Final Justice for the Embert Family

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Follow the Minds of Madness on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you get your podcasts. To support the show and get access to early release and ad free episodes, go to patreon dot com slash Madness pod. You can also hit subscribe and Apple Podcasts, videos of our Thursday release episodes betweenween the Madness are available on YouTube and Spotify. We've got all the links in our episode notes The opinions expressed in the following episode do not necessarily reflect those of the Minds of Madness podcast Listener discretion is advised Modern warfare is built on technology Elite military units rely on satellite links, encrypted radios GPS navigation and air support that can reach them in minutes It represents the very best that modern engineering and planning can offer Which is exactly why they spend so much time training without any of it Call it operating in a denied environment No radio, no GPS, no air support. Sometimes, no primary weapon at all The idea is simple. If you can only succeed when everything goes right, then you're not truly prepared just in the real world Flames collapse Equipment fails And the one thing you were counting on might suddenly be gone twenty twenty five Prosecutors in Albany, Georgia, found themselves facing their own denied environment. They'd already secured a conviction The jury returned a guilty verdict perpetrator was sentenced to life case was over until a surprising technicality forced the courts to order a retrial of the same case And that wasn't all. prosecution would have to do without its most powerful piece of evidence forensic evidence that had anchored the entire case It was ruled inadmissible new jury would never be allowed to hear it Still on their side And they're going to prove it with circumstantial evidence alone Join me now as we dive into the mysterious death of Jake Embert. A beloved father and Amy veteran whose apparent suicide would unravel into something far more sinister You'll hear how it determined family refuse to accept the official story. pushing back against authorities who'd already closed the case And how a closer look at Jake's final days began to reveal a pattern One. at the explanation, they'd been given For seventeen year old Will Embert, weekends in Albany, Georgia meant something special. quality time with his best friend Rinch for Will. best friend was his father. fifty three year old Jake Embert Looking back describes the kind of relationship they had We're best friends When it was during the school year, I was there every weekend. We go to the racetack every weekend. After his parents divorced in twenty ten, when Will was thirteen became his new routine byy this time. Will's older sister Rachel had already moved out of the house and was living on her own So it was just Will and his parents Jake, Wekend's always had a plan Usually revolving around the racetack Here's earlier Jacob owned the nineteen seventy five Pontiac Firebird. cllassic muscle car that pulled him deep into Georgia's racing scene. He'd spend weekends at drag strips and out on the roads with other drivers A real life, deep south version of Fast and The Furious. When Will was a young boy, the firebird gave out, and Jake was never able to get it running again, but that didn't slow him down. Because his love for it never laughed And whenever he could, he brought Will along for the ride june twenty fourteen. Jake had been dealing with some serious health issues for about a year and a half They were debilitating to the point, where he had to quit working his job as a mechanic at Marine base in Albany And when the medical bills began piling up Jake was forced to make a difficult decision He was going to have to let go of his fire bird Even though it hadn't been running in years, he hadn't planaimed on getting rid of it It was the kind of car you hold ono something you tell yourself you'll fix. Someday. But now, he needed something more practical. Although it was a huge disappointment There was a silver lining in it all. The man Jake traded with was Douglas Buckner, another racing enthusiast who'd actually grown up idolizing Jake and other street racers Douglas promised Jake, he'd make him proud by getting the firebird race ready once again And within two weeks, car was back on the track Douglas was set to race on june twenty eighth, and he invited Jacob W to come watch And despite everything Jacob been going through This was something he was genuinely excited about On the morning of Saturday, june twenty eighth, Will arrived at his dad's house around ten AM Jake had just woken up and they shared a coffee together in the kitchen They started talking about the day ahead I went there to change clothes and had a coffee in my dad in the kitchen He had just woken up We were going to go to the drag strip in Albany to watch the fire burnurn the new owner of the firebird brace the fireburn S' spend about fifteen minutes together like that Sitting me in the kitchen and for Will There was something else about that morning that made it even better. Susan wasn't there fifty year old Susan Embert was Jake's new wife of just over a year and Will remembers the first time you met her I