[female narrator] when a devoted mother disappears,
Loved ones fear the worst.
No matter where joleen was at,
She would always answer her phone.
I just felt like somethin' bad had happened
And that she wouldn't be back.
[narrator] a woman with a history
Of choosing the wrong man...
She didn't always pick the best guys.
I don't know why.
She could always do so much better.
[narrator] ...Crosses a stranger with a secret past.
[bill] she went by around 17 different aliases.
She had several driver's licenses in different states,
[charity] we just didn't know what we had at that point.
Who is this lady?
[narrator] the search uncovers an overwhelming
Amount of lies and unspeakable violence.
And you say, holy crap.
You know, something really serious happened in here.
[wayne] she was extremely jealous.
She was very controlling. She was at times very violent.
This is a, a weird, evil woman.
[music]
[narrator] the quaint charm of fernandina beach, florida
Makes it a favorite destination for locals and visitors alike.
[wayne] fernandina beach is located on amelia island.
It's in the very northeastern corner of florida,
Just above jacksonville.
It's a little island. Everybody knows everybody.
And so it's a great place to grow up and raise a family.
[narrator] but on may 14, 2018, a feeling of dread settles over
The beach town when anne johnso calls the local sheriff's offic
To report her 34-year-old daughter,
Joleen cummings, missing.
[charity] we originally got a call from anne johnson,
And she said, the last time somebody spoke to joleen
Was may 12th.
And a couple of days later, no one had still heard from her.
[narrator] anne says she began to worry on Sunday, may 13th,
When jolene failed to pick up her two sons
After their week-long visit with their father.
The kids' father contacted her mother, anne johnson,
And said, do you know where joleen's at?
She's supposed to pick the kids up.
And he didn't know where she was.
[narrator] what's more, the Sunday of may 13th
Was a very special day for joleen and her kids.
[charity] her mother told me it was joleen's birthday,
And also, this is mother's day.
Joleen's mother reported that she had not been able
To reach her by phone.
[bill] it was a big concern that she couldn't be found
Because she does have kids. She loves her kids.
So certainly, you wanna try to find 'em as soon as possible.
I just felt like somethin' bad had happened
And that she wouldn't be back.
[narrator] born on may 13, 1984, joleen jenson was a small-town
Girl who loved her family fiercely.
It was just joleen and her mom, and her stepdad.
They had a good relationship.
They were always together, having family dinners.
[narrator] joyful and energetic, joleen drew people in.
[alma] joleen had a large circle of friends.
Everybody loved joleen.
[narrator] after graduating high school,
Joleen left for cosmetology school,
But she know she would never be gone for long.
[alma] joleen was very much a small-town girl.
She wanted to own a salon,
So the small town is the best for that.
[narrator] after a few years away
And a failed relationship that left her a single mother,
Joleen moved back to her hometown.
Joleen was very excited to be a mom.
She didn't always pick the best guys.
I don't know why.
She could always do so much better.
She worked at tangles hair salon in fernandina beach.
[crystal] the salon we worked at was a very
Family-friendly place.
We had fun there.
Everybody got along. You know, had lunches together.
She was the light of the salon.
[narrator] joleen used this time to build toward her dreams.
She advertised herself a lot on social media,
And she built a very good clientele.
I never knew a day that she wasn't booked.
[narrator] joleen's career was taking off,
And when she met jason cummings
Her personal life quickly followed suit.
After the birth of their first son in 2013, they married
And joleen gave birth to another boy in 2015.
[mariah] she was so obsessed with those babies
That nothing else mattered. Those kids came first.
[narrator] although joleen was overjoyed to grow her family,
Her marriage to jason soon began to fray.
They didn't have a very good relationship in the end.
But she, she kept trying. She loved him.
And she always put her men and her kids before anything.
[narrator] the two separated in 2017.
[crystal] she wasn't real talkative about jason.
She was focused on her kids.
They would go visit their father,
But her kids always lived with joleen.
[narrator] soon after the separation,
She began dating someone new.
But after her past failed relationships,
Joleen wanted to keep this one to herself.
[mariah] with men, she was a very private girl.
I knew she was dating a new guy.
And at times when I would see her, she was very excited.
It was new. It was butterflies.
[narrator] joleen was enjoying motherhood,
A flourishing career, and a growing romance.
