Disclaimer: This article contains mentions of murder. Reader discretion is advised.
See No Evil on ID chronicles the violent murder of hair salon employee Joleen Cummings and the investigation into her killer, Kimberly Kessler. The episode “She’s Fake” will air this Wednesday, August 7, 2024, at 9 p.m. ET. The official synopsis of the episode reads, “In Fernandina Beach, Fla., cosmetologist Joleen Cummings goes missing after an appointment, her last at Tangles Salon; CCTV footage shows her car in an isolated parking lot in the middle of the night; a closer look reveals an unlikely suspect.”
Joleen Cummings’ killer, Kimberly Kessler, now serving life in prison, murdered her in the salon where they worked. Prosecutors believed Kessler, who had been faking her identity, committed the crime after Cummings threatened to look into her. The incident occurred on May 12, 2018, inside Tangles Hair Salon in Fernandina Beach, Florida. The victims’ family filed a missing person’s report two days later.
Detectives built a case against Kimberly Kessler using surveillance footage from various locations. Video evidence captured Kessler, who was using the alias Jennifer Sybert, discarding garbage bags in a dumpster behind the salon. Surveillance footage from Walmart also showed Joleen Cummings’ killer buying cleaning supplies, gloves, and an electric knife. Kessler’s conviction on a first-degree murder count came in 2021.
Joleen Cummings killer: Where is Kimberly Kessler now?
The Florida Department of Corrections records confirmed Joleen Cummings’ killer is serving life in prison. Kimberly Kessler is now incarcerated in Lowell Correctional Institution. According to The Florida Times-Uninon, in December 2021, a jury convicted Kessler on two counts stemming from Cummings’ 2018 murder. These charges were first-degree murder and grand theft auto. She received a life sentence without the possibility of parole on the murder count with an additional five-year term on the theft charge.
An investigation into Joleen Cummings’ disappearance began on May 14, 2018. Cummings, a single mother of three, had failed to pick up her children from her estranged husband the day before. Authorities first questioned the owner of Tangles Hair Salon, who claimed to have last seen her on the evening of May 12. Cummings was reportedly at the salon along with a co-worker, Jennifer Sybert. Sybert was reportedly one of Kimberly Kessler’s many aliases.
Oxygen True Crime stated that Jennifer Sybert averted detectives’ questions at the time. Sybert claimed she did not want to get involved with the police because her ex-boyfriend had been stalking her. Authorities began suspecting her when she quit her job at the salon, asking for a paycheck via mail. Their suspicions proved correct when they found that Sybert was the last person to have seen her alive. They later found evidence linking the co-worker to Cummings’ vehicle using surveillance footage.
Detectives then examined the salon for more evidence, only to find large amounts of blood evidence. They found blood residue on the walls, chairs, cabinets, and sink using Luminol. Further tests confirmed the blood was Joleen Cummings’, and they believed Jennifer Sybert was the possible killer.
At first, authorities arrested Jennifer Sybert on grand theft charges and began looking into CCTV near the salon. They found more surveillance footage that captured Sybert dumping trash bags into a dumpster behind the salon. Security footage from a Walmart had further recorded the woman buying cleaning supplies, gloves, and an electric carving knife. Nassau County Sheriff Bill Leeper told Oxygen’s Snapped that he believed their suspect “cut Joleen [Cummings] up, stuffed her in those black trash bags, and threw her away like garbage.”
Other key evidence against Joleen Cummings’ killer was DNA evidence found in her belongings. Jennifer Sybert, whose identity is now confirmed to be Kimberly Kessler, then confessed that she was not who everyone thought she was. Authorities found Kessler had 18 aliases, Jennifer Sybert being one of them. Prosecutors theorized Kessler killed Cummings when the mother-of-three told her she would look her up online. Another theory was that she just wanted to steal the victim’s clients.
Following her arrest in Joleen Cummings’ murder case, Kimberley Kessler caused multiple disturbances, including a hunger strike. She went through multiple evaluations, which determined she was mentally competent to stand trial despite her attempts to prove otherwise. A jury ultimately convicted Cummings’ killer in December 2021, per The Florida Times-Union. The following January, a judge sentenced her to life in prison without parole.
See No Evil will air on ID with the case against Joleen Cummings’ killer this Wednesday.
