Murder With My Husband - 322. The Murder Salon - The Death of Joleen Cummings

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Starting point is 00:00:30 You're listening to an Ono Media podcast. Hey, everybody, welcome back to the podcast. This is Murder with my husband. I'm Peyton Morland. And I'm Garendt. And he's the husband. And I'm the husband. Welcome back.

Starting point is 00:00:42 Another Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, depending on when you are listening. Thank you for being here. Thank you for watching. Thank you for supporting. And I guess it's officially summer, kind of. Kind of, yeah. School's out by us.

Starting point is 00:01:00 Yeah Gerd and I are out of school for the summer Except Gary, he got summer school Yeah, I got a lot going on I smell like bagels right now I smell like Asiago bagels What do you got? I'm eating sour strips

Starting point is 00:01:17 I need recording to the dark I need to give Daisy a bath That's about it On my to-do list I mean there's a lot more But that's really all I got going on A lot I know.

Starting point is 00:01:30 Anyways, thanks for being here. Again, thank you to anyone who has been saying hi to me at bagel shop. My brain's pretty fried. I'm not going to lie. I'm not going to go into any names because I'm fried right now. Brain completely fried. Guys, I'm going to say it again. I hear your names when you tell me.

Starting point is 00:01:55 I remember your, if you were to come in again, I would remember your face. Really? Yeah. I wouldn't. I'm good with faces. I'm bad with names. I'm bad at both. I'm sorry. I don't have a shout out to give because it's, it's, a lot of it is too is I hear you guys' names and I'm talking to you and I'm so excited and I'm so thank you so much for saying hi. And then also two seconds later, I'm helping somebody else at the cashier with a

Starting point is 00:02:21 different name and then another name. And then, yeah, it's just, it's a lot of names. And again, I'm sorry, but I promise I'm engaged and I hear what you're saying. If you ever come in again, I will remember your face, though. That's a hefty promise. No, I'll do. I remember it. I'm pretty good with faces. As far as my 10 seconds goes, I don't like cookies. I'm not a really big fan of cookies.

Starting point is 00:02:43 And I know that might be a controversial, but like, give me a piece of cake, give me brownies, give me cheesecake, give me candy. Cookies, for some reason, just doesn't, it doesn't really do it for me. Like, some people are like, I love chocolate chip cookies. And I'm like, eh, I could probably go my entire life without eating a chocolate chip cookie ever again. Or any type of cookie. Like, I don't know. Something about cookies just doesn't do it for me.

Starting point is 00:03:07 Just fine. I mean, I'm sure a lot of you guys feel the same way about bagels. You're like, eh, I don't care about bagels. Yeah, cookies just doesn't do it for me. How do you feel about that? I love cookies. Peyton loves cookies. So she disagrees with me.

Starting point is 00:03:20 But yeah, so my dessert of choice would be like brownies, cake, like cheesecake, regular cake, any type of cake. You love cake. I do like cake. Which like, like, I like, I like, I like,

Starting point is 00:03:29 I could go for, like, the rest of my life without eating. Well, I like, like a white cake.

Starting point is 00:03:35 Or like a vanilla cake, not like chocolate cake. Or like a cheesecake. I like a good cheesecake. I do like brownies. I like candy. I love candy. Yeah,

Starting point is 00:03:45 you're a candy boy. Anyways, just figured I'd let you guys know that. So your thoughts? Go ahead. Let me know. But, yeah,

Starting point is 00:03:54 cookies, not really my thing. So on that note, let's get into today's episode. Our sources for this episode are ABCNews.com, Firstcoastnews.com, Jacksonville.com, newsforjacks.com, Jacksonville.com, oxygen.com, Wokv.com, WPXXI.com. All that's interesting and ABC.com. I think it's human nature to want to have deeper connections with the people in our lives. It's probably why small talk is so painful. Uncomfortable, we have this desire or need to relate to others, to see ourselves in them, to form

Starting point is 00:04:33 strong connections and bonds, especially when you see those people day in and day out, like coworkers, for example. When you spend so much time in close quarters with someone, it's hard not to ask questions about their lives, to want to get to know more about them, their past, and not everyone is an open book. Some people work hard to keep their stories close to the vest. and are willing to do anything to keep the world from knowing too much about them. And I mean anything. So for today's case, we are headed south to Nassau County, Florida, to a little area northeast of Jacksonville on the tip of Amelia Island called Fernandina Beach.