met her December of twenty twelve. I met her going with my dad to pick her up from someone's house Jacob met Susan online near the end of twenty twelve. From the start, things move fast by New Year State twenty thirteen, she had already fully moved in T weeks later They were married The news caught Jake's family completely off guard Will only found out after it had already happened of my dad told me when they got married March twenty thirteen As someh where I didn't go Wh I couldn't go I was supposed to be his best man. He told me I'd be his best man ared I was upset because Wedding, marriages The big deal. I don't wanted to be there for my dad for Will It was more than just a surprise. It hurt And over time Things became strrained between Susan and Jake's family, especially with Will When I first met her, it was It' okay just meeting someone wanting to be Nice towards him so her and my dad dating But it eventually it did change I guess we weren't as Nice to each other After her and my dad had been together, they're married, they argued. sometometimes it was good. otherther times it wasn't Two days earlier, on june twenty sixth, Will had witnessed one of those arguments escalate Susan made the accusation that my dad was having an affair. She was yelling and just that your dad's having an affair. he's cheating on me. He was sitting in his recliner with his elbows on his knees, with his head in his hands, he just looked at me He shook his head, kind of had a smirk on his face D didnn't argue back He just sat there head in his hands as he glanced over at Will, with a look that seemed to say I'm sorry, you have to see this So for that reason That Saturday morning Sitting in the kitchen, drinking coffee with his dad, and with Susan nowhere around felt like a small break from all of that After finishing their coffees, Will left to pick up his girlfriend, who was going to join them at the track. It was just a short trip About forty minutes round trap It should have been just another normal day But when Will came back Everything had changed Summer always changes how I get dressed I want pieces that feel lighter and more breathable, things that are easy, but still put together That's why I keep coming back to Quints. They focus on high quality essentials that feel and look amazing. Think breathable linen and soft organic cotton. Well made basics, but without the luxury markup, it's that rare balance where everything feels elevated, but still effortless Quin's European linen pants and shirts are the perfect warm weather upgrade add to your rotation, starting at just thirty four dollars. Their tees are soft and easy to wear, and their lightweight cotton sweaters are perfect for cooler summer nights. Everything at Quintince is priced fifty percent to eighty percent less than similar brands. They work directly with ethical factories and cut out the middlemen. so you're paying for quality, not brand markup s goes way beyond clothing, custom upholstered sofas, ceramic cookwear, premium bedding. It's the kind of brand you end up recommending to everyone for everything I got out golfing last week and I wore my new Quince golf outfit, the Protech golf pants, and the Fow Nit breez polo. and I'm not joking. When I went over to my neighbor's house because we were going together and he was driving, I walked over to him and I said, feele how soft this shirt is. I just can't get over the quality of these clothes Elevate your summer wardrobe, go to quinince dot com slash madness for free shipping on your order and three hundred and sixty five day returns now available in Canada too. That's Qu INcEot com slash madness for free shipping and three hundred sixty five day returns Quince Cal. Slash madness as will pulled into the driveway Something fell off. When I pulled into the driveway, Susan's car was underneath the carpoard closest to the house in the bay under the carpboard. So I'll park behind her ush you to the roadide my truck off And I can hear It sounded like arguing. It's like someone yelling I knew who was yelling. Susan From outside the house, Will could hear it Someone yelling And he recognized that voice immediately. I told my girlfriend at the time That sounds like they're arguing. So send a truck. I'm going to go see What's going on I walked around the bed of my truck. going around towards the passenger side and That's when Susan came out of the house and she met me. alongside of my truck, I stopped. I asked what was going on. She told me not to go inside. She just told me not to go back in the bedroom and I asked what was going on She was pointing back towards the back of the house. and made like a finger gun withith her right hand. and put it to her head I was confused by what she was asking. I didn't know what she was trying to say by making that gesture Eventually a few seconds later found out Not sure if she told me or if I putut it together I was in shock. I fell on my knees and Aain crying This was the moment Will realized father was dead And according to Susan, he'd shot himself in the bedroom It was a moment forever be seared in Will's memory with excruciating clarity She was wearing a camouflage Almost like see through shirts. and dark skinny jeans. And she was put together for the day she Her makeup was done, her