NASSAU COUNTY, Fla. — A woman accused of killing Nassau County mother of three Joleen Cummings in 2018 stopped eating for several days while in jail.
According to court filings obtained by First Coast News, Kessler refused to eat for at least four days this month. Nassau County Jail officials warned that if she did not begin to eat she would have to be transported to the hospital before her health deteriorated. They were notified by officials at the Duval County Jail, where she is housed.
Kessler’s public defender sent the jail’s warning to the judge in her case, who must decide whether she is mentally competent to stand trial.
First Coast News has confirmed Kessler is currently in jail. It’s not clear if she was ever transported to the hospital.
This is not the first time Kessler has gone on a hunger strike while in jail. In June 2018, Kessler was moved to the Duval County Jail after not eating for more than a week while at the Nassau County Jail.
She told investigators she would eat if she was transported elsewhere, so she was transported to Duval County.
Cummings has been missing since just before Mother’s Day in 2018. She and Kessler worked together at Tangles Hair Salon in Yulee.