Starting point is 00:05:16 And it is here on Fernandina Beach right along the shores of the Atlantic coast, that 34-year-old Jolene Cummings has built her life. And in case you're wondering, yes, Jolene is named after the Dolly Parton song. It's spelled a different way, but her mother, Ann Johnson, felt it was fitting for her little girl. Jolene was born in 1984, and she grew up in this area in Florida. She was the kind of girl who always had a large circle of friends, who was always popular and busy. and maybe because she had such a tight-knit community at home, Jolene never really ventured far as she grew up.

Starting point is 00:05:56 Instead of taking the traditional route of college, Jolene went to Jacksonville to study cosmetology after graduating high school. And it was around then that Jolene met someone. She fell in love. The two of them had a daughter together, but the young relationship didn't work out. Still, Jolene did everything she could to be a good mom and work hard for her daughter. which eventually meant getting a job as a hairstylist at a place called the Tangle's hair salon.

Starting point is 00:06:26 The Tangle's. In Fernandina Beach. Now, Jolene quickly built a strong client base with how warm and open she was. She was a thriving hairstylist at this point. And as many of us know, hairdressers can quickly feel like therapists or close friends when you spend enough time in their chair. And I don't know if this is like the same for boys. boys, but any type of beauty service, it's almost like that provider, there's this stereotype where they just become an off-duty therapist, where they just sit in the chair and talk and you

Starting point is 00:07:02 get to know your client's entire lives and their trauma and everything going on. And it literally is just like what they say is they're like off-duty therapists or they're a therapist and a hairstylist. Yeah, I mean, kind of. I mean, I guess guys tend to not really as an emotional open up. I feel like they're going to a lot of that stuff. Do you see a lot of talk about just sports and, you know, work and stuff like that. Oh, small talk. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:07:29 See, when I go get my hair done, I'm like, let me teach you everything I learned at therapy this week. Okay. Okay, so again, she has this thriving clientele. So things were going well for Jolene professionally. And soon, her personal life followed in 2012. Jolene reconnected with an old neighborhood friend of hers on social media. It was this guy named Jason Cummings. And a little while after that, Jolene told him she was looking for a new roommate,

Starting point is 00:08:01 and Jason was looking for a new roommate too. So these two old friends moved in together and quickly become more than roommates. Jason said one of the main reasons he actually fell in love with Jolene was because she was such a great mom to her daughter. And by 2013, the following year, Jolene and Jason were married. And after this, they added two little boys to the family. Now, unfortunately, again, things didn't last between Jolene and Jason. Cracks began to appear in their marriage. And by 2017, four years later, Jolene wanted out.

Starting point is 00:08:41 Her only focus at that point was her kids and her career. And by this point, she had been at this salon for almost five. years. But that also meant Jolene didn't really have time for the drama of a divorce. So she and Jason co-parented pretty well as they separated and they went through the divorce. Jason moved out. Jolene was saving up for a new place of her own. And meanwhile, the two shared custody of their sons until the courts came to a final ruling. But in May of 2018, all of these plans for a bright and peaceful future with her kids came to a screeching halt. On Saturday, May 12th, Jolene showed up for her shift at the Tangle's Hair Salon,

Starting point is 00:09:28 and she was scheduled to work a full day. She was going to be working until 5 p.m. Now, that night, her two sons were staying with their father, Jason, but it was Mother's Day, and Jolene's 34th birthday was the following day on May 13th. Okay. So the plan was actually for Jolene to meet up with Jason and pick their two young sons up so she could spend the special day with them even though he technically had custody. So they set a time in a meeting place for after work. It was a grocery store parking lot near her salon. But that afternoon, Jason arrives with the boys and he waits and waits and waits and Jolene never shows up. Now, I do have to say, it is. not totally unlike Jolene to fill a bit overwhelmed with the job of being a single mom, a provider for three kids. So it does run through people's minds when she doesn't show up that

