Episode 249

Sword and Scale contains adult themes and violence, and is not intended for all
audiences. Listener discretion is advised. He said, I'll get either with you,
and she waited for him to fall a slate that she had him over
there over the mouth with the baseball plats. Basically, just blew all the
seat right up. Hello and welcome. This is season ten, episode two
hundred forty nine of Sword and Scale, a show that reveals it the worst
monsters are real. Look, I know a lot of you have left social
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It was the Monday after Mother's Day weekend of twenty eighteen. A mother named
Anne Johnson called her local police for help her daughter, Joline Cummings was missing.
Joline was a thirty three year old hairdresser with three kids in a busy
schedule. She had spent the last few years working at a salon in Fernandina
Beach called Tangles, and was beloved by her co workers for her bubbly nobs
personality kind of like mine. Joline and her former husband, Jason Cummings had
recently separated. Now she was living alone with her kids and had been dipping
her toes back into the dating pool. But Jolene wasn't answering her cell phone.
Jolene always answered her cell phone no matter what was going on. Plus,
Joline would have not missed a call to her mother on Mother's Day,
which was also Jolene's birthday. The police went to Jolene's house in Hilliard,
Florida, and saw no signs of her car or Jolene. They put out
a bolo for her ten SUV and soon reached her ex husband, Jason Cummings.
Jason said that Joline was supposed to meet him at the wind Dixie supermarket
the day before to do their normal child exchange, but she never showed up,
so he took the kids to Joline's mom's house. All right, he's
just kind of suffering the beginning the source. When's the last time that she
saw Joe? It wasn't this past Sunday. It was a Sunday prior to
six or so? Okay as six a cloud my six and live okay een
d s and John Kinsell Okay, say that's when you saw you? When
day is as a normal routine. He guess what's the list of custody?
Ship pick him up for las f okay? KACKI d six o'clock? Who
Who's who's a very tan? I don't know? Lasking Okay, I'm worried.
Where do you pick him up? At the bottler? Jason and Joline
had a seamless arrangement. They traded off custody every week. Jason took the
kids to Joe Lene at the wend Dixie supermarket, and he picked them up
from Joe Lene's babysitter, Tanya at a nearby park. They had been doing
this for a long time without any issue until the week before Joelne wanted him
to break a custody arrangement and he refused. They hadn't really been speaking much
since. I mean, other than that, I didn't know nothing was wrong.
I means she's always she's angry most but she's also happy as she's talking
to unless you can see her her face, but she would She got Joe
two sixteen sent to her for duson nine days. Okay, shout out my
months after she as when she started doing her little genie X, I thought
she was just saying as somebody else. I didn't think that drove because when
she did long she played with kids, you know, me and her was
getting kind of dissa and I'll just let her get whatever out of her system.
But it got worse. Jolene went through a rough patch at the end
of their marriage, and even though she'd sometimes disappear for a few days,
she would always come back and be a great mom. That's why Jason wasn't
too concerned when Jolne didn't show up at the wind Dixie on Friday for their
childcare exchange. What I really want to get into is, you know,
obviously you are personally interesting anytime and somebody gets listen. I understand you.
You understand if you want schools who scho would be a police officer. I
mean it's like you understand you know the best one, and I want you
to think of the weirds you ever do on You know, I don't want
you to think that anybody's for unfair than you, but obviously here's somebody at
Jason nodded and provided a solid alibi, including his job and a play date
with his kids friends. He told the detective exactly what went down at the
wind Dixie when Jolene missed her pickup. He said that he and the children
showed up on time and waited twenty minutes before trying to get a hold of
Jolene O six twenty six twenty holtext shows they look you're late, said on
your twenty minutes. So if you need your job, kids off at your
moms. I mean, because usually if she's from the lake, still tell
me, I can you clean you job? The kids off at moms or
blah blah blah. I'm right left and I'm waiting to buy another ten minutes
and I went. I went to Kama's house to see if she was over
there, see what's going on. That's when I found out and they hadn't
trying to do her wrong day and no last talked to her. She'll have
that extra, he s extr on less someday is her. Jason then handed
over his phone and his car to be analyzed. What do you think capital
to drive me? First? Only I know that she's I have she's doing
a drow and don't want you found wanting to walk about and now she's got
all this attends on as far as here. Okay? Is that's your hope
or is that yourselves? What? Okay? What's your thoughts in this world?
Man? Very much? Job, I don't want to figure out them,
even though it I mean, you don't you don't think I should like
this? Can you lead un a super walker? Can you please tell me
about this guy she has got she've been seeing and we're looking into that I'm
trying to locate him for you. I'm gonna get it, bring him in
him just like a and doing to you. But it wouldn't be that easy
to get Joe Lane's new boyfriend, Jason G to talk on the phone.
When they finally got a hold of him on his cell phone and said this
is the Sheriff's department, he hung up and then turned off his phone.
As they attempted to locate Jason G, the detectives paid a visit to Joe
Lane's babysitter, Tanya, who had a few choice stories to tell the police.
I received a text from Joelan and she said, DCF is going to
be calling you and I was like, what do you mean you know?
And we went back and forth and she told me that every She then called
me because I was freaking out. I was like, why are you to
giving these people my name and number. I'm like, I have nothing to
do with your issue. This is all on Texas. I said, I
have nothing to do with this issue right here? Why did you give them
my number? So she called me and she's like, well, I gave
him your name and number because you can account for the kind of mom I
am and because I see you, you know, three full times a week
drop and picking off the boys. DCFF Department of Florida Children's and Families suddenly
became involved in Joline's life after a fight between her and Jason G the week
she went missing. I asked her what happened and how it started. She
said they woke up in a good mood and was fine, and then they
started cooking. It was holy. There was holes in her story, so
there really wasn't an excuse more or less. They just got to a fight
and then he started throwing things at her. The boys were crying. Who
started throwing things? Jason G started throwing things at her and the boys were
crying. So that's when she told me she called the cops and I said,
you need me to come get the boys. This was again Thursday,
and she said no, the cops are here, and the DCF lady just
pulled up and I was like, or just left, because that's why I
got upset, because she gave her my name and number. And I was
like, okay, so the DCF just left and you made your report and
everything. Are you sure you don't make it the boys? She's like,
no, I'm just gonna calm them down and blah blah blah. So I
said to Joline, you know, hey, we can get I know you
don't work on Thursdays, but I could tell she's very very very stressed,
highly stressed, constantly coming in scatter brain. And so I reached out to
her and I said, if you ever want to go on a kid date
and just hang out and talk, we can. Again, this is all
on text. Joline insisted that everything was fine. Jason had left and she
wasn't going to let him back anywhere near the house. The fight Joelene had
with Jason happened on Thursday. The police were called and ye have showed up.