hair was done, how she would normally wear it As Susan turned back toward the house Will saw she was holding something her cell phone behind her back She was still on the line with nine hundred and eleven The yelling he'd heard from the driveway had been Susan speaking to the dispatcher Dam He noticed one more detail. on her left hand but on her ring finger between her second and third knuckle I saw what appeared to be blood Trying to make sense of it all Will asked what it happened I knew my dad was dead I just didn't know exactly how or what happened. So to better clarity on the incident She said that she was by the computer, getting her vapor cigarette She heard of Bang And she ran back to the bedroom Within minutes, police arrived. Then he amassed. And not long after that Word began to spread J. Kbert Dad Test news began to spread Jake's family started making their way to the house One of the first to arrive was his daughter Rachel Once I found out that there was an incident that happened with a gun at my childhood home, I jumped in the vehicle and I raced all the way down to my father's home timee Rachel got there. This scene was already filling with police and emergency responders She still didn't know what had happened. Not really As she walked up the long driveway toward the house, she saw Susan standing with officers When I got out of the vehicle, we have a very long driveway up to the house. So I was parked at the very end of that driveway and when I got out of the vehicle, I went up. Susan was standing up there with police officers and I wasn't aware of my dad's condition. I was not aware if my dad had passed. I just knew that there was something happened. I didn't know if he was alive or if he was deceased. I had no clue So when I got up there and I saw Susan part my language, but I said it verbatim. I did say it verbatim. I said what the f happened? What the That's when Susan told me that she had just gotten out of the shower in front of the officer. She had just gotten out of the shower. She doesn't know, heard a bang, went back there and found my dad. That's what she told me verbata So I Started baallling Rachel didn't know what to believe. She was angry and confused. But as more family members arrived Police were instructing them to keep back from the house Shortly after that, my family and stuff, they're arriving. and the officer told me directly that Susan had requested that our family not be up anywhere near the house. So my family and I was inc conongregating at the end of the yard And that is when the coroner Michael Fowler approached my family and confirmed that my dad was no longer here He said, I'm so sorry, but you're Your father has passed. mr. Michael Fowler told me that my father had passed away and he had said that he had died from suicide that he took his own life I instantly said to him multiple times that day, three, four times, Are you sure my dad did this? Are you sure my dad did this? Are you sure my dad did this? He said yes He said, yes. It was a press contact wound to the head and the gun was locked in his hand for investigators Inlusion came quickly. But for Jake's family Itidn't make sense None of them believe taken his own life. the next day Rachel and Will went back to the childhood home My brother wanted to get some of his possessions and stuff from the home. So I went with him. And as we get up to the driveway, get, you know to go knock on the door, they were changing the locks on the house Rachel and Will immediately recognized this felt off Once inside, Rachel asks Susan again to explain what had happened. I again asked her Can you tell me what exactly happened? because I could not wrap my mind around it. So she said to me then that she was getting something by the computer, Heard the bang, went back there and found my dad. So that was entirely two different stories from the day that I arrived the The morning I arrived when she said she had just gotten out of the shower versus her being at getting something by the computer She changed her story entirely It wasn't just what Susan said It was that it didn't match what shed said the day before While Rachel was trying to make sense of it Will was gathering his things Before he left, he asked about his father's will I said that I wanted to see my dance Will. She told me I don't need to see it in that I'm going to get everything my dad would want me to have. But it wouldn't be the only thing that raised questions for Jake's family. Within hours of his death arrangements were already being made by Susan body set to be cremated The funeral director would also later describe how quickly it all happened family came in the next morning, theillgal next to kent, that would have been Miss Emberg. We completed all the paperwork and then we proceeded with the cremation. I got permission for the cremation the day of when I was picking him up at the residence Patation meant no autopsy. detailed explanation. No second chance to gather forensic evidence The following day, june thirtieth Jake's ex wife, Betty Embert, showed up at Susan's house to pay her respects and ask about the service. I went to the house Susan and her mother came to the door. I ask her about the service. Will said there was going to be a service And she said