It seemed all of the pieces of her life
Were falling into place.
Until may 14, 2018,
When the reliable mother is nowhere to be found.
Everyone was just panicking.
We didn't know what could've happened.
We still held on to the hope that she was okay somewhere.
But it was like deep down we knew better.
[narrator] local authorities start their search
By contacting the first person to notice joleen's absence,
Her estranged husband, jason cummings.
Joleen was going through a divorce with her husband,
Jason cummings.
And the final custody had not been determined.
A custody dispute can be a huge motivator to
Possibly to do violence.
I wanted to meet with him in person.
[narrator] jason agrees to come to the sheriff's office
The next day for an interview.
And investigators continue to call more
Of joleen's family and friends.
[wayne] through contacting people who know her
And doing interviews with them,
The last place that we could determine that joleen was seen
Was at her place of employment,
At tangles hair salon, on the 12th of may.
We talked to the salon owner.
We got the names of the people who were working that day.
She, uh, had joleen cummings, who had been with her
For several years.
Ann morgan, who had been there for approximately 10 years.
And she had a newer employee who had only been there
For a couple of months, and her name was jennifer sybert.
[narrator] the salon owner says joleen and jennifer
Closed the salon on Saturday, may 12th, around 5:00 pm.
Well, we knew the type of vehicle that joleen drove.
It was not anywhere near the salon.
And the salon had a camera, but it was not working.
[wayne] we did attempt to ping her cell phone,
And the cell phone was either not working
Or it had been turned off.
We checked her bank records.
We checked social media accounts.
None of those had had any, uh, activity since the last day
That she had worked, which was on may 12th.
We know that after that, nobody had seen her,
So the focus of our timeline was basically between
The 12th and the 14th.
[narrator] investigators immediately release
A description of joleen and her vehicle
To the local news,
And reach out to her co-worker, jennifer.
We asked if joleen had mentioned anything about going anywhere.
Jennifer went into a long explanation about why
She could not be involved in a law enforcement investigation.
She stated that she had an ex-boyfriend who was
A computer expert, and that he was a stalker,
And if her name was listed anywhere,
He would track her down.
I said, I just need to know,
Did you work with joleen on Saturday,
And if she discussed any upcoming plans?
Jennifer stated that her and jolene were not close,
That joleen was acting normally, and that, uh, she didn't mention
Any upcoming plans for the weekend.
[narrator] with concern for joleen mounting,
Detectives dig deeper into her history.
[wayne] if somebody's reported missing,
We're gonna look for recent police reports.
I had discovered a previous police report on the 9th of may.
There had been a domestic situation.
Jason gee had come over and asked to spend the night.
When she told him he could not spend the night, he got upset.
[narrator] detectives then arrange to meet joleen's
Stepfather at her home to conduct a wellness check,
And what they find is concerning.
[mark] that afternoon, on Monday the 14th,
We noticed that the residence was secured,
But once entering in, the house looked
A little bit in disarray.
There were some cabinet doors that were loose,
Some holes in the walls.
We actually reached out to an officer who had responded there,
And he advised that, that was typical for that house.
[narrator] coming up,
Detectives suspect that joleen' disappearance could be connecte
To her complicated love life.
We did discover that sometimes joleen may not have
Made the best decisions with the guys that she chose to date.
[bill] we'd call him. He'd hang up.
We go to his house. He's not there.
It seemed like he's trying to avoid us.
[music]
[narrator] may 15, 2018.
It's been three days since 34-year-old mother
Joleen cummings was last seen.
[mariah] no one knew what had happened,
But we had a feeling something bad had happened.
[narrator] after finding her house in disarray,
Investigators start looking into the men in joleen's life,
Beginning with her estranged husband, jason cummings.
[wayne] joleen was going through a divorce with her husband.
If somebody's reported missing, and they're going through
A separation or a divorce,
You know, the person involved with that's gonna be
One of the first people we look at.
[narrator] three days after joleen's disappearance,
Jason sits down with detectives for an interview.
He admits that he and joleen had arguments,
But denies any physical altercations.
He gave a alibi of being with some friends
At a specific location all weekend.
I asked him for permission to search
And download his cellular phone.
I didn't find anything of evidentiary value
On the cell phone.
He also gave written consent for a search of his vehicle.
We actually had a crime scene unit go out and examine it
And take photos of it.
