Florida Man Kills Woman On Christmas Then Murders His Teacher
00:00 Wondery Plus subscribers can binge all episodes of this law and crimes series ad free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. This nice lady, this school teacher has been murdered. All right? You are driving around in her car. A murder suspect in the hot seat in Florida as detectives press him about the death of his former teacher and he comes up with a pat-seat. Is Rashad capable of killing somebody?
00:29 He has before. He has before? He has. I go through the tragic case of the murder of teacher Vivian James and how another woman's murder on Christmas Day is linked to it. Welcome to Crime Fix. I'm Anjana Levy.
00:51 Telling a lie is never a good idea. Once you lead with one, it's hard to stop until you find yourself caught in a huge web of lies. And that's exactly what happened with 27-year-old Zebulon Perkins when he was found with a murdered woman's car. He told one lie, which led to another, and then another, and you get the picture. Perkins' lies started to unravel in December of 2019 in Jacksonville, Florida. This started when a friend of Vivian James, a beloved teacher at Atlantic Coast High School in Duval County, Florida, called 911.
01:26 Jacksonville 911. What's the address of your emergency? Um, my, my friend hadn't called me back. I just came into her house. She's on the floor. It looks like there's blood. Her car is missing. Is she there? Is she missing?
01:42 She's here. Her car is missing and, and she's not answering. Please, somebody. How old is she? Oh my God. Um, um, 49. Alright. Is she breathing, ma'am? I don't think so. It looks like her hands are turning purple. I don't want to touch her.
02:06 Do you think that she's beyond help, Mamma? If you think she's, I mean, if you think that we can help her, then we need to do CPR to help her. Um, sit here. No, her skin is cold, cold, cold.
02:22 Okay, hang on just a moment. Help is coming. Just stay with me on just a moment. Help is coming. Just stay with me for just a second. Jacksonville deputies were dispatched initially to investigate a home invasion robbery and upon arrival, they discovered Vivian James' body. She was only 49 years old and described as bubbly and passionate.
02:39 According to detectives, James had been dead for 48 hours before she was discovered by her friend, who ultimately made that 911 call. A brief search of the home reveals items beyond just Vivian's Toyota Camry were missing. With the murderer on the loose, investigators act fast. That same day, license plate recognition software locates Vivian James' car at a motel on 103rd Street.
03:04 Investigators cautiously observe the suspect loading items into the car while discarding others into a dumpster. The suspect proceeds to check out of the motel and drives away. That's when police move in to conduct a traffic stop arresting 27-year-old Zebulon Perkins. Unfortunately, the arrest was not captured
03:23 by body-worn cameras, but we do have video inside the interrogation room where Zebulon Perkins was taken for questioning. Hey, Zebulon. Hey, my name is Detective David. How are you? Did you go under the water or anything? This way.
03:35 All right. On the way down here, you mentioned that you wanted to talk with the lawyer before you talked to us. Right. But also that you did want to talk to us about how you got the car and the suit and all that. So let's leave Perkins' mom out of this. Me, my mom has all the information as long as I'm trying to call my mom. What's your mom's name? So let's leave Perkins' mom out of this. She didn't do anything wrong and for all we know, he's lying about all of this. The detectives work on getting him to talk to them, but they need him to waive his rights.
04:16 We're just wanting to know about the car and all that stuff. If you're willing to do that and you're okay with telling us about the car and all the stuff without your lawyer, that's totally up to you. Okay. I'm fine. We want to make sure you're comfortable with that. Yes, sir. All right.
04:32 But in the meantime, we are going to go over your rights so that you do know them and then we'll... Yeah, we always read rights. All right. Rights are read once you're arrested. Not necessarily. We're police detectives. We're in a police station and we're asking you about a crime that we don't know if you
04:46 have anything to do with or not. And that's what we want to talk to you about. And before we ask you any questions, because we don't know if you're involved or not, we go over rights. Hey, I want to tell you about a free app that I've tried. It's called Upside and it will give you cash back on things you use every day like gas, groceries, and takeout. You can transfer the cash you get back straight into your bank account.