there wouldn't be a service because He had no friends or family There would be no service because Jake had no family or friends. Bennty knew this wasn't true Jake had lifelong friends and a rather large family who adored him So Betty arranged and paid for a memorial herself Susan chose not to attend In the weeks that followed, Jake's family watched from a distance As Susan cleared out the house and moved back to Florida And despite what will have been told He never received anything that belonged to his father Time passed family continued to struggle with the official ruling. Jake's death had been a suicide Among the loudest voices was Yvonne Magnus Jake's closest sister We were extremely close Well, of course, we live in the same household until we was sixteen. and then I married and moved away an hour north with the military. And I would come home often And then he went into the military. So our family has a lot of military and we would come together for holidays and things like that Yvonne was just one of Jake's five older sisters, but probably the one who'd always been closest to her baby brother Throughout their adult lives, they spoke every week, but that all changed around the time he met Susan in late twenty twelve. Suddenly, they hardly talked at all Not long after that Jake suffered his first heart attack From that point on, his health began to decline dealt with ongoing gastrointestinal issues constant nausea and increasing weakness It became severe enough that he stopped working Dam The seizures began. My brother was having seizures and I was concerned about his health. So I came to Albany first week in March, twenty thirteen At the time, Yvonne understood that Susan was a registered nurse and that she'd taken on the role of caring for Jake. But during her visits, other concerns began to surface When I was visiting, I asked my brother, I knew he hadd been out of work, and I said to him, Look, I'll do anything you need me to to help you financially. Well, I at first offered it when I was there with him. and he said no. After I left there, about six weeks later My brother called me and I could hear her telling him to ask me for money. So I told I would and I transferred money directly into her account. It was supposed to be for two house payments. Well, there was a little lle in time when I didn't send any money And when they started asking again, it was like almost like weekly. I said she needed to get a job. She said that she was a nurse and her mother was also a nurse. I don't think there are any such thing as an unemployed nurse. She said quite sarcastic, I have to take care of your brother Despite the mounting financial pressures, Susan refused to get a paid nursing position and expected Yvonne to be her piggy bank after Jake's death, Yvonne found herself looking back at that period differently reconsidering things that hadn't made sense at the time andli the rest of his family. Yvonne, never believed he taking his own life I contacted Albany. I contacted my friends that are in their attorneys and homicide investigators. They said, give us a little bit of time. We're going to do some research and sent me information on what I should do next. I contacted Private Investigator Eventually, Yvonne hired a private investigator, Lee Wilson a retired law enforcement officer with an impeccable reputation. According to Rachel Embert Finding Lee was like a gift from God Llease H the best person in the entire universe Lee Wilson is the private investigator that God blessed our family with, putting in our path Wilson didn't make promises, but agreed to take the case and follow the evidence wherever it led. But not everyone welcome that At one point, Susan posted a message on Facebook First I want to say Good morning to all of my friends and family here on Facebook. I hope you all have a very blessed day. I love you all. Susan. Now to whom it may concern I do not play games and I don't tolerate any drama or negativity that comes my way. I am way too smart for all of this. So please back off or I will have no choice but to take the necessary legal action. I am way too grown up to spend the last days here on earth in jail I know where the delete and block button is on here and I have been using it quite often. just saying There's an old scene from World War II bomber pilots. You only catch flack when you're over the target If Susan was this worried about their investigation Maybe they werere ono something. If you're in back to back meetings all day, you know the struggle. You're nodding along contributing trying to stay present, but in the back of your mind, you're secretly stress scrolling your memory for what was just said, or who's supposed to follow up on what? Meetings are a mess. Granola fixes that. Granola is an AI powered notepad built for the way real people actually meet. Here's how it works. You take rough notes like you normally would in In background, Granola secretly transcribes the meeting, then it turns everything into clean, structured, actually useful notes when the meeting ends. In the best part, Ganola works through your device's audio, which means it integrates seamlessly into the video conferencing tools you're already using, No setup, no awkward thoughtots. It's just your normal meeting