Washington State Department of Corrections Photo of Johnnie Lee Wiggins taken in 2010.
Wiggins seen her with his former girlfriend, Prudence Hockely,who he is accused of murdering.
ATLANTA - An ex-con from Georgia who violated his probation here is now facing murder charges in Seattle in connection with the brutal Christmas eve slaying of his ex girlfriend.
Questions are now being raised about what was he doing in Seattle and why authorities in Georgia weren't keeping an eye on him.
Prudence Hockley, 55, was found by her 13 year old daughter beaten and on the ground outside her Seattle home on Christmas Eve.
"We're distraught, pacing the floors, turning in circles not knowing what to do with ourselves," a neighbor said, upon hearing the news.
But could the beloved school teacher's death have been prevented?
The man now in custody, 48 year old Johnnie Lee Wiggins, has a long criminal history, both in North Carolina and in Georgia. He most recently served time for aggravated assault.
After serving jail time, Wiggins had been released on probation in Georgia and the former body builder moved to Washington in 2008 where he became a personal trainer. Under an interstate agreement, Washington's Department of Corrections had him under supervision until this past May when he was found with illegal steroids and was accused of verbally abusing his probation officer. Washington tried to get Georgia to take him back.
But according to a letter from Georgia's Dept of Pardons and Paroles, Georgia officials initially refused to extradite him and pay for his trip back, instead allowing him to voluntarily return.
Now in an email to 11Alive News, Georgia's Department of Corrections admits Wiggins violated his probation. Stating:
"In August 2011, Johnnie Lee Wiggins voluntarily reported to a Probation Office in the Cobb Judicial Circuit after being supervised in Washington for approximately 3 years.
As an unsupervised probationer, Wiggins is required to notify his probation officer when he leaves the state or changes his address. Wiggins failed to inform his probation officer of his move to Washington, thus did not comply with the terms of his probation. Due to his failure to comply, the Department is obtaining a warrant for Wiggins and is taking the proper steps to extradite Wiggins back to the state."
However, it's too late because, we are told, Wiggins can not be moved until the murder case of Prudence Hockley is resolved, leaving the people who loved her questioning what went wrong.
"She was everyone's favorite teacher, English writing, passing in the halls, she just had one of those personalities that made you want to learn," said one of her former students.
We asked when Wiggins was supposed to have last checked in with his probation officer. Georgia's Department of Corrections told us are reports and files in probation cases are deemed confidential.
Natasha Ryan and Tanya Mosley of KING5 TV in Seattle contributed to this article.