But we saw nothing inside the vehicle of a suspicious nature.
[narrator] before the interview is over,
Jason cummings has a question
About the other man in joleen's life.
[narrator] detectives find jason cummings has never been charged
Nor convicted of any crimes against joleen,
So they release him while they work to confirm his alibi.
At that point in time, we began to look
For joleen's boyfriend, jason gee,
Whose name and information I had discovered
In a domestic incident.
There was no physical violence documented,
But it was documented that he had gotten angry
And damaged the cabinets in the home.
[bill] when we try to contact jason gee, we'd call him.
He'd hang up. We go to his house.
He's not there.
It seemed like he's trying to avoid us.
[wayne] he had a active warrant for violation of probation.
And we knew that he was dodging that,
But still the more he dodged us,
He certainly was becoming more of a suspect.
[narrator] investigators concentrate more resources
On locating jason.
[wayne] we were also looking at his background,
And any relatives, any friends,
Any locations that he frequented.
Jason gee was eventually found in hilliard, florida.
He had a relative that lived there.
Law enforcement went to the relative's house.
He was hiding under some boxes in the bedroom.
[narrator] authorities arrest jason gee
On an outstanding warrant
And bring him in for an interview.
Jason gee had some criminal history
And some brushes with the law.
[narrator] detectives press jason gee for his whereabouts
On the day joleen went missing.
[narrator] for detectives, this information
Raises a red flag.
It's the same day joleen was last seen ,
And only an hour before the salon closed.
[narrator] the whereabouts of jason's phon
Fuels only more suspicion.
[wayne] he's knowing he's gonna sit in jail for a little while.
He's obviously angry with law enforcement.
But when it come to joleen, you know, his demeanor did change.
He seemed legitimately concerned that she was missing.
[narrator] investigators need to confirm jason's alibi,
But first, they head to the last place joleen was spotted,
The salon.
[bill] we had no other indication
She was anywhere else.
Nobody had seen her after work,
And no one had seen her leave work.
We didn't know what time, or if,
Joleen cummings actually walked out of the hair salon.
[narrator] coming up,
A potential witness refuses to cooperate with police.
[bill] she calls her owner.
She said, hey, I'm quitting. You can mail my check
I can't be involved in any police activity.
[narrator] and new evidence sends investigators on a hunt
For a mysterious suspect.
Once the vehicle was parked,
A minute or so later,
You could see someone exit the driver's side.
[music]
[narrator] may 15, 2018, 34-year-old mother of three
Joleen cummings has been missin for more than 48 hours.
Up until now, the investigation has centered on joleen's
Former spouse, jason cummings, and her boyfriend, jason gee.
Both men say they were visiting friends and family the weekend
Of joleen's disappearance.
[bill] jason cummings gave us all of his phones,
And we could check and see where he was at.
And, uh, so we could eliminate him as being
Any person of interest or even a suspect.
[narrator] despite having a criminal record,
Detectives are also able to clear jason gee.
[wayne] jason gee gave an alibi that he was at some
Friend's house in jacksonville.
We sent detectives to talk to the friends in jacksonville
Who confirmed that he was there.
Jason gee's father confirmed that he was
The one who transported him.
[narrator] with their leads dwindling,
Authorities decide to circle back to the location
Where joleen was last seen, the salon.
[charity] one of our detectives went to the hair salon,
And while he's in there speaking to the owner of the hair salon,
Jennifer sybert comes to the shop.
Only jennifer sybert and joleen cummings
Were working that day.
So jennifer was the last person that we know who'd seen her.
The owner of the shop actually told jennifer,
Hey, there's a detective in here that wants to speak to you.
[narrator] however, jennifer makes it clear once again
That she doesn't want to get involved.
She decided she didn't want to have any part
Of the police.
As she leaves, she said, hey, I'm quitting.
You can mail my check.
I can't be involved in any police activity,
Which is a concern.
[wayne] I thought it was very unusual,
But there are certainly people who don't like law enforcement,
And don't want contact with law enforcement.
[narrator] as detectives prepare to look deeper
Into jennifer's background,
They receive their biggest tip yet.
[bill] well, after we put the flyer out for joleen's vehicle,
We did receive a call from an individual who thought he seen
That vehicle in a home depot parking lot.
When we responded, we verified that it was joleen's car.
