief, ruling that state prosecutors did not breach his 2015 plea agreement by attending his 2019 parole hearing to oppose his release, according to the TBA Law Blog. Wortman had claimed the state acted in bad faith, but judges ruled he received all the benefits outlined in his original plea deal.
In September 2024, the Tennessee Court of Appeals upheld dismissal of a defamation lawsuit Wortman filed against a Collierville police detective who had testified against his release at the 2019 hearing, ruling that parole testimony carries absolute legal privilege, per Justia Law. And in May 2025, a Shelby County judge rejected a separate post-conviction motion in which Wortman sought to modify his conviction terms after claiming he did not fully understand the release terms tied to his plea; Hoodline's prior coverage of that ruling noted the Shelby County District Attorney's Office confirmed his 30-year sentence remained fully in effect.
Grandfathered Under Older Sentencing Rules
Wortman's continued parole eligibility exists because of when he was convicted. He has 30 percent release eligibility tied to his 2015 sentencing, but Tennessee's Truth in Sentencing Act, enacted in 2022, now requires anyone convicted of attempted first-degree murder on or after July 1, 2022, to serve 100 percent of their sentence without parole eligibility, according to Lannom & Williams. Wortman remains governed by the older rules that predate that reform, meaning he still gets periodic parole hearings that a person convicted of the same crime today would not receive. Per Tennessee Department of Correction records, his full sentence is not expected to end until August 26, 2040.
An Ex-Wife's Campaign to Keep Him In
Staci Jones, Wortman's ex-wife, says she does not know whether he has changed, but she is not taking chances. She started an online petition seeking community support and has collected more than 8,000 signatures, telling supporters they can be anywhere, not only in Tennessee. She plans to present that petition to the parole board next month and said her children support her decision to keep Wortman imprisoned; her children have had no contact with him. Jones said she remains concerned about her safety and plans to attend the September 9 hearing in person.
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