Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - UNSOLVED: Jennifer Kesse, 24, Disappears, Clothes Out for Work & Shower Damp. WHERE'S JENN

Episode Date: November 25, 2022

When Jennifer Kesse didn't show up for work, everyone who knew the 24-year-old recognized there was trouble. Kesse was a responsible, habitual person. She talked to her family regularly. She called her boyfriend every morning on the way to work, and she never missed work, most certainly not without letting her boss know if she needed to be off.  Not only was Jennifer missing, but so was her car. It's found two days later, parked in an apartment complex over a mile from her home and wiped clean. Jennifer Kesse has not been seen since  2006.  Now her uncle, Bill Gilmour, describes the restless nights since then and his emotional journey to find peace, in a new book  "Aftermath of Jennifer Kesse’s Abduction: An Uncle’s Inspiring Journey and Other Stories of Hope."  Joining Nancy Grace Today: Bill Gilmour - Jennifer's Uncle, Author: "Aftermath of Jennifer Kesse’s Abduction: An Uncle’s Inspiring Journey & Other Stories of Hope" InspiringHopeDaily.com, Facebook.com/bgilmour1, Twitter: @InspireHopeBill Matthew Mangino - Attorney, Former District Attorney (Lawrence County), Former Parole Board Member, Author: "The Executioner's Toll: The Crimes, Arrests, Trials, Appeals, Last Meals, Final Words and Executions of 46 Persons in the United States", MattMangino.com, Twitter: @MatthewTMangino  Caryn Stark - NYC Psychologist, CarynStark.com, Twitter: @carynpsych, Facebook: "Caryn Stark" Joseph Scott Morgan - Professor of Forensics: Jacksonville State University, Author, "Blood Beneath My Feet", Host: "Body Bags with Joseph Scott Morgan" Ray Caputo - Investigative Reporter (Orlando, FL), Professor, Bethune-Cookman University   TIPLINE:  Federal Bureau of Investigation [phone]  Kesse Family Tip Line [phone]  JenniferKesse.comGoFundme.com/help-us-find-jennifer-kesse See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to an iHeart Podcast. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. A gorgeous young girl striking out on her own has this awesome condo in Florida, an awesome job, an awesome boyfriend, gets ready to go to work one morning. If you look in her apartment, you can see where she's laid out several outfits, trying to figure out what to wear. But then she's never seen again. Jennifer.

What happened to Jennifer Kessie? With me today, her family joining in, not only with the latest about a phantom figure that may have kidnapped Jennifer, but a full-on book written about the aftermath of her disappearance. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us here at Fox Nation and Sirius XM 111. First of all, take a listen to our friends at 48 Hours. 24-year-old Jennifer seemed to have everything going for her. She had bought a brand new condo in Orlando.

She'd been promoted at work, and there was a new man in her life. She was intelligent, she was captivating, she had a sense of humor. One of the first conversations we had ended up being like five hours. Rob Allen, a 32-year-old Englishman, lived two and a half hours away in Fort Lauderdale. The couple had been dating for a year and saw each other every other weekend. I'm so glad that Rob Allen is speaking out because of course everyone immediately assumed her disappearance was connected to her boyfriend but it was not. But she fails to show up to work that morning. Jennifer failed to show up for a meeting at work. Her co-workers at Westgate Resorts couldn't reach her on her cell phone or at home.

So they called her parents. I got the phone call from her employer that she had not shown up. Was there a family emergency? I immediately panicked because Jen's cell phone has never been turned off. Joyce called the manager of Jen's apartment complex. He went to her unit. Jennifer wasn't there. Neither was her car. You know, interesting that she's not picking up her phone

because as it is now, who is ever very far away from their phone, much less a young person like Jennifer Kessie. With me, an all-star panel, but first I want to go to Bill Gilmore, Jennifer's beloved uncle who has taken part in all of the efforts to find Jennifer after she goes missing that morning on her way to work. He's now coming out with a book, Aftermath of Jennifer Kessie's Abduction, an Uncle's Inspiring Journey and Other Stories of Hope. Bill, do you remember when you first heard that Jennifer was missing? Yeah, I'll never forget it.

