JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A day after jury selection began in Kimberly Kessler’s trial, and following another outburst that had her promptly removed from the courtroom, a motion was filed by the state of Florida requesting a jury instruction.
Kessler is accused of killing her co-worker, Joleen Cummings, at a Nassau County hair salon. Investigators believe Kessler, who’s charged with murder, was the last person to see her alive. Notably, Cummings’ body has never been found.
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In the motion, (embedded at end of article) prosecutors are asking the trial not be delayed if Kessler voluntarily chooses not to participate or is removed from court. Should that happen, they’re asking the jury be instructed not to speculate about Kessler’s absence or let it affect their deliberations on the evidence presented to them.
Kessler was brought into the courtroom Monday around 8:30 a.m. as proceedings began, but in just seconds she was removed after yelling “Jordan Beard is Joleen’s cousin.” The outburst, which she has repeated at nearly every court appearance, is an accusation about one of her former defense attorneys that has been proven untrue.
A Jacksonville attorney, not affiliated with the case, anticipates jury selection for the trial will take at least a week.
Cummings has been missing since May 2018, and although her body has not been found, investigators said they found several notable items at a Georgia landfill.
Court documents state that investigators believe the hairstylist may have been killed inside Tangles Hair Salon in Yulee. Records provided to the defense show that detectives and the lead prosecutor found bloodstains on a chair in the salon, the wall near the reception desk, a wooden display stand, a signboard, a vacuum cleaner leaning against the wall, another chair and a display rack next to the desk.
The case has attracted national attention in part because authorities said Kessler, who went by Jennifer Sybert, has used 17 aliases over the years.