The twin brother of and Oelwein man accused of killing his girlfriend, has pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact. Zonie Barrett of Waterloo pleaded guilty Monday in Fayette County Court to accessory charge as well as third-degree burglary and being an habitual offender. Zonie is accused of being involved in the May 2005 murder of his twin brother’s girlfriend.
Zonie apparently told his brother Tonie to kill 28-year-old Marie Ferrell of Oelwein by striking her in the head with a hammer. Ferrell’s body was later found in a shallow grave near an old meatpacking plant in Waterloo. Tonie was convicted of first-degree murder in May of this year and sentence to life in prison. Zonie was sentenced Monday to 15 years in prison and ordered to make restitution.