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05:46 How on earth did he end up driving Vivian James's car, a beloved school teacher who is now a murder victim? And get this, James was actually Perkins's teacher years earlier, so the cops don't exactly believe this is a coincidence. Rashad? Rashad Simmons? Yes sir. I pressed the car from him for $1100. $1100? I was getting it for my wife, my fiance for Christmas. Okay. And today is the 28th, so that would be the 26th. Yes sir. Okay. I had the car from like last night and today. Do you remember what time on the 26th? I gave them money and we got the car. It was like sometime at night. Did he bring it to you there at the hotel or did you meet him somewhere?
06:57 Nah, we met right there at the pool hall right there. The pool hall? Yes sir. Which one? 103rd, Westside Pool. Okay. The pool yes, sir, which one? West I pull okay And you remember like a specific time frame was it dark out It wasn't dark it was like
07:20 Starting to get dark Did you call you and say hey, I'm trying to sell a car Did you know we were just talking earlier? I was you just happen to be there as the area where? Now does that cool? Oh, okay. Okay. Sure. Oh, yeah, you pretty good. You got your own you got your own full queue No That's how you can always tell when somebody's good You just you just want to play, I'm pretty good too I got my own stick Anyways
07:55 You get a topic that I guess we both like Like Mr. Lane objective of the situation We're just trying to find out Where the car came from and what's up with the car? I mean get you the guy Facebook Facebook is that his Facebook name is Rashad Simmons. Yes, is it Rashad or Rashad? With an R at the R8. R8S.
08:26 A.D. A.D. There was nothing taken out of the car, nothing. Like the car is as it is. Did he say where he got it from? No sir. Did you ask? No sir.
08:41 What about some of the strange things that were in there? I mean everything is as it is. My wife and I were just sitting, like I seen the undercover car this morning. I threw all the trash out that was in the vehicle, like in the bag. That's what I was saying. How old is Rashad? He's about 20... 24. What kind of hair does he look like? What kind of hair does he look like?
09:06 What kind of hair does he have? Truds. Five. Seven. What about weight? 135. Short and skinny. Okay.
09:24 Alright. So you paid him $1100 cash or like one of those square things? Cash. Cash. Okay. And what about, I mean where did you go after that? Went to the hotel. Okay.
09:41 From the hotel. Yeah, my lady, I called her. I said she get your stuff ready. She said okay. I'll pick her up my lady, I called her. I said, she get your stuff ready. She said, okay. Okay, girl. When did you pick her up? Um, nighttime.
09:49 On the 26th? No, yesterday. 27 at night. Okay. At this point, Zebulon Perkins denies knowing the vehicle belonged to Vivian James. He told his girlfriend that he'd bought the car from a friend for $2,000. But during the questioning, Zabulon Perkins finally admits that he knew Vivian James. I don't know who, I didn't know this lady was dead until just now.
10:14 That's your friend? Mrs. Vivian? She would be my friend. You know, I cried normally with my friend. I couldn't. I hear you. Y'all trying to plan it on me, bro. Hey, Zip. Um, got a crime scene detective piece in here?
11:03 This is the trash for you. She's gonna get some good photos of your hands and all your clothes and all that. And then when she's done, um, we're gonna have your, bring a bag of clothes in, you're gonna take those off. Same thing they're gonna do in jail, but we're just gonna do it right here, okay? I'm trying to figure out. So, you're being arrested for purchasing a vehicle. Stolen vehicle, right. Get him with a stolen vehicle. And you said it numerous times to us that you knew it was stolen.
11:35 You bought it anyway for your girl. Now Zebulon Perkins, you heard him. He admits he's friends with Miss Vivian, but he certainly doesn't show any emotion upon learning about her death, which is suspicious. Given the grief the whole community is experiencing, this was absolutely shocking. Who would want to hurt Miss Vivian? The answer? No one. She was loved. Her students put together a video to remember her. Before coming to Atlanta Coast in 2010, Miss James spent the previous 13 years at Andrew Jackson High School.