Joline said she was staying away from Jason. Tanya saw Joe Lane the
next morning when she dropped off her boys. Did you see her on Friday?
Yes, Friday morning? Okay, yeah, I guess Friday morning,
nine fifteen. And I know exactly because I actually have been. She doesn't
pay me a lot, being a single mom going through a divorced she doesn't
pay me a lot. So to calculate how much I'm technically getting her child,
you know, and just do that, you know, And I'd added
up the math and she's a single mom. I'm trying to help her out.
So anyways, she pays me, but usually it's she pays me half
and half. But this day she paid me. She was on time,
and she was not scatter brained and crazy. She was calm, collective,
kissed the boys goodbye, gave me my money, and that was it.
And that was weird that because typically my mom can hear her hurry up,
boys, come on, let's go. And I'm not again trying to speak
ill of her. It's just how she is. I'm a loud person,
so I might sound different to others too, but she's constantly let's go.
I'm late, come on, boys, let's go. Tanya said, that
was the last time she saw Joe Lene. What was the last time you
communicated with her? Be I textra phone. I look sure, because I
can tell you exactly Friday at six nineteen pm, I have a lawyer.
DCF is no longer allowed to contact me. They have to contact my lawyer.
I forgot about that, and I said, okay, Nice, She
said, yep, the whole point I got into it today. So I
said, nice, that was it? And who she got into it with?
No, actually, and it doesn't dawn on me that that even meant
anything until now and then I text her Happy Birthday, not knowing any of
this until her mom to it and she's actually a mutual friend reached out.
Did she answer that texturethday? None of Jolne's friends, family, or co
workers had any contact with her since Saturday evening. Jolene always worked on Saturday's
at Tangles. It was as though she had vanished. It's always one thing
or another, or I'm late, or i'm this or on that or this.
You know. So at first I thought this was all not a joke,
but maybe she'd get some drugs and had a long madding over. But
no, there's something wrong. When detectives got a warrant to search Joline's home,
they found that her kitchen had been destroyed, cabinet doors were hanging off
hinges, and holes had been punched in the walls. The police report indicated
that all the damage had been done by Jason, and that he also had
an outstanding violation of probation warrant. At a press conference about Joline, the
police addressed this in reference to a domestic issue involving Jolene and her former boyfriend,
Jason G. A neighbor advice heard loud arguing and things being broken inside
Jolie's house, so she called the Sheriff's office. When deputies arrived, Gee
was gone. Joline told the responding deputy that Gee had showed up at her
house and wanted to stay, but she asked him to leave. He had
an active warrant out for his arrest for violation and probation, and he avoided
deputies who were actively looking for him to see if he had any information on
Jolie's whereabouts. She was found on Tuesday, May fifteenth, hiding in a
house in Hugard under some cardboard boxes and was arrested on the outstanding warmth.
After Jason's arrest, his father spoke to the media advocating for his son's innocence.
I saw any of them knew that my son does playing amazing, But
my son would never heard of wars. But that wasn't true. Jason G
had a history of various drug charges, outstanding warrants, and domestic charges.
Today we also found this court doctor shows another ex girlfriend of Gey's had similar
problems and filed a restraining order against him in Jacksonville back in twenty eleven.
It shows while she was with her two young children, he assaulted her in
her car, forced her neck against the seat, grabbed her phone and smashed
it, and goes on to say he told the woman he was going to
make her life miserable. Jason G was arrested and taken down to the station.
With no phone to turn off and no boxes to hide under, he
would have to face the reality of Joelene's mysterious disappearance head on. Thirty three
year old mother and hairdresser Joline Cummings had gone missing the weekend of her birthday,
which was also Mother's Day. Joline was in the middle of divorce,
a very dangerous time for a woman to be quite honest, and though her
ex husband checked out, her new boyfriend, Jason G was a seasoned criminal
with a violent past. He had run from the cops when they tried to
question him, and had also gotten in a serious fight with Joline two days
before she disappeared. He was arrested on an outstanding warrant and the cops could
finally question the sketchy man in Joline's life that nobody trusted, but Jason had
an alibi his father. Is there anyway you could be involved with her disappearance?
I had nothing to do with a girl's disappearance. You know. He
come out here Wednesday. He's been with me all week long. Saturday when
the girl was supposed to be missing me and he was here at the house
all day long. Jason g agreed to talk once in custody. He admitted
to smashing Jolene's kitchen and that they fought in the past, but he swore
he had no idea where she was. He said he hadn't seen her since
their fight on Thursday, when the police were called. He said he had
been avoiding the cops because of his warrants and not because of Joline. With
Jason and custody and his story semi believable, the detectives turned back to Joline's
schedule and traced her steps. The last place she was seen alive was at
the Tangles hair salon on Saturday. Jolene had a busy day with clients and
then closed up shop with a new hairdresser named Jennifer Cybert. Soon the detectives
met with the salon's manager and Morgan, Anne had been working for the salon's
owner for a long long time and had seen Joline through her entire employment at
Tangles. She come there and apply for the job, and that's how I
know her ever since she works there about five six years now. That's how
I become to know her at Tangles. At Tangles, we get along wonderful
and she look up to me. I'm just like, go mom. Would
she confide in you? Most times she confide and made things. You know.
Did you give her advice? Yes. Anne said that Joline had recently
filed an injunction against her ex husband, Jason Cummings, and was a bit
obsessed with her upcoming court date. He oh, I give her a hard
time, and she tried to put what she called me conjunction or something like
that against him. Yes, see it everything they say or they taxed.