With superpowers. You get to actually listen instead of frantically typing every word and still walk away knowing exactly what was decided, who's doing what, and what comes next. I'm terrible in meetings so I usually never take notes, and the ones I do I can never understand what I wrote. but after the first time using Ganola and I saw the notes after the meeting I was shocked at how organized and complete they were, so now I can stay present in the meeting and not worry about missing something. If meetings are eating up your day, granola is a no brainer. You can try it totally free for three months. Just head to granola. ai slash madness. That's granola. ai slash madness. To get your time back, get three months free at granola. a Sash madness As Lee Wilson began looking into Jake's life Certain details started to stand out. One of the people he spoke with was Douglas Buckner, the man who traded vehicles with Jake for the Firebird Douglas had known Jake for years and remembered him a certain way I remember Jake having this car when I was a kid Gring up mister Jake was always the li of the show at the races, even though he'd have a bad day. My daddy would get in his depressed mode. mister Jake was always one of them that would try to help you see the good and the bad. would never let his head fall. I'd never seen mister Jake drop his head for nothing. It was always he'd laugh and go on by his business and keep on rolling U, it was always a happy joy person. To Douglas, the idea that Jake would take his own life made no sense There was something Susan said, just days before Jake died, that struck him She just told me, I asked her what was wrong, mister J? She's like, you just don't feel good like I told you at the shop and I told you the day we came and testedrove the truck, mister Jakes help's going down. here going and he wouldn't be here much longer He wouldn't be here much longer A remarkable prediction from Susan made just days before Jake's death This was just the beginning All nine hundred and eleven calls are recorded In this case No one had ever come back to listen At the time, there hadd been no homicide investigation, so there was no reason to revisit it. But when they finally did, they raerased questions becausecause during the call Susan told the operator that her husband had just shot himself And then compleompletely unprompted. She explained, The reason she believed he'd done it 'cause she said W gay Hid he been hiding it That he'd recently learned he'd contracted multiple sexual transmitted diseases. According to Susan ten his own life to keep that secret For Jake's family, that explanation didn't add up And when investigators looked into it They found no medical records to support her claims Jake's doctor, who'd seen him regularly in the months leading up to his death had never diagnosed him with any such condition So the question now became, Why say it at all As Wilson continued digging into Susan's background somethingomething else came into focus Susan was not who she claimed to be She wasn't a nurse. didn't have a nursing degree, license, or any medical training whatsoever she'd tricked Jake from the very beginning Basically catfish dim But while all these discoveries were troubling and suspicious Lee knew the family would need hard evidence to convince the police to reopen the case And so That's exactly what they set out to find. The day after Jake's death, Will and Rachel returned to the house and gathered some of his belongings Among them, his hairbrush still holding strands of his hair. Wilson sent a sample to a lab for testing. and the results were unlike anything the family had expected. The lab confirmed the presence of a cocktail of toxic substances includluding arsenic, insecticide, and antifreeze And it wasn't just trace amounts The levels were far too high to be explained by environmental exposure According to the lab, these substances would have had to be ingested repeatedly over an extended period of time Suddenly, Jake's eighteen months of medical misery snapped into focus Because when they look back at Jake's health, the symptoms were already there The nausea. ness, the overall decline Now for the first time. There was a possible explanation With the lab results in hand, Lee Wilson brought his findings to the Albany Police Department, and the case was reopened Sergeant Craig Billsby was assigned to examine the crime scene photographs The pants are slightly twisted toward his left side and his shirt have creases in the bottom right corner and appears to be pull on the top left side This body appears that it has been moved based on the caning and twisting of the clothing as well as the positioning of the shoes If you look to his left side, you see the sheet is flat and almost ironed out Whereas around his arm it is creased and wrinkled almost like ripples. On the nine hundred and eleven call, Susan said she hadn't touched anything But the photographs told a different story You actually see that the barrel of the firearm is underneath his pants. These are loose fitting pajama pants is what they appear to be. And the only thing visible from the actual front of the gun is the lower receiver. where it connects to the upper slide Yet on the back of the firearm, you can see that it is