12:07 The Parent Teacher Student Association made an announcement following her death. It is with a very heavy heart that we share news of the passing of one of our teachers, Vivian James. Grief counselors will be on campus next week to help our students and faculty as we mourn her loss. We will post more information as we get it. The community came together to remember Viv students and faculty as we mourn her loss. We will post more information as we get it." The community came together to remember Vivian and her impact on the people in her life. Even
12:31 Jacksonville City Council member Brenda Priestley Jackson praised the school teacher who knew her in a personal and professional setting. She said, "...good teachers are blessings that remain with us throughout our lives and every now and then divine fate brings a teacher into our lives Who will be an angel and a light miss Vivian James was that for our daughters and money and Kaia? investigators dig deep for answers I Said this is very sad situation on this Vivian. Yeah, she's a schoolteacher Obviously, you know, she's a good lady So we want to do for her She's a schoolteacher. Obviously, you know, she's a good lady. It is, but I feel like...
13:05 You know, it's what we want to do for her. I can kind of take the sentence out of her. I want her to feel loved and be important to me. I said nobody's... I feel for her. You know what I'm saying? Like, that's a good friend of mine. But at the same time, you... Like, if I feel like I'm against the wall, then...
13:20 We haven't pointed the finger at you yet. I know, but the way that,'t like the conversation kind of like... Pause, I mean you gotta understand how it looks, everyone. You are... I'm still... You... I'm giving up. You were in her car, bro.
13:31 Give me a... I know when I was in her house, bro. And then... Okay, so... Her license... You know what she looks like. Yeah, I mean her driver's license was in your room. I didn't see that. That's all I'm saying.
13:40 And this morning, me and my lady, like, I was cleaning up. This is her driver's license picture. I was cleaning up. I was cleaning up. This is her driver's license picture. I was cleaning up. I was cleaning up. I didn't see it. OK. When you were inside Miss Vivian's house, I was in the living room.
13:54 The living room? The restroom. I'm getting back to the living room. OK. We don't go in our room. We don't do none of that. Did you sit down on the couch in the living room? Yes, sir.
14:04 OK. Which one? Because there's kind of two. Did you sit down on the couch in the living room? Yes, sir. Okay. Which one, because there's kind of two, there's like a headroom. There's a settle room, that's, when you come through the door, I said, I'm at that single person couch. And when you came to the door,
14:12 you came through the front door? Yes, sir. Or the door that's over there on the side, like, because you gotta- I came through that side door. The side door, like, not through the garage? That's where I left, too. Okay, through that door, not through the garage?
14:21 Not through the garage. Okay. Okay. Did she smoke any cigarettes while you were there or do anything? I smoked a cigarette going in. She was like, changing or something, so I stepped back outside and smoked another cigarette. Did you actually smoke in her house?
14:36 No. The garage? She don't smoke in her house. Or out that side door? Out that side door. She don't smoke in her house. She had like a little, cherry over there. Yes, sir.
14:46 Now at this point, investigators only had enough to charge Perkins for dealing and stolen property and three counts of tampering with evidence after the interrogation. Perkins was not charged in connection with James's death, but he was booked into the Jacksonville detention facility. It wasn't until investigators searched the victim's vehicle
15:05 that they discovered a pair of bloody sweatpants that contained samples from the victim. And now, detectives had DNA evidence linking Zebulon Perkins to the murder. Detectives brought Perkins in to the jail to let him know he was being charged with murder. And let's just say, he didn't take the news lightly. If you do answer questions,
15:24 you have the right to stop answering questions at any time and consult with a lawyer. Do you understand? Okay. I understand you don't want to talk without a lawyer. I respect that. That's your right in our constitution. Okay. And we don't have to talk. I'm not going to ask you anything. I do need to bring you over and tell you we are charging you with murder. Okay.