She always keeps all the wrecktors. She told me for the court. If
she had few minutes or ten minutes, five minutes, she pulled those books
out and look at it. And I assume she's look at it and study
it. Jason had told the cops about the injunction, but still could there
be more to the story than just a messy divorce? Then all of a
sudden, something amazing happened. They found Jolne's car. On Tuesday afternoon,
we received information at a vehicle matching Joelane's two thousand and six Bays four expedition
we're seeing parked in the parking lot close to the home depot in Ulie.
We told the vehicle to the Sheriff's office to see if we could obtain any
type of clues about Jolene. We immediately began going around to businesses in the
area looking for any video surveillance camera footage there was available in hopes we could
find out when the vehicle was parked there. Joline's Tan Suv was not damaged.
All our belongings were inside. By the way, who drives a Tan
suv? I mean that you gotta be a You gotta be a psychopath.
Anybody that drives a Tan car who goes to the dealership and goes, yeah,
give me the Tan model that's out there in the lot that you can't
sell, Give me that one. All right, I'm done. Anyway,
all of Jolene's belongings were inside the suv. We found some camera footage that
showed Joline's vehicle being parked around one seventeen am Sunday morning. The video showed
the drivers sit there for a few minutes and then get out. We were
hoping to see Joline get out of that vehicle, but Jolene never got out
out of the suv. Instead, a plump, middle aged woman with long
brown hair twisted up into a bun got out of the car. Picture a
very smug looking Karen type, if that helps. Police immediately identified her as
Jennifer Cybert, Jolene's coworker and the last person known to have seen her alive.
According to Anne from Tangles, Jennifer had only been working at the salon
for a few months. She came there just about two months or so like
that. I think it's about two months a little bit more, two months
around that number. What did you notice about Jennifer? Well, really,
I don't know much about Jennifer, but she seemed like a nice person to
me. But she seemed like she wanted to involve everything's going on in the
shop. That she wanted to be involved in everything is what's your son?
Yes? And go on in the shop. When Jennifer was hired, and
tried to get to know her better by asking about her life like anyone would
with a new co worker. I asked her, She do na vontere tell
me? I asked, I say you or you live here with somebody or
by yourself. She pursued, tell me that she lived with her sister and
her brother in law and her mother, but her mother not well. When
police went to the address Tangle Salon had on file for Jennifer, it was
fake. The address did not exist. You know, we's the girls when
we're not busy, so we can have a small talk, which i'd say,
are you married? She said yeah, but she divorced because act her
husband very meant her see here. At one time he tried to kill her.
He took her to death and to say that if I don't push him
away, up of'em, they won't be here today. Yes, he
says, He say that she very afraid that he find her or do what
she used. Put a tap on her. She don't give her phone number
to nobody. She very careful what she'd do. The words she used,
you said, put a cap on her. I love that Jennifer was an
odd duck with a strange past. No one at the salon thought much of
it except Jolene. Jolene was very curious more than just hairdresser curious about Jennifer
and confided an Anne about it about two weeks before she's missing. She told
me, she say, miss Anne, something about Jenner for that. I
cannot put my hand on it. She's not right. She faked, miss
Anne, she faked. She come on and say to what she fake?
She's fake? She and I say, why you get on saying that?
She say, I don't know. I cannot tell you, but I have
a feeling that something about her that I don't trust. Jennifer would do weird
things at the salon, like refused to help certain customers or what seemed like
unacceptable reasons. Another time, she turned off the air conditioner in the middle
of a humid, hot afternoon when the salon was full of people. She
was nosy and in everyone's business, but when the questions turned back to her,
she gave short answers and avoided more questions. Even customers noticed the tension
between Jennifer and joe Lene, and so Jolene asked Jennifer to get the gifts
shificket out of the bomb drawer. Summers in a drawers, the gift shifket
and Jennifer blew up, like you can do with it? I don't,
can't fucking find it in front of this lady. So Joline asked if we
can get excused so she can go find it help the lady. She did.
One day, Jolene came in telling Anne she wanted to have a chat
with her when they got a free moment. When it came time for a
quick smoke breakout, back and and Jolene went outside, but Jennifer followed them.
Jennifer did not smoke. Did you get the impression if she was trying
to listen to the conversation between you and Joe Lene? Yes? And what
was Joe Lene trying to tell you about the incident with her ex boyfriend on
Wednesday? I think it's get yeah, I think ex boyfriend ex husband.
We didn't even get dad yet, Okay. Jennifer came out, yes,
and stood close or trying to be included in the conversation. Trying to be
included. I'm I'm here, Joe Lane, here, Jennifer here, I'm
in the middle. Okay, And uh, what was joe Lyne's reaction?
Joanne was sitting down and I'm sitting on the jail, and Jolian look up
to her say go away. I don't want to talk to you. I
wanted to talk to miss Anne. You fake you, Yes, you fake
you? You fake, you crazy? You fake? And Jennifer say,
what do you mean why I'm fake? What the reason for you to say
that I'm fake? And Jenner and Julian say I want to talk to you
now, just go away, and Jennifer still stand there, so I kind
of have to intervene it. I say, go ahead and go inside,
honey, I'll talk to you later. According to Anne, Knifer just stood
there even after Jolene told her to basically beat it, and eventually shuffled her
inside to break up the bubbling confrontation. After they finished their cigarettes and and
Jolene went back to work, and Jolene continued talking about Jennifer. She say,
miss Anne, what Jennifer a last name? I said, I don't
know how Nie? Why? She said, because I want to go online
and look up like the criminal people got the rep seat. She want to
go on that shite and look and she did jennifer name pop up. I
said, I don't have it, but I can call Vicky and ask her
her last name. The day got busy and didn't have time to call the
salon's owner, Vicky and ask her for Jennifer's information, but Jolene wasn't going
to just let this go. She finally got Jennifer his full name with the
customer's help. Joline made the comment, go over there, look at her
license. I want to know her last name because there's something just odd about
her. You mean the cosmetology Ye, cosmetology license. Yeah, that was
hanging up on her thing. So I'm like, okay, she is because
there's something just weird because she just shows up any time she Jolane says she
started wearing wigs when she first started. Then they complimented on her hair because
it was so long, so then she stopped wearing the wigs. But Joline
says she just didn't have a right vibe with her, so she was going
to look up her name and figure out what the heck was going on with
her. Jolene was determined to find out what was so wrong about Jennifer,
she says, to explain it. But something about jenner Foot is not right.