My sister had been trying, my wife and I and our family lived in Lake Mary, so we were about 40 minutes from where Jen lived down in Orlando. And so she started calling me right off the bat in the morning. But I was in the air. I was traveling to New Jersey. We played telephone tag. And it wasn't until 6 o'clock that night that I learned. And, of course, we were just all stunned.

But at that point, all we knew was she was missing. She hadn't showed up for work. By that time, they had arrived at the condo. And, you know, it was just in the early stages. I mean, everybody's hearts were just palpating. We just overwhelmed with what happened. And there was never a point before that moment that Jennifer had just flaked out, had disappeared for a weekend. Or when I hear, so this person just wanted space or wanted to go out on her own.

That was not Jennifer. That's correct. I mean, Jennifer was one of these people that was so attentive and respectful. If she wasn't going to be somewhere, she'd call, let you know if she was running late. Even to the point in terms of security, which is amazing, that if she was leaving a mall in the evening hours in dark, she would be on the phone talking to somebody until she got into her car and locked the door. She was very conscious of her surroundings.

That's really interesting. Bill Gilmore, Jennifer's beloved uncle, who has now, after taking part in every aspect of the search for Jennifer, actually written a book, Aftermath of Jennifer Kessie's Abduction. I didn't know that about Jennifer. I didn't know that she was a safety net like myself. And it's so interesting. My son went to a little school party get-together, and my daughter and I got a chance to be alone last night. And we went to one of our favorite places for vegetables. We came out. The sun hadn't quite set yet, but we got in the car,

and my daughter, who's just 14, said, Mom, remember, lock the door. Glance in the back seat and then lock the door immediately. Yeah, exactly. I did not know Jennifer was like that. Tell me about that because that really, to me, is very probative of how she was kidnapped. Right. And so that's why I think that's what was so concerning to us as the family.

I know extremely frustrating to my sister and brother-in-law at the time was that they're trying to explain to law enforcement that this is her character. And it wasn't just them. Her employer said the same thing. I mean, numerous people were saying that, no, this is out of character. But they wanted to focus on the narrative. It was a young couple, had a spat. She, you know, just kind of walked off on her own.

Oh, I hate that. I hate that so much. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Is that true, Ray Caputo? Ray Caputo, everyone, investigative reporter out of Orlando and professor at Bethune-Cookman University. Ray Caputo, I didn't realize that that was their focus at the beginning. That she and the boyfriend that we just heard talking, Rob Allen, had had an argument so she just stomped off really then why did she lay out all those clothes to go to work i mean at if you're gonna stomp off why

do you do it at seven o'clock in the morning for pete's sake i mean she was getting ready for work i didn't realize that was their focus at the beginning ray nancy like that's the narrative that the couple had a fight but but here's the thing is that this is a couple that just went on this tropical vacation to St. Croix they were in a long-term really a long-distance relationship so they have this emotional roller coaster high of being with all these friends in the on the beach in the sun you know you got some Tom Cruise guy flipping drinks and then Jennifer comes back and drives all the way to work. So they say it's a narrative that a couple got in a fight, but Jennifer was in a long-distance relationship, so they had a bit of a lover spat.

And that's not out of the ordinary, given their condition. Wait a minute, wait a minute. So they did have an argument? They had what Rob called a minor disagreement, a spat between spouses, significant others. Okay, hold on. Wait. Karen Stark joining me, a psychologist joining us out of Manhattan today.

You can find her at karenstark.com. That's Karen with a C. Karen, after a vacation, which is wonderful, but then I heard him say an island. Then you come back with your passports, and you're tired, and then you get to the airport and then you go through the whole coming into the country drama with your passport. And then you have to find your luggage and then you have to drag your luggage to the car. And then you

split up and he goes one way, she goes the other. I could understand why you would have an argument. I can't tell you how many times David and I have had it out over the baggage claims. It's just because we're tired, the children are hungry, and so forth and so on. I mean, it happens even after this incredible vacation you may have had. So I'm not putting a whole lot of stock in that, but really, Karen Stark, the reality is he was in this town. She was in another town. His digital footprint shows he stayed in his home and that she disappeared from her home two hours away.

