Jessica Keen

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jessica Keen
Born
Jessica Lyn Keen

(1975-09-24)24 September 1975
Died16 March 1991(1991-03-16) (aged 15)
West Jefferson, Ohio

Jessica Lyn Keen (September 24, 1975 – March 16, 1991) was a murder victim killed in Foster Chapel Cemetery in West Jefferson, Ohio. Her case was profiled on the television program Unsolved Mysteries and On the Case with Paula Zahn as well as Dead Silent on Investigation Discovery.

Before the murder[]

Jessica Lyn Keen, a 15-year-old girl from Columbus, Ohio was a model student—an honor student and a cheerleader. However, she quit cheerleading and her grades dropped after meeting a boy and falling in love. Her parents objected to her seeing the young man but did not know what to do. On March 4, 1991 they sought help at a free counseling center in Columbus. The home for troubled teens offered temporary residence for two weeks, individual and family counseling sessions.

Jessica was chased down a country road naked except for her underwear and a bra. She had duct tape around her hands and her head covering her mouth. She was raped and beaten before she was killed.[citation needed]

Body discovered[]

After being missing for two days,[when?] Jessica Keen's body was found at the back of Foster Chapel Cemetery, 20 miles from the teen facility. She had been raped and badly beaten. She was still wearing her ring and watch, but a pendant with the word "taken" was nowhere to be found. Her boyfriend was the prime suspect, but DNA tests proved he was not responsible. Police theorized that she had escaped her abductors and ran to the cemetery. Evidence in the cemetery shows she tried to hide behind grave stones—a pair of her socks was found, and a knee imprint in the mud behind a grave stone was found with or near the socks. She was killed near a fence in the cemetery, presumably by her abductors, who had followed her.

Her family has since placed a cross with her name on it where her body was discovered near the fence in the cemetery.

Arrest[]

On April 9, 2008, police in Burlington, North Carolina arrested Marvin Lee Smith Jr. Based on DNA evidence, Smith was charged with unlawful sexual conduct on Keen, a felony, and was extradited to Ohio to face charges.[1] In 2009, Smith pleaded guilty to first degree murder in a Madison County courtroom, confirming he had raped and murdered Keen. Evidence showed Keen had escaped his car and run into Foster Chapel Cemetery, where she collided with a fence post and fell. Keen was then beat to death with a tombstone, that was discarded over the fence nearby. Reports show that police had found bloodied pieces of a tombstone. In exchange for his admission of guilt, Smith avoided a death penalty trial that was set for March 2009. He pleaded guilty to one charge of aggravated murder, with specifications of rape and murder, and was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison.[2]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Man expected to be charged 17 years after girl's murder". The Columbus Dispatch. April 10, 2008. Retrieved May 31, 2016.[dead link]
  2. ^ "Suspect admits he raped, murdered Westland cheerleader in 1991". The Columbus Dispatch. February 27, 2009. Retrieved May 31, 2016.[dead link]

External links[]

Retrieved from ""