She not a person that she says she is. Well, Joline's last
day working at Tangles. One of her customers told the police that while she
was sitting in the chair getting her hair done or did I don't know what
the right nomenclature is these days, Jennifer came up and started talking to her.
Jolene had walked away for a moment, and Jolene had said to the
customer, it's like she really doesn't like me. I told her she needed
to watch her mouth. The police still couldn't find Jennifer Cybert anywhere. Her
address was bogus, her phone was off. They hunted the eastern beaches of
Florida to try to find Jennifer's car, and then they caught a break through
on her investigative techniques. We finally located Cyber in her vehicle, which is
a twenty sixteen Kia Soul black in color. We found her the northbound ninety
five rist area in Saint John's County on Wednesday evening sixteenth park between two other
semi trucks. She had apparently been living in her car at various locations.
Banks upon the surveillance video and we're driving Joline's car. We arrested her for
grand theft auto and she was booked into the Saint John's County jail and ultimately
brought back to Nassau County. Here's Jennifer and custody. I'm enjoying. This
is Charlotte. I want to talk to me for of those Wow, what
name do you want me to call you? Drive? You said, I'm
being called you by her Saint Johnson. Tell you when you are thrun my
fingers through. They come up as Kimberly Lee Hessler. You heard that right.
Jennifer Seybert wasn't Jennifer Seybert at all. Her name was Kimberly Kessler.
I was born in May of nineteen sixty eighty nine. I had fifty years
old. I've been running from the FBI for twenty five years. I've been
living under this particular alias since nineteen ninety nine, so not quote nineteen ninety
nine, nineteen years. That's about it. But that wasn't about it.
That was just the tip of the iceberg. And now that they had Jennifer
aka Kimberly and custody, the police were about to go down a rabbit hole
like they'd never seen before. Kimberly had been masquerading as many different women over
the years, She had lived under seventeen different aliases in various states, from
Arizona to Texas to Florida. She was filled with layers of secrets, lies,
and crime. They were just beginning to scratch the surface of her deception.
Your family member, you don't want your That's fine. I haven't talk
to them a while. I have cousins and all people want. You don't
want to spend time anymore or just yeah, I'd like said I'm ready to
go back to being myself. I said, you know, Fox twenty five
years around the friend from the FBI, and thought I could build like a
life for myself. And I've done nothing. I've lived in it. I
mean, I've been trying. I'm live in my car last over two years.
I'm not getting it's not gonna getting better. I would I would laugh
to know, you know, and I'm not you know, I'm a federal
lawforcement agent or anything like that, but you know, I kind of allow
me hear the background of why you have last five years. Pull pull up
on the computer, pull my name out, pull it up, Kimberly Kessler,
and I'm here. I want to pull that up. I'll do with
for me to super if you'll give me a minute, I'll outside, and
my crime analyst is actually here, and I'll give her an information and let
her and let her work on that. Kimberly Lee Hessler, What kind of
silly middle name isn't miss if my mom's son saying an emerald cared for?
Kimberly was from Butler, Pennsylvania, and according to police records, she had
been reported missing by her own family in twenty twelve. However, they waited
eight years to report her missing. She actually disappeared on July fourth, two
thousand four. What kind of mother waits a decade to report her child missing.
Kimberly was charming and witty with the detectives, but Kimberly was a weirdo
and basically anyone and everyone who had known her throughout the years and her various
aliases would verify that fact. For example, the name Jennifer Seibert was the
name of a young German girl who had died in a car crash and Butler.
When she was a teenager, Kimberly used to walk to the cemetery and
write down the names of dead girls who were born near her own birth year.
Super Normal behavior I'm being facetious in case you haven't picked it up via
audio. Now that they had figured out her real name, detectives had started
hunting down people who knew Kimberly way back when she was actually Kimberly. Here's
an ex boyfriend of Kimberly who she lived with in the early nineties after they
graduated from high school. Can you tell me some more about her? I
saw something about stabbing you in the leg. Can you tell me about that?
She bit your dad in the leg? Yep, you heard that.
Right after stabbing her boyfriend in the chest, Kimberly then bit his dad in
the leg. As you would go on again, So where you set the
pan on? I don't know what it's called, Okay, grabbed one of
them and then across the side of the head with it, and then with
some stakes night trying to follow of being a bathing and the stake by kind
of laughed at her. He took me out of Berry saying we gotta away
from her, took me to my parents' house. Kimberly was crazy and the
cops knew it. They laughed. When she tried to file a p FA,
which is similar to a restraining order. After a while, she showed
up at his dad's front door paint down board on followed pif babe you and
told her to stay away, and they came down and a don I had
left. He had come down because I guess he was pitched because they wouldn't
flow any charges against me and my dad would throw her off the property and
went after him and fit into a little lake. One hell of a mark
on play. But Kimberly's ex boyfriend said that she was prone to sudden and
violent outbursts. We went to a party one night. She saw a girl
that she didn't fight and just breaking the liddle of the party, started throwing
hands and that's when I knew I was done and into holes. Took a
lot of get away from her. You know, we have her here.
She's our main person of interest for homicide. Yeah, not surprise, and
we're looking for any type of behavior she may have displayed before. If she's
ever talked about it. I'm sure they told you of hitting her brother.
Kimberly had grown up with a brother. When the police called him, he
really didn't want to talk and said he had lost touch with his sister.