[wayne] when we searched the vehicle, we did not see
Any kind of blood or anything of evidentiary value.
Once we found her vehicle,
It gave us a place to start and to work backwards from there.
So what we did was we looked for surveillance video.
[narrator] when investigators pull video surveillance
From a nearby bank, they make a startling discovery
Early in the morning, the 13th, at about 1:17,
You could see the vehicle being driven into the home depot
Parking lot.
A minute or so later, you could see someone
Exit the driver's side.
[narrator] the grainy footage makes it impossible
To identify the driver,
But investigators can see the figure walk
To a nearby gas station.
[mark] one of the videos was from a gate gas station.
It was a very clear video showing a female wearing
All black enter into the store.
[wayne] once she enters into the gas station,
And walks up near the counter,
The surveillance is even clearer.
And, you know, judging off the driver's license picture I have,
I'm like, that's jennifer sybert.
[narrator] with this new revelation
On Wednesday, may 16th,
Investigators return to joleen' place of work for a closer look
[mark] the salon had been closed since joleen cumming's
Disappearance due to the fact that the salon's normally
Closed Sunday and Monday.
On Tuesday, when the owner showed up
To open up the business, she had no employees there to cut hair.
The salon being closed was pretty important in that
Nobody had cleaned anything. Nothing had been disturbed.
[narrator] when the crime scene unit applies luminol,
A chemical that reacts with blood,
Hidden horrors are revealed.
It just lit up. And you say, holy crap.
You know, something really serious happened in here.
[wayne] that was really the moment when I said,
I'm working a homicide investigation.
And our number one priority at that point in time is
To find jennifer sybert.
[narrator] detectives send samples of the blood evidence
For dna testing.
While they wait for results, they release a bolo
For jennifer's vehicle and ping her phone.
Location data places her somewhere in neighboring
St. Johns county.
[wayne] st. Johns county, which is a couple of counties
South of nassau.
She had given a false address to her employer.
Instructions were given to check any area where somebody needed
To stay or sleep in their car.
[charity] we were informed,
Hey, she's a transient sometimes.
She's living out of her vehicle.
So I went to a rest area.
I was not expecting to find her vehicle.
But when I looked to my left and saw her black kia
Between two semis, I knew it was her.
I made a phone call to another detective.
I told him, hey, her vehicle's here.
[wayne] several, uh, detectives quickly responded
To st. Johns county, including myself.
We approached and it appeared that there was someone
Sleeping in the vehicle.
At that point in time,
I gave the person verbal commands to
Step out of the vehicle with their hands visible.
Jennifer sybert exited the front door of the vehicle.
She had a nasty cut on her face.
Her story was she was riding her bicycle and she ran into a tree.
But that's not, not what she would have looked like
If she'd hit a tree.
Looks like she'd been in a fight.
We asked her, have you ever been in joleen's vehicle?
She said, no, never have.
[wayne] at that point and time, I knew she was lying.
I then confronted her and said, I don't believe you.
At that time she said,
Well, if you don't believe me, maybe I need an attorney.
[narrator] investigators place jennifer under arrest
And transport her to the st. Johns county jail.
We originally charged jennifer sybert with
Grand theft of joleen's vehicle.
We need to continue gathering evidence,
Looking for, for any clues,
Certainly looking to see if we can find joleen somewhere.
[narrator] they start by canvassing the area
Around the salon for more surveillance footage.
[wayne] we did discover a camera for the alleyway behind tangles
Where the dumpsters are located.
In that video, you can see jennifer sybert exiting
The rear of the business with large garbage bags
And throwing them into the dumpster behind the business
For several hours after tangles was closed
On the 12th of may.
[narrator] footage further shows a truck emptying the dumpster
On may 14th,
Just two hours after joleen was reported missing.
We contacted the, the company that services
The dumpsters, and they were able to give us
A general area of where that particular truck dumped.
We asked them to isolate the area,
So that we could later search it.
[narrator] authorities obtain a search warrant
For jennifer's car.
[bill] we found a bag in there with combs and scissors.
[wayne] the screw that attaches two pieces
Of the scissors together, there was a little bit
Of a darker color substance in there.
It could have been rust. It could have been anything.
It was something that we need to have analyzed.
We did that and it did, uh, come back as positive for,
Not just blood, but joleen's blood.
