![]( "Anne Johnson holds a picture of her daughter, Joleen Cummings, who was last seen May 12. Words of encouragement are written around the frame. Kimberly Kessler was charged with first-degree premeditated murder Sept. 7.")
Anne Johnson holds a picture of her daughter, Joleen Cummings, who was last seen May 12. Words of encouragement are written around the frame. Kimberly Kessler was charged with first-degree premeditated murder Sept. 7.
A grand jury handed down a first-degree premeditated murder charge against Kimberly Kessler Sept. 7 in the disappearance of Joleen Rebecca Jensen Cummings.
Nassau County Sheriff Bill Leeper made the announcement in Yulee that evening, but did not give any information about the recent evidence that led to the new charge.
Kessler will be held without bond. She is already in custody in the Duval County Jail for grand theft auto.
State Attorney Melissa Nelson said that based on the evidence, it is possible to bring a murder conviction without a body.
“We feel very confident going forward,” she added.
Kessler faces a life sentence if convicted.
Leeper highlighted the NCSO investigation that has also involved the FBI, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and other law enforcement agencies.
“They conducted hundreds of interviews, gathered a lot of physical and forensic evidence, searched through hours and hours of video surveillance, and also searched cell phone records,” Leeper said.
“They interviewed several customers who went to Tangles on the last day Joleen was seen and interviewed witnesses who saw Kessler on that day and the several days after until she was located and arrested at the rest area in St. Johns County on the night of May 16.”
He continued, “They also interviewed Kessler’s former boyfriends and family members in order to get a picture of who she is.”
Leeper reiterated facts discovered early on.
“As I have stated before, she had gone by several aliases, living in numerous different cities in 14 different states. I’m not sure what she was hiding from, but this time she came to the wrong county and she messed with the wrong people,” he said. “And hopefully she will never have the opportunity to do anything like this again.”
Leeper continued, “We believe we have discovered overwhelming evidence that will convict Kessler of murder; however, finding Joleen’s body would make it even more persuasive and also bring some sort of closure for her family. Kessler is the person who knows where Joleen is, and unfortunately, she has not provided that information, but we will continue our efforts to search for Joleen wherever we have credible evidence and our prayers are that she will be found. However, Joleen did leave behind plenty of evidence to assist law enforcement in solving her murder.”
Leeper did not comment on specifics of the investigation because he didn’t want to “compromise the integrity of the evidence that will be presented or prejudice any future potential jurors.”
He added, “There is a lot of evidence we have collected that has not been made public yet, but will be eventually, and when it is I believe people within our community will be shocked and surprised at what occurred.”
The sheriff spoke about the investigation’s impact.
“This is where I grew up and this is my community,” Leeper said. “We all hear about cold-hearted, evil people who conduct heinous crimes in other communities all across our state, our nation and the world. You never want to think it will, but when something like this occurs in your community, especially to someone you know, it affects everyone.”
Kessler is believed to be the last person to see Cummings at Tangles Hair Salon May 12. Cummings was seen leaving the salon that evening. Kessler was arrested for grand theft auto for driving Cummings’ vehicle May 13, as shown on video footage obtained by the NCSO.
Since her daughter’s disappearance, Anne Johnson has spoken at several press conferences, urging the public to come forward with any information
“Joleen must continue to be served,” Johnson said. “Justice must continue to be served for my daughter, Joleen, and for her body to be found. There’s no such thing as closure. What haunts me the most is how scared Joleen must have been through this whole horrific ordeal and how hard Joleen must have fought for her life. As I know she was fighting for the life of her three children.”
She continued, “Joleen always said she would fight for the life of her babies. I believe that she did just that, trying to save her own life. Joleen’s life was stolen from us in a vicious and evil way. It makes no sense. I think about this nightmare day and night. Myself and Joleen’s children have had many sleepless nights.”