15:51 But we're not going to talk about it because your lawyer is not present. Okay. So give me a few minutes. I'm gonna finish your arrest report and then we'll walk you back over. Okay. You gotta wait till I finish up that report, okay? It'll seriously be about five minutes. Why can't I leave now? Why can't I leave now? I got charges or something. Why can't I leave now?
16:17 We're gonna finish our report, and uh... Why can't I leave now? Because you're being arrested for murder. No I'm not. I ain't even fined a dude that gave me the car. God please just help me. Alone in the room, he falls on his knees and he prays. Jesus, Father God, help me. I'm not good enough.
16:59 I'm not good enough. I don't know what is doing this. Help me. Help me. Help me. Help me. Please, stop. Peace. Peace, my God. Please touch my heart, my mind, my soul, Father God. Touch my family. You know the truth. You know the truth, Father God.
18:18 You know the truth. You know the truth. You know the truth. You know the truth. Alright, Zeb, what's going on? What's going on, Batman? You alright? I thought you wanted to leave man. Bro, y'all just taking my life from me bro.
18:55 I wanna go back bro, y'all taking my life from me bro. I got kids bro, I did not do this. Let's walk you over there. We can't talk to you because you said you didn't want to talk. I don't want to talk but now you're pulling you over there. We can't talk to you because you said you didn't want to talk. I don't want to talk. But now you're pulling me over here. Please don't touch me. Please don't touch me. Please don't touch me. Please don't touch me. Please don't touch me.
19:10 When we catch her, we'll let you know. Perkins maintained his innocence and remained in custody. Investigators later learned that Vivian had been giving Perkins money and right before her murder, she told him that she was cutting him off. Then came a twist. Homicide detectives began a separate investigation involving the murder of a woman named Leah Klein. Her body was found in a dumpster,
19:33 and she'd been murdered on Christmas Day in 2019. Evidence is leading them to believe that Zebulon may be involved. While in custody, Zebulon messes up big time, picking up an assault charge for fighting with his cellmate, Saquon Gratford. That's when assistant state attorney, Kaitlyn Johnston makes an entrance. And why did the two of you get into a fight?
19:56 We got into a fight because one night, like, we're just in a room, but like, even like before that, like, he always stressing, like he always like, he the type of person, he real miserable, like it's like he fighting a lot of demons in the inside and he not happy with himself. So it's like, you know me, I'm a good person,
20:15 I'm a good spirited person, like his spirit, like he just, he got a bad spirit on him. So like we'll be in the room, and I'll be talking to other people, inmates in the dorm and stuff. You know a lot of people, they'll talk to them and stuff, so we'll be talking to each other.
20:30 So he'll be like, damn bro, you don't talk to me and all that. My spirit gotta allow me to you, for me to talk to you. So I'm like, bro, what's up? What you wanna talk about, bro? I'm like, what's up? I'm like... What did he talk to you about? So he was like, bro, so first he talked to me about the first incident with a female named Cricket. She was supposed to be like a prostitute or something like that. Okay. Let's talk about that.
20:53 White, black, did he tell you? She a white girl. Okay. And what did he say about this white female named Cricket? He was like, he was in a hotel, 130, I forgot her name, it was by the gate gas station. Alright, know the area. Yep 130 and 30. Yeah, so boom He was like, oh, yeah, man. I want time. You know, it's all I'm a lot of saw my what we saw specific
21:15 He's like a shot. I'm not a person. I know my mom I'm a family all muscles this is a big all those things. No, from the neighborhood, from that area around 103rd. I know Rashad, he ain't no violent person, so he was like, yeah, I would, he got into Rashad, he like, and the girl Cricket, something happy. Did he tell you why he got into an argument with Cricket? Was it over anything specific that you know about? It was something about either drugs, she was prostituting, I know that. She did something wrong in his eyes.