Argument or no argument. But how much stock do you put in a post-vacation fuss? Well, not at all, especially because they live in two different places. So here they've had this wonderful experience together and then they have to separate and they haven't been able to be together the whole time. So Karen Stark, when they get home, she spends the night at his place. She goes all the way home the next morning to work. The following morning is when she goes missing. He is still at his home.

She is at her home a couple of hours away. But Karen Stark, the point I was trying to make is that, well, you and Mark, you're very, very happy. You travel a lot. When you travel, do you ever get into spats over silly things? I'll tell you something, Nancy. There was a whole article about couples that fight when they're traveling. And because you're in a new place, it's difficult. You're not used to the surroundings, and you wind up getting into those kind of spats, and it really is a spat, over things that are nonsensical.

So whether they fought during the trip or at the end of the trip, it seems to me from reading this information and watching it, that the only reason they were turning to him is because the first suspect is always the boyfriend or the husband. No other reason. You know, Joe Scott Morgan joining me, Professor of Forensics, Jacksonville State University and author of Blood Beneath My Feet on Amazon. He's a star of a new hit series on iHeart, Body Bags with Joe Scott Morgan. Joe Scott, all the yada, yada, yada about did they argue about the travel is really irrelevant because the forensics show he was in one town and she was in another town when she was kidnapped.

Yeah, yeah. And you have to have a starting point, though, with any investigation. And it always starts with those that are in the intimate circle. And then once those individuals are eliminated, and when you can actually verify that this subject, this boyfriend was in a completely different area geographically, then he lessens, he lessens in importance on this, on this continuum that we have in investigations.

And then you begin to focus on the area where she was actually physically last seen and those environments that she's very familiar with. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Guys, we're talking about a brand new book that's coming out, written by Jennifer Kessie's uncle, who was there in the hours and days following her disappearance. She seemingly had it all.

A new condo she was living in wonderful job she just got promoted absolutely stunning vibrant happy just one of those really good people that emanate happiness nice to other people a joy to be with and And then suddenly it's as if she just drops off the face of the earth. Take a listen to what her mom, Joyce Cassie, tells me. Cassie, what more can you tell me about what time if you know that she would contact her boyfriend in the morning? Well, Jen typically left for work between 7.30 and 8 in the morning, and it was her habit to call Rob when she got in her car. So as she got in her car and was driving to work is when she would make that good morning call.

And as we know, Rob never received that call. And Brother Logan weighs in as well. Take a listen to our friends at 48 Hours. I was just like, oh my God, oh my God, this can't be happening. My mother called me crying. I was hysterical. She said, Jen's missing. I'm like, what are you talking about? She goes, she hasn't shown up for work. Jennifer's parents and her brother Logan raced the two hours from their home in Bradenton, Florida to Jen's condo. You go inside.

What did you see? Clean apartment. Shower was wet. Blow dryer out. And Jennifer's father tells me more. Listen. Drew Kessy, you get the news that Jennifer did not report to work. You tell me that you immediately jump in the car and drive hour plus to get to her condo. Sure, when we approached the condo complex, everything was normal to us.

We got up to the guard gate and we got let in quite quickly. They really don't take a lot of information. Anyone who had a passkey who lived there could come through on the right side it looked like she slept in her bed she had two or three outfits laid out on the bed as if she was choosing an outfit to wear she um as as was stated the bathroom looked like someone got ready to go to work the rest of the condo was just perfect it honestly looked like a maid came through right down to a full setting, four-piece setting, table setting on her dining room table. To high-profile lawyer Matthew Mangino, former district attorney, former parole board member,

and author of The Executioner's Toll, Matthew, thank you for being with us. Several things. Number one, first suspect's always the boyfriend. He's ruled out. Number two, the pristine nature of the condo when the family goes in tells me nothing happened in that condo and that that's not where the struggle occurred. Upstairs, you can see the shower is still damp from when she took a shower that morning. In a case like that, as a district attorney, what do you do next?