But friends remembered how cruel Kimberly was to her sibling. I'm not sure if
it was whenever they I think whenever they got out of high school. They
were thanks living together. He was or and her brother. I'm not sure
if they were living together, but I know that she ended up getting pissed
off at him, okay, and she said, I'll get even with you,
and she waited for him to fall asleep as she hit him over there
over the mouth with the baseball plat and basically just blew all his teeth right
up. Her reasoning behind it was her dad had passed away and her brother
was living in their childhood home because the mother and the father had already split
up and before he passed, and he was having parties down there and having
all his friends over and felt the blues tracking the place, sent to creating
the place that was her dat home and set amy sleeping. Kimberly often had
justifications for doing the crazy things she did, but she lied all the time
to everyone, so it was impossible to know what was real. Here's Kimberly
at the police station again after her arrest. If years old, I have
fifty, and it doesn't matter who looks start to seating. Obviously, some
people look done something A little water doesn't even children I do. I have
a son. He is in North Carolina with his father. That's what got
me going and running again. In nineteen ninety nine, Choparticular Services snatched him
while I was at work from the basin or and that really setting over the
edge. So they his father by him. He told me that the judge
told him, or that the judge said the CPS, why will she give
this man his son? Like why are you fighting against him? And the
judge made him get our son. And so thankfully my son is twenty years
old now. Might haven't seen him since he was fourteen months old. I'm
very grateful that his father got to raise him. I did not want him
in foster care. Scared me to death. I couldn't even understand why they
were when they took him, so I said me on my last nineteen year
run. Some parts of that are true. Yes, Kimberly has a son
named Evan Everett Edwards. It's a lot of ease, but she has not
seen him since he was fourteen months old. But the reason she hasn't been
in his life is nothing close to what Kimberly told the cops, my son
is Evan Everett's Broke and I was under the name Christina Burke at the time.
They have a name to go on to day and yep, twenty five
years I mentioned and run from Luciergion. Everything not exactly true, according to
Tim Edwards, the boy's biological father and Kimberly's ex husband. When Evan was
born in nineteen ninety eight, Kimberly was living under the name Melissa McKernan,
not Christina Brooke. After Evan was born, Kimberly started acting crazy and told
the neighbors that she thought Evan was possessed by demons. The neighbors grew concerned
as conversations like this continued, and eventually the Department of Social Services got involved.
When the social worker showed up, Kimberly got in a fight with her
and chased her off the property. Tim told the police that Kimberly asked him
dead serious to kill the Social services agent. She told him what gun he
should use and how to do it. He refused, but Kimberly became obsessed
with the Social services agent. Later that week, Kimberly took a three fifty
seven pistol and a taser to the Social Services office and threatened to kill her
caseworker. She was, of course, immediately arrested and thrown in jail.
Tim paid the three hundred and fifty dollars to have her bonded out. That
night, Kimberly slept on the couch. In the morning, she was gone
and Tim never saw her again. But here's the kicker. When Tim went
to Social Services to get his son back, he found out that Kimberly had
obtained a second birth certificate for her son, giving him a new last name.
On the birth certificate, had said that she had given birth to her
son at home, that his name was Brooke, and she had no idea
who the boys father was. I'm grateful my son's alive. The while,
I'm so grateful, so grateful. And then his dad. One of the
things this dad did whenever Evan was like three months old, and I don't
even know while I think he was on drives, he always said he wasn't.
Then he acted so wild and his dad took us and he was just
acting kind of crazy and he's like, give me othern It was at night,
and I'm like, for what. But he was never even interested in
the baby before. It's like nine o'clock at night. I'm like, we'll
give a baby. I'm like, for what. And he goes to like
grab him and I'm like, he's three months old. You can't wrestle over
a three month old. They're fragile. I'm like what. And he just
took his head and like pushed it up and I didn't want to like resisting
because it's the baby. He pushed his head into my head. I'm not
very hard, but it made him cry and I'm like, what are you
doing? Like he just did that, and I was it was the only
thing that he ever did it. You know, it was like nasty.
But I'm like, I'm gonna call the gong with you and he just tid
But so here here's the thing. After Kimberly was arrested and outed to the
media, Tim and Evan were contacted. They laid low, but Evan did
give this statement. I would like to say, I really don't want to
be contacted about this or associated with this at all. I'm not going to
talk to them. I just don't want to be associated with her, her
family or anything that is remotely connected to her. It seemed like Kimberly had
made an impression on everyone she met. She would often go to churches and
try to make friends. Here's a Mayo clinic doctor she rented a room from
that she met through church. She showed up to our church one day.
Oh no, say said she was running of town. She made it a
place to stay. There was a there was a there's a bit of a
sad story that we heard, and she said that she was a credible person,
and so she she was directed to meet somehow because we have apartments,
and so I I. We gave her an apartment for a while. She
her lifestyle was bizarre. She was very eclusive. She had no furniture and
apartment. She would not allow me to give her furniture. You know that
if I came up to that went around or to help her in anyway,
she would repeatedly uh. She she had a significant amount of paranoia and delusional
mental activity came her, refused any furniture and slept in a sleeping bag on
the floor in an empty apartment. She would hear things seemingly outside the apartment
building that she would call the police as thinking it was me coming after her.
She accused me of going into her apartment when she was not there and
urinating on her sleeping bit. Kimberly was nuts. The police interviewed about twenty
of her ex boyfriends and they all had a strange tale to tell. She
bragged to one boyfriend that she knew how to dispose a body without being caught.
She made another boyfriend take off his pants every time he got home from
work so he wouldn't leave the house without her. Another boyfriend said she threatened
to cause her own miscarriage by jumping up and down in the middle of their
street and punching herself in the stomach. She beat men with frying pants,
heavy ashtrays, and of course her fists. She threatened suicide all the time.
And Kimberly is really the type of person that makes me not miss dating
like at all. Oh and one more thing. Every boyfriend reported that Kimberly
absolutely hated her mother. Well, the media did track down her mother and
yes, you guessed it, she too was you know, an interesting character.
Don't forget this is a woman who reported her daughter missing after eight years
of not seeing her. But Kimberly's ex husband confirmed that she did visit when
they lived together, and missus Kessler knew her daughter was alive. Here's Connie
Kessler telling the local news how distraught she is to find out her daughter is
in jail. People can snap it, of course, I'd say, no,
I can't even fathom such a thing. Just kind of left hanging wondering
what's what's going to happen. Connie said, Kimberly really lost it when her
son, Evan, was taken from her by his father. We all know
that this is not what happened. My daughter went in search of him,
and that was the reason that she changed her name in the first place,
so that she could go back to Virginia to look for Evan. Evan and
Tim Edwards were so upset when they caught Kimberly's mother on television telling these lies.
Tim contacted the station to make sure they knew the truth they reported it.
It was becoming clear to the police that if you crossed Kimberly Kessler,
she left not only a mark, but a deep scar. I've been that
year since I was a kid. I actually done professional the license like four
years ago. I guess it works well if you're moving on her moving around
a lot. I guess now you can make tables or whatever. I have
driven tractor and trailer, which I did a Virginia Beach, Virginia. I
mentioned I wanted in Pennsyvillania, Virginia, and Arizona. I also had a
real estate license of the Arizona one. Snider thought to myself, I'm gonna
make money. Well, no, it requires like a special blessing from God.