Starting point is 00:10:28 maybe she just decided to spend the day by herself. But when day turns tonight and Jason still hasn't heard from Jolene, he decides to call her mother, Anne. And her mom also finds this strange because she hadn't heard from her daughter all day either. And again, it's Mother's Day. It's her birthday the next day. So she's like, I would have at least thought my daughter would call for Mother's Day or at least talk because it's her birthday coming up. But there was nothing. So by the time they wake up on Monday, May 14th, and neither of them still haven't heard from Jolene.

Starting point is 00:11:05 And she has these kids that she shares with another man. They call the police. So it is 808 a.m. when her mother Anne files a missing persons report with the Fernandina Beach Police Department. And based on the family's level of concern, they actually do start looking into this missing mother right away. They do confirm that the last time anyone spoke to Jolene was when she worked on Saturday the 12th. and that appears to be the last time she used her cell phone too. So it's now the afternoon of the 14th. This is hours after she's been reported missing and police finally go to her house.

Starting point is 00:11:52 Now, Jolene's stepfather actually has a key. So he's the one who lets police inside and what they find is more than alarming. Items have been knocked off tables and onto the floor inside. cabinets are ripped off their hinges. Holes have been just punched through walls. There is clearly evidence of a struggle or a fight that happened in this house. In fact, it looks like a domestic disturbance. So who's the first person police immediately want to speak to?

Starting point is 00:12:25 Despite the fact that he was heavily involved in reporting her disappearance. Obviously, Jolene's ex-husband, Jason. Now, things weren't necessarily great between. the two of them or they probably wouldn't have gotten divorced in the first place, but apparently things had gotten a little bit more contentious by this point, mainly because the couple was still going through the courts to determine a fair custody agreement for the kids. But when Jason comes in for questioning, he insists he had nothing to do with Jolene's disappearance. He said, yes, I mean, obviously we're getting divorced. We've had our disagreements. But we've been working

Starting point is 00:13:04 together as amicably as possible for the sake of the kids just trying to make this work. He's like, I actually still love her. We just weren't a good match for the long term. He also said it wasn't completely unheard of for Jolene to go AWOL for some time without explanation, which again is why they even waited those two days before reporting her missing. In fact, he claimed that those disappearing acts were part of the reason he wanted out of the marriage because he assumed when she would just, you know, go ghost for a little bit that she was sneaking off to be with someone else. Now, after hearing this, police also confirmed that

Starting point is 00:13:47 Jason has a pretty solid alibi. On the day Jolene was last seen or heard from, literally all day when she was supposed to be at work, he was with his kids and his parents at his place. So he has two children who can be like, dad was home and then his own parents. But it is during this first interview that Jason actually steers police in a new direction because he's like, listen, I'm not the one you should be looking at for my ex-wife's disappearance. Turns out, Jolene had been seeing someone new. It was another Jason who was referred to as Jason G. So this is her like next love affair, but he's also Jason. That would be kind of interesting.

Starting point is 00:14:34 Not being with someone and then you're a new person you're with has the same name as your ex? Yeah. I don't know. I'd think it'd be a little weird. So this one is Jason G. Okay. And this Jason has a criminal history and he does run around with a pretty dangerous crowd. Okay.

Starting point is 00:14:53 So when police begin looking into Jason G, they find he had an outstanding warrant for violating his probation. And this guy had been arrested plenty of times. before from everything to drug offenses to domestic charges. So knowing this, having seen the state of Jolene's place and the fact that she's still missing, police look into whether there were any reports filed recently between the two. And sure enough, just a few days prior to her disappearance, 911 was called to a domestic violence situation at Jolene's home. apparently Jason G had showed up at her house wanting to spend the night but Jolene told him she thought it was going to cause more problems in her divorce and for her custody arrangement and when Jason G felt rejected they got into a fight he ended up destroying her place the remnants of what police saw in her home when they went to investigate so they realize okay they've the cops were called because of these two so they need to get this guy down to.