Well, Nancy, you know, it's an unfortunate reality that when police or district attorney, law enforcement, hears about a missing person, there's always a bit of skepticism. They don't act immediately. They want to know, you know, what the circumstances were. I think that's why the spat with the boyfriend may have been important to them because they think maybe this is just someone who's upset and, you know, went off to reflect and they think maybe this is just someone who's upset and, you know, went off to reflect and they'll be back. But that's unfortunate because that time immediately

after a person goes missing is so important and so crucial to try to get as much evidence as you can in terms of canvassing. What did people see? You know, Did they see her in her car? Did they see her car move? You know it didn't happen in that room or in that apartment because it's not in disarray. So you know it happened immediately if something did happen outside of that apartment. So talking to neighbors and other people. With me, Bill Gilmore, Jennifer's uncle and author of Aftermath of Jennifer Kessie's Abduction, coming out. Bill, tell me about those hours and what you the airport to the condo. And obviously, family and friends were gathering. We were all trying to make sense of it and begin to plan just for the missing persons, right? You know, get posters made and start hitting corners and knocking on doors and that type of thing. But, yeah, as Drew and Logan and Joyce have all said, I mean, this was just, that condo was like any of ours in the morning. Somebody came by and we were in a hurry on our way out the door, you know, looking at

outfits or whatever, just, it would be just a normal environment. So the gentleman that just spoke is 100% correct. I mean, nothing happened in the condo. So it was somewhere between the which he left that door and went to the car. And of course, the way that the condos were all under conversion from apartments to the condo units, there weren't way that the condos were all under conversion from apartments to the condo units, there weren't, I don't think, but a couple of people that were in her building. These were open breezeways to the staircases on the other side. So, I mean, somebody could be easily in that area and you wouldn't necessarily know it. I'm trying to imagine those moments when you get there, when you touch down in orlando and you

get to the condo what was the scene um well i mean my my heart was racing i think like everybody else was is we're just sitting there trying to make sense out of what had just happened and then what do we do so we obviously just you just begin to do the things that just make sense um and try to get awareness uh drew has done a masterful job, as you well know, in making sure that Jennifer's story remains in the public eye because someone out there knows something. And it's just a matter of ultimately having those people come forward. But the emotion for all of us was just, we just have to do whatever we could. And that was for two days. So from Tuesday, all day Wednesday until the morning of

Thursday we were just we just thought she was missing so we're looking for her car I'm trying to imagine that the tension in the air and the mom and the dad and you just doing whatever you could think of making flyers putting up posters going door door, all with the cloud hanging over you that the cops were insisting she had had a spat over nothing with her boyfriend and stomped off. No, working with that misconception, arching over the investigation didn't help a thing. But as you said, suddenly the car is found. Take a listen to our friend at cbs two days after jennifer went missing her car was found in an apartment complex parking lot about a mile away from where she lived but there was no sign of jennifer and no conclusive dna but this surveillance

video showed a person parking her car at noon on the day she disappeared. It was like being hit with a ton of bricks. The phantom figure then walked away in the direction of Jennifer's complex. The person was so casual. Back to Bill Gilmore. This is Jennifer's uncle and author of an upcoming book, Aftermath of Jennifer Kessie's Abduction. Bill, tell me about that video. Yeah, that was the luckiest person in the world. And of course, the technology at the time when those video surveillance cameras were grainy, but they were every other second clips. So there was a fence that that person walked by, and every other frame, there was a fence post that was partially blocking their image. Now, for most of us, if you actually knew that person,

there was enough that you would identify them. But obviously, we didn't know who that person is. And so we've said many times, there's two people that are missing because we have never come across any information having to do with that person nor Jennifer. So two people, the person of interest in that video and Jennifer are missing. Did this phantom figure kidnap an all-American girl, Jennifer Kessie? Straight back out to Ray Caputo, investigative reporter, joining us out of Orlando.

Ray, again, thank you for being with us. Tell me about that parking lot and what we know about this so-called phantom figure and also her car. This guy parked her car. Are there no prints, no DNA, nothing? None, Nancy. Now, her car was found not too far from her own apartment complex, but it was on Americana Boulevard. Now, she lived right by this great mall, a lot of tourists coming and going. But right down the street, the neighborhood gets sketchy.