It also requires help. But I noticed in the last twenty five years
of being on my own, I, especially after my son was taken,
I didn't let anybody get really too close to you. I did get into
abusive relationships that was foolish, and then I really kept everybody on sleeve,
but never really let to make people get close to beat. It is virtually
impossible to take care of oneself by yourself. Notice how this line of questioning
started with the cops asking her about cutting hair, and kimberly cleverly steered the
conversation away from that and into the topic that didn't involve Jolene Cummings at all.
That's one of my first relationships in Arizona. He was actually he robbed
banks and I was working. I was working as a topless dancer, and
that was before my truck driving debute. So I did that just for a
little while. Just I love to dance, and I just I don't know.
I was young, and you know why, why did you hear?
Yes, I'm being accused. You accused me. The other night You're like,
where's Joline at so? And I did not know where she is.
Kimberly wasn't saying a word about Joelene or where she was. While one patch
of detectives was tasked with hunting down anyone who knew Kimberly in the past,
the other group tried to figure out where Joelene's body was, retracing her steps
on the weekend of her disappearance. A big break came when detectives got some
security footage that showed Kimberly taking out two large, heavy trash bags and dumping
them into a bin behind a wing restaurant near Tangles. These were not just
regular salon trash bags. Kimberly had to swing the heavy bags to get them
into the shoulder height bin. These bags were filled with something or someone heavier
than garbage from a hair salon. Can we just go through when we worked
with her on that Saturday, So I can is or anything you tell me
that she ever talked to you about a boyfriend, a boyfriend she had talked
about him by Shooster. She ever same thing that would that she wanted to
run away and get away from a doll. I don't remember hearing any She
would have different conversations sometimes with different clients, because different clients. You don't
tell every clients, you know what I mean, Like but the one line,
but one, the one I would the one I told you and one
listen it she she was saying CPS came to her house. She was telling
one Knefrid. I caught a little blick of it in between listen YouTube and
the phone ringing and and she I remember hear her say she thought her her
ex husband or her husband was doing to get out of paying child support.
That's all I heard. And I don't remember ever hearing about the boyfriend ever.
But then again I don't always really pay attention. And as I told
you before, miss Anne, she really like talks in this hand like her
and the Sad would go out back and they slipped. Sarah said, I
set out back sometimes for a while and they would even forget that their clients
were it. I'd have to go to the back and be like, hey,
your clients are here, because they would get so involved and talks.
So I don't know as much as you know, maybe miss Anne. And
honestly, whenever I first started, she would tell me, you know,
I don't even remember she started telling you some things. I would be like,
I'm off the person. I can't give you anything. Who she was
hanging around with her any time she should like, you know, the time
or two she'd say I was the one home to have a quiet night at
home, or like I don't have the kids to night, or you know
whatever. I's going to enjoy this. And they'd be like, you're young.
Why do'st she go out? She's like, no, I don't need
a name of my life. He or she had a boyfriend. I didn't
even know that. Additional footage from a local Walmart showed Kimberly purchasing large trash
bags, cleaning supplies, and an electric carving knife at a fishing and boating
store called West Marine. An employee remembered ringing up zip ties for Kimberly before
Joelene disappeared. Well She started immediately to talk to me, and she said,
wow, you look really nice. You're really dressed up fancy. But
it was not really a particular comment compliment. I would say, it was
a little unusual, kind of oddish demeanor of the way she said that,
And I just said, oh, well, thank you. How did it
make you feel? I kind of had like a question mark in my mind,
like, WHOA, I wonder why she's saying that she bought a package
of zip ties? Did that strike you as ununusual? I thought to myself,
why is she buying these here at West Marine? She wasn't coming in
to get any other kind of boating or fishing products or anything to go with
them. And I thought to myself, why wouldn't she be buying these at
Walmart or home depot or somewhere. She didn't seem like a fishing person type,
not particularly. I mean, I couldn't really judge her by particularly that
way, But no, not not really. Do you remember anything about what
type of zip ties these? By zipties? You mean what we call cable
ties or or the things that are used to tie something together and slip it
correct? Correct? Remember? I just remember it was a larger package.
I wouldn't say real sick, but it was a long type of a package
maybe so they were the longest zip times notes. Yes, I would say
the package that we had them in where I was like fifteen to eighteen inches
long. Further security footage from a local gas station showed Kimberly around one thirty
am the evening Joline disappeared. Kimberly had dropped Joline's car at a home depot
at one seventeen am, then headed to the gas station, where she got
friendly with the cashier. Yeah, she had me a call her a taxi
she had to call her attacks. Yeah, can you tell me what your
conversation was with her? She said something about how she was out with a
couple of friends drinking. One of the friends ex boyfriends came around. There's
been some kind of promise. She adn't go into detail for it much after
that, And to be honest, I don't even know how she got to
the store because she hadn't calor at taxi and then what ten fifteen minutes later,
shoes gone, The taxi camp picked her up, took her, say,
she said, somewhere to like a plant fitness over the last few months
while employed at Tangles, Kimberly had been living in her car. She had
a membership to Planet Fitness and use the gym to shower and get ready for
work. But Kimberly was crazy, so she got into fights with the employees
and other patrons regularly. Planet Fitness had enough and revoked her membership. You
have to be next level batshit to get your membership to Planet Fitness taken away.
Trust me on that. I mean, you got to be really really
really really nuts. Put it to that way. They don't cancel those memberships
voluntarily. She looked like she had a red mark on her face was it
wasn't like much, but it didn't look like someone that hit her. Maybe
it like, you know, grabbed her by the face or pushed her or
something like that. Another thing we forgot to mention. When she was arrested,
Kimberly had a big gash on her face and cuts all over her hands.