I did believe at that point
That we had located the murder weapon.
[narrator] detectives also discover a record of purchases
Made by jennifer at walmart around 9:00 pm on may 12th,
The last day joleen was seen alive.
The detective went to the walmart
And obtained video surveillance.
[charity] she bought ammonia,
Large trash bags, gloves,
And a carving knife.
[narrator] detectives re-examine the hours
Of surveillance footage and quickly realize
That after jennifer purchased the items at walmart,
She returned to the salon.
Over an hour later, she emerges
And continues her trips to the dumpster.
[bill] what really floored me was the electric knife.
When I saw that, I'm thinking,
She cut joleen up,
Stuffed her in those black trash bags,
And threw her away like garbage.
[narrator] coming up,
A shocking confession with a twist no one sees coming.
At the time, I had no idea if this was true or not true.
[charity] all of a sudden, there's this information
With a little girl named jennifer sybert,
Same date of birth, who died in a car accident
In germany at 13 years old. It just gave us chills.
[music]
[narrator] joleen cummings is missing and presumed dead.
Her coworker, jennifer sybert, is in custody after
Surveillance video shows her stealing joleen's vehicle.
But blood evidence now points to a much darker crime.
When the luminol lit up the salon, it was obviously
A lot of blood.
At that point, we knew we had a murder on our hands.
[wayne] the amounts of blood that were found on the walls
And the floor, there were samples of those collected.
They were sent,
And they did come back as joleen's dna.
The evidence was mounting,
And we knew that this crime occurred inside tangles.
[bill] whenever you have a murder and you can't locate
The body, it's a difficult case.
You have to have overwhelming evidence.
[narrator] investigators search the landfill where they believe
Joleen's body may be located.
The area was enormous. It was almost inconceivable
The amount of refuse that we went through.
We analyzed what we could,
But nothing of evidentiary value was found.
[narrator] investigators search for a potential motive
By interviewing the staff
About jennifer and joleen's relationship.
When jennifer sybert first went to work at tangles,
It seemed like her and joleen got along very well.
But as time went on, there was tension and eventually downright
Just dislike between the two.
[mariah] joleen had all the clients.
I don't think she was making the money that joleen was making.
Joleen had talked to me about jennifer
And said that something was really weird with her.
[narrator] another coworker, anh morgan, who has worked
With joleen for nearly six year claims that the day before
Her disappearance, joleen and jennifer argued.
Joleen basically told her, you're not who you say you are,
And I'm gonna find out who you are.
[narrator] detectives believe that cryptic confrontation
May have led to joleen's murder
Something triggered, uh, jennifer to do this.
What exactly it was, we don't know.
[narrator] on may 18th, after two days in custody,
Jennifer drops a bombshell.
[charity] we just didn't know what we had at that point.
Who is this lady?
What is she about? Where is she from?
[narrator] kimberly says she grew up in butler, pennsylvania
[narrator] kimberly tells investigators
That she dropped out of school
And left pennsylvania for something new
That proved dangerous.
[narrator] kimberly claims that after the relationship ended,
She changed her name and went on the run.
She stuck by the premise that she was running
From an ex who, uh, she was afraid of.
[narrator] when the conversation shifts to joleen,
Kimberly quickly shuts it down.
[narrator] what's more, investigators find no proof
That anyone is pursuing kimberly, fbi or otherwise.
[wayne] at the time, I had no idea what was true or not true.
So we set to work on finding out who she was.
[charity] I typed in the name, jennifer sybert, date of birth.
And all of a sudden, there's this information
With a little girl named jennifer sybert,
Same date of birth,
Who was in a car accident in germany.
She died at 13 years old.
It just gave us chills.
She was buried in butler, pennsylvania,
And we knew that jennifer was from butler, pennsylvania.
[narrator] they suspect she stole the real jennifer sybert'
Identity from her gravestone.
[wayne] a detective contacted the real
Jennifer sybert's father. He was very surprised.
He said that he had no idea how, um, kimberly kessler
Could have obtained his daughter's information.
I've worked identity theft before.
There's sites you can go to online, dark web and such,
And get that kind of thing.
[narrator] pennsylvania authorities tell detectives
That kimberly kessler was reported missing
By her mother in 2004, when she was 36 years old.
[wayne] she was an adult at the time she went missing.