So this car is pulled into this parking lot where I heard they found numerous stolen cars. It's a higher crime area. The person in the car sat there for approximately 32 seconds before getting out. And police presume that he may have wiped down the car, got rid of evidence, because they found really nothing they found like a fiber a small fiber of evidence no prints i mean it's whoever committed this crime whoever was in that car perhaps knew what they were doing because they left no evidence you know amazingly the surveillance video took a photo every three seconds catching this so-called phantom figure and every three seconds each time

the person's face was obstructed by a recurring fence post there's a wrought iron fence with with thin stakes going up and then every let's just say 10 or 15 wrought iron stakes is a post. And every time the video surveillance took a picture, the person's face was obstructed by that recurring post. Jennifer's father tells me more. Listen. From that spot, Drew, from her condo to where the car was found. I want to talk about the area where the car was found. Was it parked at any kind of a business where there could be surveillance video?

And in that mile stretch, Florida is notorious for all of its tolls. Tolls everywhere you go. You got to have that easy pass, that sunshine pass. So were there any tolls were there any red lights that may have had a red light camera between oh and the gate was there a camera at the gate what do we know about that one mile stretch drew kessie between jennifer's condominium her brand new condominium and where her black malibu was found. What we know at this time is, at first, there was no cameras. Unfortunately, new cameras went up in Jennifer's complex two weeks after she was taken.

We also know that two weeks prior to Jennifer taking, the entire security force was let go at the complex, and new security was taken on because of the change from a rental to a ownership situation. The mile stretch in between, there were no cameras in between the 1.2 miles, except for at the complex where Jennifer's car was dropped. Now we do have in our possession 67 hours of film that law enforcement was able to obtain from anywhere and any place they thought viable. And unfortunately, the big box like Walgreens, CVS, the gas station, their cameras only made it as far as their parking lots, didn't even make it to like the sidewalks. So it's unfortunately anything that we have outside,

the only viable film that we have is what you see on Jennifer's website and what have you of a person parking her car, sitting in it 32 seconds, wiping it down, getting out, walking away and never looking back. Okay, I'm bringing in the big guns. Joseph Scott Morgan joining me, professor of forensics and death investigator. Joseph Scott, it's really hard for me to believe this guy did not leave any prints,

did not leave any DNA, nothing behind in that car. Yeah, it is. And when you take a look at the image of him walking by these fence posts, you begin to look at how he's dressed. It's not like he's got on long sleeves.

He's, you know, we're talking about Florida, obviously, but he's got on what appear to be maybe white pants, low quarter shoes. They're not work boots. He's got on a short sleeve shirt, which means that you've got bare skin running up to almost the elbow where you've got the potential for transfer of evidence in the form of maybe perhaps touch DNA or sweat or hair, something like that that could transfer. He's not wearing gloves.

And this is something else that's kind of interesting about the image that you see as he's walking by. His hair, it appears, it looks as though, you can see the back of his head, it looks as though he's either got a bowl cut or his hair is pulled up in what would be a man bun. It's kind of bulging out on the rear, so you think

that we're not talking about a bald guy here. To me, it looks shaved up on the side from the neck up above the ear, right behind the ear. And then it comes out, like you're saying, right behind the ear, and then it comes out like you're saying in a bulge. Yeah, it does. Another issue regarding the car and the surveillance video, we get more information aside from

those two leads. Take a listen to our friend Peter Van Zandt. The person could not be identified because the surveillance video captured a photo every three seconds and each time the figure's face was obstructed by a fence post. The Kessies recruited private investigator Michael Toretta to help them conduct their own investigation. Toretta learned from speaking with people who lived in Jennifer's complex that construction workers were living in an empty apartment just across from Jennifer. Okay, straight out to Jennifer's uncle joining us, Bill Gilmore, who has just completed an upcoming book, Aftermath of Jennifer Kessie's abduction. It took the family having to hire a private investigator to find out construction workers were basically camping out in an empty apartment straight across from Jennifer

