JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Convicted killer Kimberly Kessler will spend the rest of her life in prison for the murder of 34-year-old Joleen Cummings.
Kessler was convicted in December in the May 2018 disappearance and presumed death of Joleen Cummings, a Yulee hairdresser and mother of three, whose body has never been found. Kessler worked briefly at the Tangles hair salon before Cummings vanished.
Life in prison is the mandatory sentence in a first-degree murder case where the death penalty isn’t sought. But Judge Daniel said the sentence would be imposed whether required or not.
"Even if it wasn’t a mandatory sentence, life without the possibly of parole would be absolutely be appropriate," he said.
Before the judge read the sentence, two victim impact statements were read to the court, one from her mother, Ann Johnson, and another that was written by Cummings' sister Justine.
Saying that their family’s security was destroyed by her daughter’s murder. Johnson told the judge that their life has become a “never-ending nightmare.”
“We are still waiting for Joleen to walk through that front door,” Johnson said. “But we go to the door and Joleen is never coming home.”
Cummings' sister's statement was read by her uncle.
"The last day I saw my sister was my wedding day, a day that was supposed to be cherished," Justine wrote. "I'll always remember how I should have hugged her goodbye and told her I love you."
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In typical fashion, Kessler was removed before her sentencing hearing was fully underway. She could be heard shouting "Jordan Beard is Joleen Cummings' cousin!" before she reached the courtroom -- and as she was promptly wheeled back out.
That same phrase was what Kessler chanted each day of her trial as she was given the opportunity to participate cooperatively, but refused. It's one example of how her mental health has been an issue in the case from the beginning.
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After initially declaring her mentally incompetent to stand trial, the judge later said Kessler was capable of understanding the case against her. She spent most of the trial in a separate room with a video link to the proceedings.
As First Coast News reported Wednesday, Kessler attempted to kill herself on Christmas day by strangling herself with a sock and again on Nov. 30, by tying the elastic from a pair of underwear around her neck. When Kessler’s public defenders brought that up as reason to consider reversing the trial’s outcome, Daniel said that attempting suicide is not evidence of mental illness.
Kessler will be removed from the Nassau County Jail “as soon as we can get her gone,” Sheriff Bill Leeper told First Coast News. He said as soon as she is gone, the staff will celebrate with cake and ice cream.