21:50 I can't say she was wrong. In his eyes, I guess she was wrong. So now he ended up choking her. Okay. Choking her? Yeah, strangulation. Strangulation. And did he tell you that she died? Yeah, he told me she died He like put her body in the dumpster right right outside the hotel the dumpster outside the hotel It was something something then something happened with a car. I can't remember I know she had like a sports car then we were talking about
22:18 She had a sports car, but he had the keys to her so he never get it All right, so he members they were. So he was telling me about that. And Rashad was like wanting to get from Ronald. Because I know Rashad, like Rashad ain't nobody's person. So Rashad wanted to get from Ronald. So him and Rashad fight. When they get into a fight, they go to Oregon and stuff. But Rashad leave, and he never hear from Rashad.
22:39 But like, in some of the words he was telling me, he was on like hardcore drugs. But I found out later on he was on ice. He was doing ice and stuff like that. Now a lot of what Suquan Bradford is saying is consistent with the facts of the crime, so the ASA keeps digging for more. He was like after the cricket situation was happening, he was suffering from anxiety and stuff like that. So when he suffered from anxiety anxiety he was like he wanted to talk to somebody and the only person he felt like he could talk to was the teacher that he that I guess he was
23:10 his teacher but he always talked to she was like his therapist though she was like his school counselor okay it's kind of like a mentor school counselor like a mentor they were like you know somebody that you look up to that you can talk to that you go to for advice. Okay, and did he go talk to the teacher after cricket? For the wrong advice. That type of person, you probably go to her for love. You know what I'm saying? Real problem. That's an issue that he had. So he go tell her about the cricket situation. She gave him the best advice that she could give him. You gotta go to the police. You know what I'm saying? Like that's the only way I can help you.
23:47 Instead of him letting her go to the police, he strangled her the same way. So when he telling me about it, I'm like, bro, you wrong, bro. Bro, you killed the teacher, bro. So you know me, I'm gonna speak my mind. I told him, bro, you killed the teacher, bro. I ain't no student gonna know you, bro.
24:03 So he getting mad, he getting mad. So, once he go to get mad, so I'm sitting on the bed, he slang on me. And the first thing he do was strangle me. I like this on everything I love. Like the first thing I think about was that teacher. I'm like, hey, he did the teacher the same way. So while the two of you were in the cell together,
24:24 he put his hands on your throat and was strangling you. Yes, strangling me. Now before that happened, when he was talking about what happened at the teachers, did he give you any other details about things that he may have done inside the house? Oh, yeah. He told me when he was in the house he took a TV, he took like a
24:47 I think one cell bracelet, some type of jewelry, it was some type, I can't, don't quote me right now, I don't know, it was some type of jewelry he took, he took a car because he got, he was like, he got arrested in a car, I want to say the next day. Okay. He got arrested in a car the next day, to say the next day. He got arrested on the car the next day. So when he get arrested in the car, he come to jail, he came to jail December 2019. December, November, it wasn't December, it was November, one of the month,
25:16 November, December 2019. Okay. So what you were telling me before about how he went to go over and tell the teacher because she was a mentor and stuff, he's telling you that while the two of you were in the cell together. He ain't telling that. It was in cell 63.
25:32 Cell 63. Since when? 3B, cell 63. Zebulon Perkins pleaded guilty to both strangulation murders by accepting a negotiated second-degree murder plea. According to the state attorney's office, he killed 38-year-old Leah Ann Klein at a motel and then went to Vivian James, his beloved former teacher, for advice. But when he didn't like what she had to say about turning himself in, he strangled
25:57 her to death with a cord and stole her car. A recorded jail phone call captures his regret. I just wish I would have did everything the right way. They should know they went to jail. Zebulon Perkins will spend 70 years in prison. This case is tragic. Two women are dead for no reason other than one man's selfish desires. And that's it for this episode of Crime Fix. I'm Anjaneet Levy. Thanks so much for being with me.
26:27 I'll see you back here next time.
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