sitting on top of his shirt As Sergeant Billsby worked through the images Details begin to stand out Also, I noted that his hand is not positioned with a finger nearr trigger guard, which is going to be housing for the actual trigger itself Both his index and his middle finger are lying on top of the grip while his ring and pinky finger are actually under the magazine well. This firearm was not fired and fall fell free fall It tells me that it was most likely placed there Be that is not a natural position But it wasn't just the position of the hand that was problematic The hand is very pale There are no red marks or any type of blowbacks spatter that you would see if someone were to have shot themselves in the head. Bowback spatter is actually caused when you pull the trigger of a firearm When it actually gets projected out of the barrel, there are gases, residual gunshot residue. powder that isn't burned projected outward When you shoot a surface, if it barrel is in close proximity It actually some of that will bounce back in the originating direction toward the gun instead of just penetrating through the object So anything that it penetrates through would have at least a little bit backwards to where the gun was, not just travel straight through There does not appear to be any blowback on his hand There was also inconsistencies in the blood patterns on the bed this gap between the two poolings. is actually considered a void because it is area that there should have been evidence There is not. in that void we actually observe a transfer stain which I refer to as a smear And the reason I do this is because with transfer stain Most people don't understand what it is So I refer to it as a smear because it's just like if you smear peanut butter or smear oil on something You can tell that it had been moved and manipulated If you look closely, you can see a gap between that transfer stain and the large chain that was under his head That indicates that that stain did not originate from The bloodstain under his head or the pool under his head If it did originate, it would be connected One by one, Sergeant Bilsby noticed the flaws in the crime scene and came to a firm conclusion This body was moved based on all of the observations the rippling in the sheets, the two different blood pools The blanket itself possition of the firearm All of those added together as a total tell me that This was manipulated corner and the police on the scene had gotten it wrong from the very beginning. But the most egregious mistake had been right in front of everyone's eyes The gun that Jake had allegedly used to shoot himself had been found in his right hand Jake was left handed and always fired his handguns left handed includluding when he served in the military. People don't suddenly switch their shooting hand when they're taking the most important shot of their lives Sve more on what you need to get the job done right, right now at low. Get fifteen percent off, select custom entry and interior doors. Plus, save eighty dollars on the DeWalt twenty Volt Max two tool combo kit, now just one hundred and sixty nine dollars. And at the Low's Pro desesk, bring us your materials list and get a quote in minutes. Handwritten, a photo, or even a sticky note is all you need. Keep your jobs moving faster and on budget at Lowe's Develop through seven eight while supplies land. seelectionerur is by location Are you really buying a car online on Auto Trader right now? Really? At a playground? Yeah, really. Look at these listings from dealers. Wow, your search gonna really get that specific. Really? And you just put in your info and boom. Cars in your budget. Mom needs a second, honey. You can really have it delivered? Really? Or I can pick it up at the dealership. One sack, sweetie. Mommy's buying a car I think your kid is walking up the slack. Kyle, again, really? Autorader, buuy your car online. Really? On february eighteenth, twenty fifteen, Susan Ember was arrested charged with malice murder Felony murder, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm during commission of a crime two years of delay. The case finally went to trial in December of twenty nineteen More than five years after Jake's death. At trial, prosecutors presented evidence that Jacob been poisoned over time. and argued that when it didn't lead to his death He was shot Pinted to financial Motive, life insurance, Vetterans' benefits, and Jake's Eestate In the end, the jury deliberated for less than an hour before returning with a verdict ty on all counts Susan Embert was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of forty five years After five long years, Jake's family finally had justice The entire ordeal was over, or so they thought Kissing twenty twenty one, the nightmare began again. starting with a shocking discovery. One of the jurors who convicted Susan was himself a convicted felon Which man been ineligible to serve and the verdict was overturned thenen it got worse When a court ruled that Susan's right to a speedy trial had been violated, All the charges were dismissed, and for a time, it appeared Susan would walk free. But the Georgia Supreme Court reversed the dismissal and ordered a new trial And there was another devastating bombshell the lab that