NASSAU COUNTY, Fla. – After just over an hour of deliberations, Kimberly Kessler on Thursday was found guilty of first-degree murder in the death of Joleen Cummings, her co-worker at the Tangles hair salon in Nassau County.
The body of Cummings, a mother of three children, has never been located since she vanished in 2018.
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During closing arguments, the state walked the jury through the timeline of Kessler’s actions and reviewed all of the evidence, including blood found throughout the hair salon, video footage of Kessler shopping for supplies and driving Cummings’ car and her internet searches.
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The following is a timeline of events that led up to Thursday’s guilty verdict.
May 12, 2018
Joleen Cummings leaves work at Tangles hair salon. It’s the last time she was seen.
May 13, 2018
Mother’s Day and Cummings’ 34th birthday. She doesn’t show up to pick up her three kids in Hilliard from her ex-husband; based on surveillance video, Kessler had parked Cummings’ SUV near a Yulee Home Depot around 1:17 a.m. that morning. There’s no sign of Cummings in the video.
May 14, 2018
Cummings’ mother reports her missing to the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies visit Cummings’ salon, and when Kessler learns they’re asking questions, she calls the owner to say she’s leaving town.
The Sheriff’s Office releases a missing persons flyer, asking for the public’s help in locating Cummings. A photo of the SUV she may have been traveling in was also shared by the Sheriff’s Office.
May 15, 2018
Cummings’ 2006 beige Ford Expedition is found near a Home Depot parking lot.
May 16, 2018
Kessler, known then as Jennifer Sybert, is arrested in St. Johns County for stealing Cummings’ SUV. Investigators said she had been seen on surveillance video driving the SUV. Investigators find her in her black Kia Soul at an I-95 rest area in St. Johns County.
May 22, 2018
Sheriff Bill Leeper announces investigators have reason to believe Cummings is “not alive,” but declines to say why. It’s revealed that Kessler is being held on a $500,000 bond.
July 7-13, 2018
The Sheriff’s Office and FBI search the Chesser Island Landfill in Folkston, Georgia for Cummings’ body, but it’s not found.
Investigators say they find several items of interest in her disappearance. The landfill search was prompted by surveillance video showing a trash bag Keesler dumped about the time of Cummings’ disappearance on Mother’s Day weekend.
Sept. 7, 2018
Kessler is indicted for first-degree murder.
Jan. 22, 2019
After many delays, Kessler is seen in court for the first time.
July 2, 2019
A judge rules Kessler not competent for prosecution after a mental evaluation hearing.
Prosecutors disputed that characterization of Kessler’s mental health, saying the state disagreed with the defense expert’s findings. Kessler was then examined by a psychologist chosen by the state, who also found her not competent.
She was committed to the custody of the Department of Children and Families, which sent her to Florida State Hospital in Chattahoochee to “restore competency.” She would be reevaluated in six months.
Sept. 28, 2020
Sheriff Leeper files a civil suit asking for permission to force-feed Kessler, who was under 90 pounds from a hunger strike. Leeper said Kessler was trying to kill herself by starvation.
Notably, when Kessler was arrested in 2018, she weighed almost 200 pounds.
Kessler eventually resumes eating, and the suit is later dismissed.
Oct. 12, 2020
A judge rules Kessler competent for prosecution after a second mental evaluation.
June 30, 2021
A judge rules, again, that Kessler is competent to stand trial after a third mental evaluation hearing.
Nov. 29, 2021
Jury selection begins for the trial. Kessler, who throughout her pretrial hearings was removed for outbursts in the courtroom, was promptly taken out of court 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.
Dec. 9, 2021
Kessler is convicted of first-degree murder in the death of Cummings. She’s facing mandatory life in prison and sentencing is set for 1:30 p.m. Jan. 27.