Starting point is 00:16:01 here for questioning. But the problem is, they can't find Jason G. His cell phone's off, likely, so he can't be tracked. And he doesn't have a car registered to him, so running his plates really isn't an option. They do learn that his parents live in the area, though. And through his parents, they end up finding Jason hiding out in some friend's bedroom somewhere. And that's when they're able to place Jason G. under arrest for that warrant and then drag him to the police station to do an interview in Jolene's missing person's case. Okay, got it. Now, the fact that this guy was hiding from the police to like begin with is not a good look, but he insists he would never do anything to hurt Jolene, which seems strange considering he has some scratches on his hands and wrists

Starting point is 00:16:54 that look like they came from fingernails. Though he swears, The last time he saw Jolene was the night that the argument occurred at her house a few days before 1911 was called. And he also says he has an alibi, too. He says that entire weekend after the fight, he went to Jacksonville for a barbecue at a friend's place and stayed there until Sunday. This was the day of Jolene's birthday and the day after she went missing. So not really buying his story or wanting to trust him. police book him anyway for violating his probation. They keep him behind bars and they add him to the suspect list for now.

Starting point is 00:17:34 But it doesn't take long for them to realize this is an easy alibi to check out and it does. He was nowhere near Jolene or her salon the weekend she disappeared. And with both Jasons now crossed off their list, police are back to square one for now. Now meanwhile, detectives are also at Tangle's salon. talking to Jolene's co-workers to see kind of just like what's up, what's been going on with her life. She's worked here for a long, long time. So these people might know her. And I mean, when you're trying to find someone, the best thing to do is dig up their life.

Starting point is 00:18:12 And her coworkers say that there was only one other person working at the salon with Jolene that Saturday, May 12th, the day before her birthday. her name was Jennifer Seibert. Now, Jennifer hadn't been working at the salon for very long, actually, only a couple months. But other hairdressers at Tangle said, we actually don't really know that much about Jennifer, beyond what was kind of on a resume. They said she was a bit cagey about her past. She didn't really open up to them about her personal life. She wasn't the friendliest.

Starting point is 00:18:46 It was strange, but they're like, I mean, she's only a couple months old here. maybe it's just her personality. And she was the only one who was working with Jolene that day. What's even stranger, though, is what Jennifer did when she saw the police at the salon talking to people. So they noticed that Jennifer pulls into the parking lot that day for her shift. But as soon as she sees that detectives are there interviewing coworkers, she immediately gets back in her car and doesn't come inside. Interesting. Okay. And everyone, I mean, the co-hors was like, well, that's who last worked with her.

Starting point is 00:19:22 And now she's not coming inside. Instead, Jennifer texts her boss at the salon saying, hey, I quit. She'll mail her back the salon key. And they can put Jennifer's check in the mouth. People are so stupid. I know. Like, people are so stupid. Okay.

Starting point is 00:19:42 So at this point, people are a little like, what is going on? Her boss texts her back. I was like, is everything okay? Like this is so out of the blue, why are you randomly just quitting? And Jennifer tells her, it's because an ex of mine. She's like, I'm terrified for my life. I can't be involved with anything having to do with the police. So because like we have a coworker who's missing and they're like asking around the salon,

Starting point is 00:20:09 I don't want to be here. Like I don't want to talk to police because I'm scared of this ex. I'm not sure that makes sense to me, but okay. So naturally, detectives are like, hey, we need to get a hold of this woman because she was the only other person working and now she's acting weird. And after they do, Jennifer tells them she wants to help but she can't be part of the investigation because again, it might put her life in danger. She explains it further to police saying her ex is a stalker and a computer expert who will track her down and find her if her name is written on any police report. So she's like, I can't have like my name on any. file anywhere. But this reeks of suspicion. Detectives are certain this isn't the full story. They think

Starting point is 00:20:53 there's something Jennifer isn't telling them. Now, unfortunately, there is no security footage inside the salon that can cue them into what might have happened that day. There's only one camera above the desk, and it's not even hooked up. But things become a bit clearer the following day on May 15th, because that is when officers get a call that Jolene's car has now been found. Okay. That's a big deal. It's a huge deal. Where?

