NASSAU COUNTY, Fla. — The lawyers representing convicted killer Kimberly Kessler want the court to recall jurors for questioning after comments reportedly made by a juror interviewed after her trial.
In a motion filed last month, lawyers say the comments suggest that matters were brought up during deliberation outside the introduced evidence of the trial, particularly ones relating to her mental competence.
Lawyers argue in the motion that the jurors who were selected to try the case indicated they had no knowledge of the case due to local publicity and were unaware of the facts surrounding the case and/or defendant Kimberly Kessler.
"None of the jurors selected for the panel indicated they had any knowledge of Ms. Kessler's mental condition, or if they did, they agreed they would set it aside and not allow it to influence their deliberations," the motion reads.
Kessler herself did not appear before jurors at any point in the trial, and no mention was made about her mental state.
However, in an article reported by another news outlet, a juror was reported as saying that Kessler "tried to convince everyone she was incompetent but that the jury rejected that."
The motion continues, "if any juror knew of the fact that Kessler has been declared incompetent, or that she had continued to raise the issue of competence and failed to disclose that is voir dire while under oath, a miscarriage of justice which warrants a new trial has occurred."
If Kessler's competence was discussed in the jury room, lawyers argue that it was improper and thus resulted in the denial of Kessler's right to a fair trial.
"This Court should recall the jurors for questioning under oath as to both the subject truthfulness during voir dire and of improperly considered evidence during deliberation," the motion reads.
Kessler was sentenced to spend the rest of her life behind bars 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.