As matter of fact, her mother waited several
Years before she even reported her missing.
I think she had talked about leaving,
Getting out of butler, pennsylvania.
We actually sent an fbi agent to the mother's home
And got a dna swab and discovered, yes,
This is truly her daughter.
[narrator] investigators continue digging,
Conducting interviews with anyone who knew kimberly.
In talking with people that she had dated in the past,
She was extremely jealous. She was very controlling.
She was at times very violent.
[bill] when we're interviewing people, we found out she went
By around 17 different aliases.
She had several driver's licenses in different states,
This is a weird, evil woman.
[narrator] coming up,
Circumstantial evidence continues to mount,
But kimberly presents an unexpected new obstacle.
[bill] she was just very nasty to our deputies
In the jail.
She'd actually throw crap at them.
Cuss at them, spit on them,
All that.
[music]
[narrator] may 2018. It's been eight days since
34-year-old joleen cummings went missing.
Investigators now suspect the mother of three has been
Killed by her coworker, kimberly kessler
Who has allegedly been on the run and living
Under false indentities for nearly 25 years.
However, investigators have yet to recover a body.
No body homicides, they are much more difficult
To prosecute than when you have a body.
The body itself is evidence, you know.
And juries are very visual people.
[narrator] a search of kimberly's cell phone
Leads to crucial evidence.
We have her internet searches--
Coworker guilty of murder, coworker not found,
No body, no crime.
There were literally hundreds of searches
In reference to joleen cummings' disappearance.
[narrator] despite having no body, on September 7, 2018,
A nassau county grand jury indicts kimberly
On first-degree murder charges.
Once she is behind bars,
Kimberly exhibits a string
Of increasingly concerning behaviors.
[bill] she would just be very nasty to our deputies
In the jail.
She'd actually throw crap at them she'd save in a cup,
And smear it on the windows, all over her cell.
Cuss at them, spit on them,
All that.
[narrator] the behaviors warrant enough concern to conduct
A mental evaluation to determni if kimberly is fit
To stand trial.
[dr. Durvasula] she was diagnosed with
Delusional disorder--
Somebody who has shown that they maintain behaviors
That are, that are not based
In any form of fact or reality.
Now, if a person is a very, very convincing actor,
They could convince somebody that they have
Delusional disorder.
So another psychologist reevaluated kimberly,
And based on their assessment, found that kimberly met criteria
For an unspecified personality disorder
And not a delusional disorder.
It's not considered to be that real break from reality
That we would see in successful sorts of
Use of an insanity defense.
[charity] well, the judge is actually the one who
Makes the final decision.
He decided she was clearly okay to stand for trial.
[narrator] when kimberly's trial begins in December 2021,
Her gaunt appearance is shocking, as are her antics.
When she was housed at, in the nassau county jail
Detention facility, she went on a hunger strike.
Every time that, uh, kimberly had a court hearing,
She would come in and she would be disruptive.
So the judge would have her removed.
[narrator] the theatrics do nothing to distract prosecutors
From building their case. They present kimberly
As a troubled woman who lashed out when joleen threatened to
Uncover her long-kept secrect.
I think whenever joleen told her,
I'm gonna find out who you are,
That was the straw that broke the camel's back.
For somebody with kimberly kessler's
Personality style, once somebody is on to them,
It is not unusual for that person with that personality
To really agitated, to escalate.
I believe they got into a physical altercation.
Joleen cummings fought back,
But I think kimberly was able to get ahold of a pair of scissors.
That was what incapacitated joleen cummings,
So that the body could be disposed of later on
In the back part of the salon.
[dr. Durvasula] kimberly kessler likely felt entitled
To eliminating joleen,
So that she could maintain her own false reality
That she had been using to get through the world
All of these years. It's actually quite chilling.
[narrator] on December 9, 2021,
The jury convicts 53-year-old kimberly kessler
Of first-degree murder and grand theft auto.
She was sentenced to life in prison without
Possibility of parole.
[narrator] to this day, the search for joleen's body
Continues, and investigators remain determined to reunite
Her with her beloved family.
I will never give up hope on locating joleen.
[crystal] I love and miss joleen very much,
And I would like to say to kimberly,
If you have any decency
Or any feelings whatsoever,
At least give this family some closure
And tell them where she is.
[music]