First she said she hit a tree and hit her head while she was
riding her bike. Then she told cops the gashes were from bedbugs. What
else did she say about them being out earlier? Nothing? She went into
this really weird conversation about what meth does to your body. Literally, this
is what most of our conversation was about. We had called her, she
had called the taxi company from my phone, and she was very irritable with
the people on the phone. Not that the lady on the phone is being
courteous ees, but yeah, she was easy. She just felt like we
need to keep talking. She couldn't like not talk. Soon, a taxi
pulled up and Kimberly left the gas station. Kimberly had the cab driver drop
her off near her Keia, which was parked in the same parking lot as
a Planet Fitness. The police had confiscated and did a full examination of Kimberly's
phone. Some of the searches before and after Joline's disappearance included coworker guilty of
murder, missing person, body found, injecting advice, how to use a
tourniquet, murder Pedia, victim Pedia, list of female murderers by a country,
Florida female murderers, and autopsy. Joelene Cummings. I have vanished,
no body, no crime my death space dot com. Now this is probably
I'm guessing, similar to the search history of many of the people listening to
my voice right now, but you know beyond that. She also googled Joline's
name four hundred and fifty seven times. Here's Kimberly again. So did you
guys ever hang out for her? Did you ever go anywhere? Yeah?
Okay, she ever allowed to use your car? And you're a low user
card everyone? Where do you ever play that? The charge you were arresting
on is the grand charge? You knew that correct? Yes? Okay,
okay, that was kind of what else talking with you about the other day.
And the reason you're charging that is is whenever we talked about that,
there's a video of you dropping her car off at the homely but apart a
lot there in you leave and walking across and going into the gay station and
getting taxicab back down to They had lists explains with the background there to where
tables is, okay, And that's why you're in your charge for the grand
dat auto. And I'm not trying to trick you. I'm not trying to
fool You're you're open it up to me and I'm opening it up to you.
Okay. That's the reason you're charge for that. You're not sure if
for anything else okay. Without Jolene's body, the murder weapon, or a
confession, they could only charge Kimberly with grand theft auto. Jolene could be
anywhere. Kimberly could have her tied up to a tree hanging upside down for
all the police knew. Kimberly was just that crazy. Though, they couldn't
charge her with anything but grand theft auto. Just yet. The evidence was
piling up as the police continued their investigation, having a joy. And you
know, we'd actually sent our cent our housing it out to process tangles and
there was some eminence there. Okay, we have also the thing there all
should think I've been fooling out. You know, I just wanted to talk
to you, get to know you a little bit because I think something what's
her name? Something something the unit why I happened And let me tell you
what we did, okay, because I just wanted to be honest, because
I think something that happened June, it's going to happen. But we have
tag literature car and we actually and we went out and went to your storage
unit on and we did that all in the legal basis. We had the
search wars for a while okay. Since she lived in her car and showered
at Planet Fitness, Kimberly had a storage unit where she kept her beloved motorcycle
and other things she had been carting around with her. There were various identities
in the storage unit. The police uncovered traces of Joline's blood. When they
processed Tangles, they found massive amounts of blood all over the salon. They
also found a pair of Kimberly's haircutting scissors that were covered in Joline's blood and
DNA. The theory was that Kimberly killed Joline at Tangles, took her to
her storage unit, where she dismembered her over the course of forty eight hours
with the electric carving knife from Walmart, and then she threw her body in
the trash behind the salon when she returned to work. Kimberly had been planning
to hurt Joline for a while. We also ever covered your shoes that asked
lanes blow our shoes. So I just want you to something happen that Judnson
happened I talk to you about. Police also discovered that Kimberly had manipulated her
way into obtaining a key for Tangles employees from the restaurant across the street.
Noticed the lights on at the salon very late the night Jolene went missing.
Her mommy's other somewhere. Let us see her very properly or whatever or whatever.
Final angels, thank you to take care. I just want you to
think about from them. I've been here for four ays on which you know,
sixteen eighteen hours a day, because I'm going to find out where that
there's a little boys, mommy is I promise I'm going to do that.
You can help me do that, and you're the one that can make it
happen. You're right around No, you know, and I'm not again whatever
fearing me? Hi you you so let me reply this and you may not
like the answer I would like legal castle. I haven't been able to call
anybody. I haven't been able to call my mom. I see how the
worse. As she sat in jail, more charges were added to the grand
theft auto. She was charged with holding a false passport for Jennifer Seibert's identity
theft. With the overwhelming blood evidence and video footage, Kimberly would soon face
a jury for the murder of Jolene Cummings. They say everything and everyone crazy
resides in Florida, my home state. Well, Florida didn't really see true
crazy until Kimberly Kessler showed up in the NASA County court. Kimberly Kessler had
been on the run her entire life under seventeen different aliases before she landed herself
a hair dressing job at the Tangle Salon in Yulee, Florida. Wherever the
hell that is, that's right by the Florida Georgia border. Not surprising anyway.
It was there that she developed a beef with her co worker Joline Cummings.
Now Kimberly was being charged with Jolene's murder. At a press conference,
Joline's mother made one last cry for help from the public as a job close
to day nine that I reported my daughter missing. Sunday was a special day,
not only for Mother's Day, but it was her birthday. She was
born on Mother's Day. God gave me this special blessing. After my firstborn
infant son, Richard, was buried. We are all heartbroken. My daughter
was a loving mother to her children. Her children were her life. I
need you, the news, the public to help cist the law enforcement agencies
to be their ears, to be their eyes. Someone out there, someone
out there, knows something. I beg you. I beang you as a
mother to please keep coming forward with any information that you have, no matter
how small. Help with any possibilities they could help low keep my daughter,
for her, my three grandchildren who miss her so much. The FBI searched
through the chess Or landfill and tried to find the trash bags they thought contained
Joline's body parts. They sent out dogs and horses, as well as teams
of experts to try to find her remains. They found nothing. In jail,
Kimberly started to unravel. At first, she talked openly with other inmates
about her life and crimes, but after a year of incarceration, she began
obsessing over her defense lawyer. She was convinced that he was Joline's cousin and
would explode at every hearing. Spoiler alert, The lawyer was not Joline's cousin.
