NASSAU COUNTY, FLORIDA, Fla. — The convicted killer who created numerous disruptions in a yearslong murder case in Nassau County has asked for her life sentence to be overturned, according to a extensive court filing.
Sentenced to life in prison in 2022, Kimberly Kessler this week claimed the body of 34-year-old Joleen Cummings was never found.
Cummings, a Yulee hairdresser and mother of three, worked with Kessler briefly at the Tangles hair salon before she vanished in 2018. She has not been found.
Authorities determined Kessler, who also went by Jennifer Sybert, was the last person to see Cummings and the salon was the last place Cummings was seen before she vanished. Cummings' vehicle was dropped off at a Home Depot at 1:17 a.m. May 13, 2018, by a person clad in all-black, later determined to be Kessler. She entered a nearby gas station and called a cab. Kessler was arrested at a St. Johns County rest stop three days later.
Kessler required frequent hospitalization during the proceedings, including starving herself from 196 pounds to a life-threatening 74 pounds. She would also strip naked and smear her cell with feces, according to court documents.
In the document notarized July 9, she submits 27 grounds for the conviction to be overturned. They largely pertain to claims of prosecutorial misconduct; violations of due process; jury instructions prejudicial to Kessler, and failures to "object to hearsay and fabricated evidence;" " to properly impeach witnesses." She also refutes the trial transcripts.
Kessler also claims there is "no case" and no evidence" and that the evidence is circumstantial and insufficient. She cited 62 laws and cases as precedents to throw out her conviction.
She repeated her claims that one of the prosecutors, who is from South Florida, is Cummings' cousin, which her defense counsel told the judge at the time was "factually inaccurate." Kessler writes that only the prosecution provided witness testimony and evidence and that the jury "was told to accept all witnesses/evidence as true without any further proof."
"Due to much per se conflict of interest, per se prejudicial error, egregious prosecutorial misconduct, and culmination of other errors, defendant was convicted of charges. Defendant was framed and maintaining she is innocent. (I am innocent)," she writes in her case summary.
Early in the document she claims she's never been disruptive or disrespectful. She later writes critically of her defense counsel prohibiting a change of venue.
"... may she be brought back safe, sound & soon," she writes.
Regarding Cummings, Kessler wrote she was not close to Cummings and worked with her for two-and-a-half months. She said her counsel provided a platform for "lies, hearsay and fabrication" and that she "did nothing to (Cummings)."
At multiple times during the trial, due to her behavior, Kessler was not present.
"I did not leave freely. I did not consent. I was removed," she said.
Kessler argues there was no weapon found. The judge allowed a jury to hear that Kessler bought an electric carving knife, trash bags, cleaning gloves and ammonia during the 24-hour time frame in which she's accused of murdering Cummings.
Kessler claims Cummings is a missing person and she directed opprobrium toward Cummings' boyfriend and the salon for not having working security cameras, stating she was framed. At numerous points in the document, Kessler calls the evidence "presumptive."
The state has been ordered to file a response.
According to the Florida Appellate Case Information System, Kessler's conviction was affirmed by the Fifth District Court of Appeals on Oct. 31, 2023, and a review of the appeal was dismissed by the Florida Supreme Court in March.