Starting point is 00:21:24 Where's this car? Her beige 2006 Ford Expedition was in a parking lot near a Home Depot in Yulee, Florida. This was about seven miles away. It's not far. From the salon. I always expect these cars to be extremely far. away. And I feel like they're always within 10 miles, which is just weird. Now, when police get to the car, they don't find anything too out of the ordinary. There's no blood or signs of a struggle inside

Starting point is 00:21:57 the vehicle. So they decide to start canvassing the area, like maybe why is it parked here? And police find a credit union whose cameras face the parking lot. Now, what those cameras show is that on May 13th, the early morning hours of Jolene's birthday, her car pulled into that parking lot around 1.17 a.m. This was seven hours after Jolene's shift would have ended at Tangle's on Saturday. But in this footage, it is not Jolene who gets out of Jolene's car. It's another shadowy figure that's a different height and size. Now, they walk off screen in the direction of a convenience store. And another camera shows that same person who appears to be a woman

Starting point is 00:22:51 speaking with a clerk who is on breakout side and then they go into the convenience store. And so when police check footage from inside this convenience store, it clearly reveals who this mystery person is, the one who dropped Jolene's car in the parking lot. And of course, it's Jennifer Seiberd. She's dressed in all black with combat boots, and she appears to be overly chatty with the cashier there.

Starting point is 00:23:23 So next, detectives are like, hey, we need to track down this employee from the convenience store. And when they talk to this employee, they say they remember Jennifer clearly from that day. That night she came in and said she had been out drinking with some friends and she seemed rather scared or nervous about something. She asked if they could just call a cab for her, so they do. And a few minutes later, the cab shows up and she darts off and gets into the passenger seat. They said she didn't really seem to have a purse or a phone and even weirder.

Starting point is 00:23:58 Jennifer told the store employee that she needed the cab because she didn't have enough money to pay for gas. but then she prepaid for the taxi using a credit card. And she apparently had scratch marks all over her face. So now they tracked down the taxi driver to find out, okay, where did you take Jennifer after this convenience store? And he says he dropped her off at a strip mall, but he wasn't sure what business she was there for. However, in this strip mall was the tank.

Starting point is 00:24:35 Angle's Hair Salon. After that, he said Jennifer got out of the cab, got into a small black car, and drove off. Now, obviously, after discovering Jolene's car, police realize they have a big problem on their hands because they go to Jennifer's address, the one that the salon had for her from her employment paperwork. When they arrive, they realized this address doesn't even exist. It's a fake. So now police start to wonder.

Starting point is 00:25:04 Who is Jennifer? And what if Jolene was starting to catch on to this kind of suspicious co-worker? What if she realized Jennifer had something to hide? Which, according to some of the people who worked and went to Tangle's, might have been the case. When police speak with witnesses who knew both Jennifer and Jolene, they said there was actually some tension between the two of them. that everyone who worked at the salon was friendly and close, but Jennifer never opened up to any of them. She mostly shut them out.

Starting point is 00:25:40 Like I said, she was standoffish. She was KG. And Jolene was apparently suspicious and pushy about this. She told one co-worker that Jennifer was, quote, not the person that she says she is. She also hinted that she was going to look more into her background. And friends of Jolene's said, when she gets an idea about something,

Starting point is 00:26:03 she is like a dog with a bone. She's not going to give up till she gets answers. So this whole theory of like maybe she learned something she didn't was because of just this past gossip that had been going on. When police spoke to the employees at the salon, Jennifer had worked at before Tangle, again, they're now trying to unravel Jennifer's life. The people there say the same thing.