But I probably didn't have to tell you that we may want to put
her on mute while we finished this, judge, It's fine myself. I
was to get rid of the public Defender's office. Yeah, exactly. Jordan
Beard is Johnson's nephew. Jordan Beard is Jolia's cousin. Jordan Beard is Johnson's
nephew. Jordan Beard is Jolie Cumming's cousin. Jordan Beard Jolian Cuny Jolijordian Beard
is Jolie's cousin. Jordan Beard is Jolie Cumming's cousin. For Jordan Beard is
Jolie's cousin, and I views this is all I have. Kessler screamed about
her attorney every chance she got, but the judge still deemed her fit to
stand trial, and jail inmates reported that Kimberly would often pretend to talk on
the phone, but no one would be on the other line. The only
person who would talk with her was her mom. Hello, I didn't get
to say goodbye. It just connected me. I think you can call me
any day. That was a colony until they actually forced me to hang up,
but I don't really want to, you know, make them mad.
I haven't even done anything wrong, and then you treat me pretty bad,
so bailed me out under my means that I'm going under, which is Jennifer
Marty Fibers. And then eventually everything's all going to come together. But you
know it's my real name, kim Kessler. But just you know, go
about it, you know, jumped through the hoops like, okay, well
you can bail you out under Jennifer. Yeah, because that's all what they
arrested me under. They don't until the FBI corrects it. It's going to
be Jennifer. So yes night and said, oh my god, we're not
going to they don't correct they will. You just put the money up for
Jennifer Marie Cybert. I gave you my social I gave you my data birth,
I gave you the name my name, which is you know, my
alias or whatever, so that I've been living under it for nineteen years.
You're all set. Oh my god, I were You're warm? Are you
sleep an eye? Can they give me a blanket? Now? Of course?
Terrible and the jail bail for Kimberly was originally set at five hundred thousand
dollars. Needless to say, her mother, the mother that had waited eight
years to report her missing, didn't pay for her bail either. As the
trial date drew closer, Kimberly began starving herself. When she was arrested,
Kimberly was a plump woman, put it that way, but she went on
a hunger strike for months and lost nearly sixty pounds. Do a Google search,
she's unrecognizable. She was in and out of the hospital due to her
extreme weight loss. She also began fighting with the staff and the jail.
She would scream and yell into the night. I'm sure the other inmates really
appreciated that. Sometimes she would take a dump in her cell and throw the
feces all over the walls at the corrections officers. It was reported that Kimberly
cost the taxpayers an additional two hundred and fifteen thousand dollars because of her medical
costs, suicide watch, transportation, and food. She made jail worse than
a living hell for everyone in the building. Imagine making jail worse. Kimberly
also acted out at all the hearings, all of them. Here's how a
typical one went in the day of the last day that he stayed in evidence
afforded the ottes evidence days. So sure to compare that, stay here,
right, Sure, I stay here, and I'm going to say what I
want when I want. How I was you silence me years? You silenced
me for years, so let everyone know the suggest aim of the icebergs.
Jordan here couples the thunder is Jolder among his cousin brother Josh. Yeah,
he swept it under the run for three and a half year as well with
her mother or sun Dad, who runs the jail recently retired, he sailed
us in. It took almost two years for Kimberly's murder trial, and due
to her psychotic behavior at hearings and repeated outbursts about Jolene's relatives, he was
not allowed to be present for a single day of it. Instead, she
stayed in her cell on suicide watch, planning when she could throw the next
fist full of feces. This was now Kimberly's life. Not surprisingly, Kimberly
Kessler was convicted of the first degree murder of Joline Cummings. She was sentenced
to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Sheriff Leeper, who had
worked diligently on the investigation, said this to the media. I don't for
one second believe that Kimberly Kessler, or whatever name she's going by today,
I don't believe this is her first murder. I don't at all After Kimberly
was taken from the jail to her new permanent home, the staff celebrated with
ice cream and cake that read incarceration relocation Celebration. They posted a picture of
all the correctional officers smiling with their forks filled with cake. Good riddance,
justice has been served. Everything that came to me through Jolie Jolian was here,
regardless of the life sentence. Joeyne's mother had one last request for Kimberly.
Where are the remains of my daughter? Give us some closure. I'm
asking you from one mother to another. But her request would be forever fruitless.
Kimberly Kessler was locked away, and they tossed away the proverbial key.
Now the only person she'll be ranting at is herself. Kimberly Kessler is a
true psychopathic narcissist. Not the kind of narcissist you may be thinking. Not
the kind that spends too much time on Twitter waiting for replies from some clever
post. They wrote, not that kind of narcissist, but the real kind.
Kimberly Kessler is a case study on what happens when mental illness meets pure
evil. She is a selfish, delusional liar with no regard for human life,
not even her own. Joline Cummings was the ultimate victim. She didn't
know who she was dealing with. She thought, this Jennifer chick, it's
just a little off, and you know, she's a hairdresser, so she's
curious. Everybody knows hair dressers are curious. Joe Lene had a good instinct
when everyone else at the salon was oblivious to the signs. But that suspicious
instinct would prove deadly. What's the saying curiosity killed the cat? There's a
reason that saying exists. I like to think that Joe Lene fought. She
didn't back down when Kimberly lunged at her with a pair of scissors. Kimberly
kicked and punched and scratched and screamed, but in the end she lost.
Kimberly was bigger, stronger, and much crazier than anyone could have ever suspected.
Who would have thought that this chubby, oddball hairdresser and yoga pants could
be capable of such a heinous affair. Maybe one day Joelene's body will be
found, but there's still hope. However, for now, her family and
her children can finally rest knowing that her killer will be locked up forever and
nobody, not a single human being on earth gives a shit whether Kimberly lives
or dies in that cell. All right, that does it. Thank you
for joining us. If you haven't checked out plus Sword and Scale dot com,
slash plus is where to go. Until next time, I stay safe.
Hello sort of Scale podcast. I am a listener for a very long
time. Actually, I think I've been listening to the show for almost four
years, and I have to say that the things that people say about the
host are insanely hilarious. I mean, I've seen all the hate that has
transpired with this podcast for a very long time, and I just really don't
understand. Why is it that people talk so much hits like what's going on?
It's it just fat women on the internet trying to fucking I don't know,
they don't have anything else to do other than talk to me about a
podcast. It's insane. Anyway, I just wanted to tell you guys that
you guys are actually pretty great and it's one of the podcasts that I've listened
to for a very long time, and you guys are always really really good,
so thank you, and what the haters? Seriously, they don't have
anything better to do. They feel so sorry for them.