Kessie. Have you ever heard the phrase, we covet that which we see? Yes. I mean, the interesting thing was that we were on that property for days and weeks, and we saw all kinds of things. And we would bring it to the law enforcement, to the management, and everybody denied everything. They always claimed that these folks weren't living on property, but it was clearly obvious that they were. So unfortunately, you know, at every turn, people just shut down. And obviously, considering potential liability issues, we can understand why. But it doesn't help when you're looking to find somebody and it's your loved one. It's amazing to me, to Matthew Mangino joining us, high-profile lawyer, that did the condo community, the apartment community, not know that I think several of these were illegal immigrants, undocumented immigrants

were living in an empty apartment directly across from Jennifer Kessie? Well, that's really troubling that you would have these possibly undocumented workers living in an apartment in a complex where other you know, other people are paying rent and are expecting a certain level of safety and security. And, you know, we don't know how many people are living in there. We don't know the identities of these people. This is all, you know, dangerous to bring people who you don't know, who you can't identify to live or sleep in an unused apartment in a complex. I certainly don't think that the residents there would want that or appreciate that.

In fact, Jennifer had moved into this complex because she thought it was safe, because it was a gated community. And now all of a sudden, you know, possibly undocumented workers are living in an apartment across the hall. And there's a problem with that. I don't care where they're from, but I care what their history is. And Bill Gilmore, Jennifer's uncle, when you have people basically squatting in an apartment and they're undocumented, I don't know if they've got a rape conviction back home from wherever they came. I don't know if they've got a manslaughter conviction or a sodomy conviction. I don't know. And I sure as heck don't want them living across from one of my children.

There's no way to trace them. We don't have their social security or an emergency number. A way to find out who they are. To question them about Jennifer's disappearance. And isn't it true, Bill Gilmore, that Jennifer had actually told her family she was

uneasy, unhappy, nervous, felt intimidated that all these guys were living right across from her. Well, in terms of whether they were immediately across or not, that I don't know. But I do know that the workers that were coming in to do a variety of maintenance work and so forth, there was that leering. And she was very concerned about them feeling like they were constantly watching her.

And she had called out to my brother-in-law, Drew, a few times on that. He obviously called management. So everybody was aware that this was going on. And we then learned that there were other females that lived in the complex that claimed the same thing. They felt the same way, that they were being gawked at and stared at and just made to feel uncomfortable. You know, how many times, Joe Scott Morgan, death investigator, have you handled a case, many that we have covered, and I'm thinking back, many that I investigated and prosecuted, where the murder victim said, for instance, if anything happens to me, he did it.

It's almost as if they have some kind of premonition. And here we have Jennifer Kessie, this gorgeous young girl, just starting out in her life, telling her family and friends that the workers there were making her feel very nervous and uneasy. They were actually squatting, according to reports, in the apartment complex. Yeah. And, you know, you think about this as well. Many times workers like this will be very transient. So if you've got a transient population where they're going on to the next job site, for instance, you know, that work is done. And as Bill had mentioned just a moment ago,

there were a variety of things that may have been being done around that area relative to to types of construction. So you've got different trades. You know, maybe you've got people that are doing ceramic. Maybe you've got people that are doing hanging. I don't know, sheetrock or whatever. And those groups kind of come and go. My big question with this, and since these workers have constantly come up, we've been covering this for a long time now. Did they go to the people that are actually doing the contracting, you know, those individuals and really put their feet to the fire about who they were bringing in to do these works?

These were this work. Who were their points of contact along the way? They're not going to cooperate, Bill Gilmore. Not that Joe Scott Morgan is wrong. He's right. But there is no way that that apartment complex or condo complex, whatever you're going to call it, is ever going to admit, yeah, we knew undocumented workers were squatting there. They're never going to say that.

And that was one of the biggest frustrations is that the things were so obvious. I mean, like as the other gentleman just said, there's panel vans all over the place. And so, you know, your mind immediately moves to the fact that, think, if a panel van happened to be parked right next to her car, and she's coming out of her complex and getting ready with her back turned, opening up her own car, if the panel door was open, and again, this is going on every day, so you're not necessarily paying attention to it because you're expecting to see workers there. But they could have easily been pulled into the van. And that was what concerned us from the very beginning is why weren't those people and the the contractors being looked at crime stories with nancy grace Nancy Grace. Jennifer's father, Drew, tells me that Jennifer said, there are a lot of workers here

and whenever I walk to my car, they stop what they're doing and they just look and stare at me walking to my car. Right there to Karen Stark. She's basically telling us from beyond the grave what happened to her. That's right, Nancy. She's definitely afraid of these men. And I wanted to add that I'm pretty sure somebody else also complained about them. Yes, six other women. Mm-hmm.