Starting point is 00:26:25 Jennifer's behavior was strange. She was cagey. and she also had these fits of rage. When she got fired from that last salon, she threw her keys at her boss, left around 3 p.m., got into her car, and then sat there until the salon closed at 9 p.m. Her former boss was so sketched out about this,

Starting point is 00:26:48 the fact that Jennifer just wouldn't leave. She actually thought Jennifer was waiting to follow her home. So there's just all these bizarre little details that are starting to add up to detectives, which is why they decide there's one place they need to search for clues. And that's at the salon where Jennifer and Jolene were working alone

Starting point is 00:27:11 that Saturday, May 12th, the day Jolene was last seen or heard from. Now, when police had first scanned the salon, they didn't find much, but now they're back and they're looking and they find something in the break room. along the bottom of the sink is what appears to be diluted blood. And so detectives call their forensic unit out there.

Starting point is 00:27:36 And when they come in and spray the place with luminal, the honestly entire salon lights up. There's blood on the walls, the cabinets, in the sink drain, on a sign and display stand, around a vacuum cleaner on the floor, which was clearly like wiped up using a mop. And while I said there was no surveillance cameras inside the salon, there was one pointing at a dumpster near the salon. So sure enough, when police pull that footage,

Starting point is 00:28:05 they see Jennifer on the evening of May 12th throwing out a white trash bag that they assume to be Jennifer's belongings or even her body. So they haven't even gone to Jennifer yet. They're trying to really get answers to this case and they're doing a good job so far. So like why question the way they're in bed?

Starting point is 00:28:26 investigating. They're trying to do it with before even having to question her. They decide to end up searching landfills in Georgia hoping to find this trash that was thrown out by Jennifer. And while reports say they found a few items of interest, there's no sign of Jolene's body. Detectives do, however, discover that Jennifer actually had a storage locker that she rented. And when they search it, they find a pair of boots, a sock, and a pair of scissors, all with blood on them. And they also discover a fingernail in this storage unit. And they later confirm this fingernail belongs to Jolene. So obviously, at this point, police feel pretty confident that they know who did this. The only thing is, they can't find Jennifer. Luckily, they do have a correct phone

Starting point is 00:29:20 number for her. It was the one she'd given to the salon. So they start by trying to track down her cell phone. And they also do put a bolo out for her and her black Kia Soul. And in the meantime, they scan every rest stop, beach and campsite in the area with a bathroom thinking maybe she's hiding away somewhere that has access to those facilities. And then on Wednesday, May 16th, police get an updated alert that her phone pinged an area about 75 miles south of the salon near St. August. So detectives and two FBI agents head out to this rest area. And sure enough, they find a Kia Soul parked between two giant trucks. So, I mean, this manhunt, they now have basically found the car.

Starting point is 00:30:11 So they carefully approach it, and there's Jennifer lying down inside. When they finally get her out of her car and get her talking, she insists she has no idea where Jolene is. She has nothing to do with her disappearance. But obviously, police, like I said, have done a bunch of investigating before even talking to her, so they know this isn't true. And also, Jolene's face tells a different story because she has claw marks all over her face and band-aids trying to cover them up. she's also got scratches all over her hands, arms and thighs, as well as a chunk of hair missing from her head. I mean, everything about this screams, this woman was in a really bad fight. But her excuses, she was riding a bike and crashed headfirst into a tree.

Starting point is 00:31:01 Kind of crazy. Sometimes it's really who you least expect. Yeah. Especially considering she had this like 911 call domestic violence situation. before, like a couple days before this. That's so, like that would be your number one, everyone would be like one plus one equals two and now we're at the coworker. Yeah, it's not. That's crazy. Now, obviously, none of this really matters. Police already have a warrant for her arrest. One for Grand Theft Auto for taking Jolene's vehicle because they know for 100% surety,

Starting point is 00:31:36 she's the one who left it in the parking lot. So Jennifer is arrested and taken to their station for questioning. But what's strange is her behavior? Like she doesn't really seem stressed. During the interrogation, she's calm, she's cool, she's collected. And then just a few minutes in, she drops a bomb on detectives. Okay. So they bring her in there like, hey, we, we know you had something to do with this. What's going on? And she says, well, to start, my name isn't actually Jennifer Seiber. Get out of here. She says, quote, I'm ready to go back to being myself, Kimberly Lee Tesler. And from there, she starts telling them these stories. She claims ex-boyfriend is wanted by the FBI because he robbed Banks and she used to be a

