YULEE, Fla. – Four motions were filed Wednesday to suppress evidence in the case of Kimberly Kessler, the woman charged with killing her coworker at a hair salon in Yulee.
Kessler is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Joleen Cummings, a 34-year-old mother of three. Cummings has been missing since May 2018, and although her body has not been found, investigators said they found several notable items at a Georgia landfill.
Kessler’s attorneys claim that Kessler was located through unlawful use of cellphone site technology, and that any evidence gathered as a result of the detention in St. Johns County should be suppressed.
Her attorneys say that statements Kessler made to St. Johns County deputies should be suppressed because she was questioned before she was read her Miranda rights. They say statements she made at the St. Johns County Jail should also be suppressed, saying they were the fruit of an unlawful arrest.
The defense has also sent the prosecution a list of witnesses it wants to call, including Nassau County and St Johns County deputies and investigators, two FBI agents, and retired Judge Robert Foster, who issued the search warrants in the case.
Kessler has another pretrial hearing scheduled for Thursday. A court in October determined after evidentiary hearings and expert reports that Kessler remains competent to stand trial.
An emergency order from the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office in September requested guidance from a judge, saying Kessler was refusing to eat and wouldn’t accept any medical treatment. A week later, the judge dismissed the petition, which stated that Kessler was trying to kill herself by starvation.
Court documents state that investigators believe the hairstylist may have been killed inside Tangles Hair Salon in Yulee. Records provided to the defense attorney show that detectives and the lead prosecutor found bloodstains on a chair in the salon, the wall near the reception desk, a wooden display stand, a signboard, a vacuum cleaner leaning against the wall, another chair and a display rack next to the desk.
Following Cummings’ disappearance, her SUV was found parked outside a Home Depot. Kessler was arrested May 16 after investigators said they found footage showing her getting out of the vehicle.
Kessler is believed to be that last person to see Cummings alive.
The case has attracted national attention in part because authorities said Kessler, who went by Jennifer Sybert, has used 17 aliases over the years.
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November 19, 2020 at 08:52AM
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Defense seeking to have evidence in Kimberly Kessler case thrown out - WJXT News4JAX
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