Stuart Mauney

By WILLIAM SNOWDEN
Editor

Joe Bodiford, the defense attorney for Stuart Mauney, who faces a charge of murder, filed a motion with the court to withdraw representation – saying there was a conflict between him and Mauney. Citing client confidentiality, Bodiford did not disclose the nature of the conflict, but said he could no longer represent Mauney.


At a hearing on March 6 before Wakulla Circuit Judge Layne Smith, Mauney said he had no money left to hire an attorney and that Bodiford’s withdrawal would be a hardship. At the same time, Mauney also complained to the court about Bodiford, saying the lawyer did not communicate with him or respond to messages.
Mauney had been set to go to trial on second-degree murder charges on April 15. If convicted, he could face life in prison.
Judge Smith granted the attorney’s motion to withdraw and set a hearing date in April to see if Mauney has hired private counsel or wishes to apply for a public defender.
Mauney was charged in February 2022 with the December 2021 murder of a man in the Purify Bay Road area.
Mauney was released on $500,000 bond.
The victim’s family invoked Marsy’s Law, the constitutional amendment intended to protect crime victims, so the Wakulla County Sheriff’s Office never released the victim’s name.
The Wakulla Sun searched obituaries from the time of the death and identified the murder victim as Timothy Wayne Blyth, 52, who was killed while scouting a hunting area on refuge lands. He was a U.S. Marine veteran who served two tours overseas and received numerous medals.
According to the arrest report, witnesses reported Mauney in the area with his two standard Poodles and described him as argumentative. He got into an argument as he was walking down the road with his dogs after one person suggested he wear orange because there was a mobility hunt going on. At the kiosk where hunters note their deer harvests, Mauney got into an argument with a man matching Blyth’s description.
The sheriff’s office received a 911 call after a man driving on Purify Bay Road found a body in the road. The victim had been shot multiple times.
Mauney’s poodles were running around the site loose when deputies arrived. Mauney’s wife arrived and collected the dogs. She reportedly told deputies the dogs had escaped from their Jack Crum Road home about a mile away and that her husband had not been at the location.
After developing leads, detectives searched Mauney’s home and found bloodstained boots that matched prints at the scene, as well as bloodstained jeans. The tire tracks of Mauney’s Ford F150 matched tire tracks at the scene.
But a 9mm handgun Mauney reportedly owned was missing from the home.
At the crime scene, officers found four 9mm spent casings and the victim’s phone about 40 yards away from the body. The last photo on the victim’s phone was of Mauney’s F150 showing the tag.
Back in October, Mauney asked the court if his bow and arrows could be returned to him so that he could hunt during bow season. (As a condition of bond, he is not allowed to possess a gun.) Judge Smith denied the request.