Starting point is 00:32:27 topless dancer, that she used to be married, she has a son, but she's been running from her life for the past 20 to 25 years, trying to leave all of that behind. And meanwhile, police are looking into this, like off camera to see if any of this is true. And they do find that this woman has been using 18 different aliases. Holy crap. She has lived in 30 different cities across 14 states for the last bit of her life. Many of the ID cards for those aliases have been found inside her kios, like she kept them. That's insane. So who is Jennifer? Cybert then. Turns out, Kimberly had stolen the identity of a 13-year-old girl who was killed in a car crash and buried in Butler, Pennsylvania, where Kimberly was originally from. So she's like, oh, this girl died in a car crash in my hometown.

Starting point is 00:33:20 I'm going to take her identity. But obviously, they're not even there to unravel Jennifer or Kimberly's twisted past and why she's even doing this. They're there to confirm that she murdered Jolene Cummings. But when that becomes the topic of conversation around Hour 2, of the interrogation, Kimberly's demeanor changes. Like she's opened up being like, this is my life. I'm not even who I say I am. Then they're like, hey, what about,

Starting point is 00:33:49 what about Jolene? And she's like, nope, I'm refusing to talk. I need a lawyer. Now, at the moment, they have her in custody for grand theft auto charges, but if she's not going to confess to murder, they're going to need as much evidence as they can to indict her on those charges.

Starting point is 00:34:05 Because unfortunately, the one thing they don't have is a body. So detectives keep digging. And that includes now looking into Kimberly. Now, remember Kimberly and Jennifer are the same person? I'm going to call her Kimberly because that's her real name. They look into Kimberly's computer and phone history. And what they find is less than 10 days before Jolene went missing on May 4th, Kimberly had made some incriminating searches 10 days before the disappearance. She Googled on her phone how to tie a tourniquet.

Starting point is 00:34:39 Bro. The nine of people that just Google this stuff on their phone. She also searched for how to inject someone with something. Also, co-worker guilty of murder missing person body not found.

Starting point is 00:34:52 You know, pretty soon what's going to happen instead is people are going to start taking chat GPTs. Oh, it's going to come out. Yeah, it's going to happen. It's going to. It's going to happen.

Starting point is 00:35:01 And it's not just going to be like in a sense of murder, it's going to also be to like prove where their head was at the time. Like it's going to be almost used as a personal journal, I think. I could see that 100% like at trial where they're going to be like, well, we can like prove where their like frame of mind was because look at their, look at their conversations with chat. I wonder the legalities behind that. Like what's going to. I know, right?

Starting point is 00:35:28 Yeah, it'll be interesting. Yeah. So the searches just get worse. After this, they escalate to how long does it take for a body to decay and how to dismember a body. Now, if you're the number one suspect for a murder and these are the search, how to dismember a body is on your computer. And then after Jolene went missing, she searched for Jolene's name 457 times in two days. Oh my gosh. Obviously waiting to, she wants to be involved.

Starting point is 00:35:59 She wants to know where the investigation is at. Are they onto her? Like, has she been found? Okay. Including search terms like, quote, Jolene Cummings, no body, no crime. There it is, in writing. On May 5th, a week before the murder,

Starting point is 00:36:15 they also found Kimberly bought large zip ties from a boating supply store. And around the same time, a bunch of trash bags, an electric knife, and a bottle of ammonia from a Walmart. Now, as police like, discover this, it's becoming abundantly clear that this wasn't just like a fight at the salon that

Starting point is 00:36:35 day. This wasn't a spur of the moment decision. This murder was carefully orchestrated and intentional. So despite not having a body, the state attorney's office feels like they have more than enough to move forward with charges. And finally, on September 7th, 2018, almost five months after Jolene's death, Kimberly Kessler is charged with first-degree murder. Just an announcement to hop in here. Daisy is really sick. We're not sure what's going on.