And they had keys. And I think that one of them even had been working in Jennifer's apartment and was familiar with it. What about that, Bill Gilmore? Is that true? One of them was working in her apartment? Well, they had, I mean, obviously the folks that are associated with the ownership, the people that are doing maintenance had keys to get in and out of the unit so they could be doing the maintenance work, you know, punch list items that that had been reported to them now typically they would give you advance notice but i think there was a an opportunity or two

where they came when she was still there unexpected or stayed when when when she when she was in the condo she was certainly made to feel uncomfortable as well now according to another woman that lived there named colle, and we're not revealing her last name, she said, and I quote, when I would come home from work, there would be a large group of men outside drinking. And whenever I would have to walk past them, there would be comments or uncomfortable stares. It wasn't a great feeling. I didn't like it. So we know that other women were going through the same thing. Another phenomenon, Bill Gilmore is joining me. This is Jennifer's uncle who has just completed a book about to come out, Aftermath of Jennifer, Kessie's Abduction,

an Uncle's Inspiring Journey, and Other Stories of Hope. Bill, I have found, and I'm not happy to report this, that very often criminals will act when they're in a group and do things they would never do on their own. You get a group of these undocumented construction workers. They're squatting there. They're drinking. They're watching her walk back and forth, leering and saying comments. Two of them may attack Jennifer together when, if they had been on their own, that would never have happened.

And I can imagine that that would be true. Again, there's so much of this story that it's disturbing. And here we are almost 17 years later still talking about it without really much in the way of answers. And a lot of this should have been addressed in those early days and weeks. Tell me what led you to write your book, Bill. Well, number one, immediately following that, I took stock of my own life. And I began to realize that my life was an absolute mess. And it's funny how they say that pain is God's megaphone. It's true.

And in this particular case, Jennifer's abduction just brought me to my knees to begin to really reflect on the things that were most important in my life. And as I shared in the Fox News article, literally, I prayed for God to take my life because I said I had made a mess of it. But Jennifer deserved her life. She deserved to have the life that she had planned. And as you had said earlier, she had everything moving in the right direction. And so soon after that, you know, I just began a journey of life transformation. And then during COVID, of course, as we were all sheltering in place and shut down and physically isolated and socially distancing from people, I realized that we are living in a time of escalation in terms of helplessness, hopelessness, fear, anxiety.

And I wanted to be a person to inspire hope. And so that's what really propelled me to write this book is to begin to share that despite the circumstances that we can find ourselves in life, we can find our way through to peace, joy, hope. And I want to share that. And I'm also sharing some stories of others that have inspired me along the last 16 plus years as well. But as I said to Joyce and Drew when I was visiting with them back on July 4th week, that I firmly believe that if this book can be read by the people, the person or people that were directly involved in Jennifer's case, that they would hopefully learn that despite whatever it is that they've done, that that does not mean that's the last chapter of their life. They can be redeemed and that they can certainly find a new beginning, but they have to come clean and they have to face whatever the consequences are.

But I will also say to your listeners that there are so many, there's thousands of these stories. And so the impact is not just for the people. It's personal to me with Jennifer, but also I would like to hope that somebody anywhere that's involved in some type of heinous crime would read this and realize that no matter what you've done in life, it can be restored. It can be rescued. Wow. Bill Gilmore joining us.

This is Jennifer's uncle, author of Aftermath of Jennifer Kesey's Abduction. I pray that you are right, Bill Gilmore. The tip line is 866-838-1153. 866-838-1153. Or I advise the Kessie family tip line, 941-201-4009. Repeat, 941-201-4009. There is a $15,000 reward.

Nancy Grace from Story Signing Off. Goodbye, friend. You're listening to an iHeart Podcast.