The only circuit-wide investigator for the Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit was honored last week with statewide recognition for his outstanding investigative work leading to convictions in homicide and death penalty cases.
Ocmulgee Circuit District Attorney T. Wright Barksdale III announced Monday that Chief Investigator Clay Wiggins was selected as Investigator of the Year for 2025.
Wiggins has lived in Jones County since 2002 and has worked with the District Attorney’s Office since 2018. He started working parttime but went full-time in 2022.
In his nomination letter for Wiggins, Barksdale explained the extraordinary conditions the investigator has been working under since his 2024 diagnosis of stage-four stomach cancer.
“It is difficult to fully convey the dedication, resilience and impact Clay has demonstrated over the past year,” his letter began.
The DA said he noticed subtle signs of unusual fatigue in his investigator during a murder trial in Morgan County. After the concerns were confirmed, Wiggins began chemotherapy immediately with the first round starting the day before the birth of his youngest daughter.
“Since that time, Clay has continued to serve with unwavering commitment. Despite the physical and emotional toll of his treatments, he remained on the front lines of our most challenging cases,” Barksdale said.
That included four separate murder trials in 2024 and three more this year.
“He has never allowed his illness to deter him from his responsibilities,” he added.
Wiggins was profiled in an article by Greenberry Moore in The News earlier this year. During that interview, he talked about his wife Heather and blended family that includes three biological and two adopted children.
He was diagnosed after a procedure that was expected to take 30 minutes. The investigator woke up hours later from what was to be minor surgery to receive the life-altering news about the stomach cancer.
After receiving several opinions, it was determined he was not a surgical candidate and chemotherapy was his only option. Wiggins had the option of never working again and drawing disability, but that was not going to work for him.
Wiggins regularly goes through cycles of chemotherapy. He said he will not be running marathons, but he can work. There have been some setbacks since February.
The bottom line is the investigator continues to battle the odds that 80 percent of the people with his type of cancer do not live more than five years.
Wiggins said staying home would not help him. The work gives him a purpose as do his children. He wants to walk his daughters down the aisle and be best man at his son’s wedding.
In a text this past weekend, the investigator said he feels honored to be selected.
“I know there are others who deserve it just as much or more than I do,” he said.
The final paragraph in Barksdale’s nomination letter sums up the reason Wiggins was selected as Investigator of the Year.
“In short, Clay Wiggins exemplifies the very best of public service. His integrity, skill and perseverance set a standard for others to follow. His commitment to justice, and to this office, even in the face of personal adversity, is nothing short of heroic.”