Starting point is 00:37:07 So Peyton is going to finish the rest of this case. Keep listening. I'm just trying to figure out what's going on with Daisy because something is not right. Thanks, everybody. Poor girl. Just not feel good. I don't think. I think she has a tummy ache.

Starting point is 00:37:22 Okay. So they move forward with the charges on September. 7th, 2018, she is charged with first degree murder. In 2019, DNA analysis confirms the blood on Kimberly's boots and sock and the blood in the salon were a match for Jolene Cummings. But the question still on everyone's mind is why? Kimberly never really gave a motive herself, which only left police and prosecutors with one viable theory. Jolene was getting dangerously close, to uncovering Jennifer slash Kimberly's true identity. It was clear the two didn't get along.

Starting point is 00:38:01 They would yell at each other. And when Jolene started talking about unraveling Kimberly's secrets, exposing her for who she truly was, I guess that was enough to set Kimberly off. But it didn't explain why she would go to such great lengths to hide that past, especially when she confessed to police who she was almost right away. Then again, maybe there doesn't need to be much more than that.

Starting point is 00:38:24 because what Kimberly did while she was in custody made everyone believe she was living with a pretty serious mental health condition. In July of 2019, a judge even declared that Kimberly was too mentally incompetent to stand trial. She was being sent to a Florida State Hospital for treatment. This was based on the evaluations of doctors who had seen her behavior while she had been incarcerated. And it had been pretty disturbing. For example, at one point, Kimberly dropped from 170 pounds down to 80 pounds in jail while she was on a hunger strike. Another time, she ripped her clothes off. She got completely naked. She started smearing feces on herself, throwing it at the guards.

Starting point is 00:39:10 She accused jail officials of trying to poison her. She was later put on suicide watch. It was then that her attorneys were like, we don't even know if this woman can cooperate in her own defense. However, months later, there's another trial to redetermine her competency. After she's been in the hospital, a psychologist tells the court that Kimberly's, quote, strategic and intelligent, claimed it was totally possible for someone to have a mental health disorder and still be competent to stand trial. This time, the judge agrees. Kimberly was actually more than able to understand the charges she was facing and the crime she committed.

Starting point is 00:39:47 So much so, she was able to manipulate the people around her, into thinking otherwise. So the trial goes forward. Though ultimately, Kimberly had to watch the proceedings from a remote video link. This was after she came into the courtroom previously strapped to a chair, yelling that the public defender was Jolene's cousin. She was being treated unfairly. By the way, this is not like he had no relation to Jolene.

Starting point is 00:40:12 So that December 2021, jury selection was over. Kimberly's trial began. But I mean, with all of the evidence stacked against, her deliberating only took an hour. The jury found Kimberly Kessler guilty of first degree murder and grand theft auto for taking Jolene's car. She was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. And then Jolene's family is left to pick up the pieces of that loss, including her ex-husband Jason, who was forced to move after facing such media scrutiny in the case. He and his sons relocated, looking for

Starting point is 00:40:51 for a fresh start. Jason has said that even though they were going through their own issues at the time, he still misses and loves Jolene, that she taught him how to be a better dad. The family often visits the bench dedicated to Jolene in Buchanan Park in Hilliard near her home. Without her remains, it's one of the few places they have to feel close to her. Obviously, the hope is that one day this will change. You know, when they can find Jolene, they can lay her to rest. That way, they can have what every family deserves, a place that holds all of her, a place to grieve, a place to maintain that meaningful connection. But unless Kimberly Kessler is ready to say what actually happened that day with Jolene, we might not ever see that reality. And that is the case of Jolene Cummings.

Starting point is 00:41:43 I'm sorry Garrett had to dip out, but thank you guys so much for listening to today's episode. And I will see you with another one. I love it and he hates it. Goodbye.

Murder With My Husband - 322. The Murder Salon - The Death of Joleen Cummings

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