tested Jake's hair The same lab that produced the poisoning results had come under scrutiny in an unrelated case It findings were now considered no longer reliable which meant the poisoning evidence central to the original prosecution could no longer be used Susan's retrial began in december twenty twenty five But almost immediately, it ended in a mistrial when one of the state's witnesses said the word antifreeze on the witness stand piece of evidence the jury was not allowed to hear Weeks later, a new jury was seated, and Susan's third trial began This time, the prosecution had to proceed without the forensic evidence that had once anchored their case Their strategy was straightforward First, establish without a doubt Jake's death was not a suicide The crime scene was stage. Looking at those pictures That's the reasonable conclusion. that he committed suicide unreasonable in this case gun was in his Right hand This is his non dominant hand. It was a forty five caliber handgun. That's not a small caliber. It's the most important shot of Jake's life. When a person makes that decision, that's the most important shot they will ever take in their life. They're not firing at a metal target at the gun range This is truly a life or death shot The only other person in the house Hold the trigger Reasonable Accept the reasonable, reject the unreasonable. No blowback, no blood on Jake's hand. No visible signs of blood on the gun. The slide of the gun is under Jake's leg. The person pulls the trigger, how does the gun get under him The second part of their strategy, to argue, Susan was the only person with the means, motive, and opportunity Jake was all alone with Susan? After he had coffee with his son to make their plans for the day. Jake and Susan were all alone for approximately forty minutes. forty minutes. whileile Will was gone. Motive, insurance money. You heard Susan's own statement She got paid. When Jake died, she got paid. Jake's dead? She gets paid. Property. She emptied the house out. She took all the stuff, all the furniture. She took the jeep. She took it. She wasn't satisfied with this financial situation. She took control of everything Jake had The day after, Jake was shot the day after. She changed the locks on the house But the defense decided to focus on what was missing Without the poising evidence, they argued the state could not prove murder beyond a reasonable doubt. What do we know about the circumstantial evidence that actually relates to murder, not just, you know, Susan had house rule, Susan's a bad person. It shows that she was there And that's about it for the circumstantial evidence as to murder Being there is not enough. If you are at a scene where something happens That is not enough to say you are guilty of anything There was something the Jury had to weigh On the nine hundred and eleven call, Susan made statements about Jake's sexuality and health, claims she later acknowledged weren't true And it wasn't the only time her story didn't line up with the evidence And on the nine hundred and eleven phone call, Susan Ebert says, Jake Kimbert is gay It doesn't make a lot of sense It doesn't make a lot of sense And I don't know how much experience you have with trauma or anything like that But I think we can agree that people in those situations donon't always make a lot of sense especially if they are dealing with something like finding their spouse who has just taken their own life I want you to listen to the grief. And the sadness and that inability to process what is going on And I want you to ask yourself Hly ask If you think to my client Is that good have an actor is that kind of a Hannibal leecter ice cold killer who is capable of executing her husband at point blank range and then meticulously but impossibly quickly, arranging a crime scene that is so well staged It fools everyone and then making that phone call The defense asked the jury to view those statements as confusion A response to trauma But the jury had to decide if that was what they were hearing Because there's a difference between getting something wrong in a moment of panic and offering a detailed explanation that isn't supported by facts In the end They rejected that explanation State versus Lusan case number fifteen R four hundred five six. As to count one, nowess murder, guilty. As to count two, felony murder, guilty. Count three, aggravated assault, guilty. Count five, possession of a firearm with commission of a crime, guilty With one key piece of evidence no longer available The case came down to everything else the jury had heard And ultimately, it was enough In january twenty twenty six Susan Embert was sentenced to life without parole. pllus five years. Save more on what you need to get the job done right. rightight now, at Lowe's. Get fifteen percent off, select custom entry and interterior doors. Plus, save eighty dollars on the DeWalt twenty Volt Max two tool combo kit, now just one hundred sixty nine dollars. And at the Low's Pro desesk, bring us your materials list and get a quote in minutes. Handwritten, a photo, or even a sticky note is all you need. Keep your jobs moving faster and on budget At lows. Valid through seven eight while supplies l. seelection erors by location Queen Carvania stood haloed by the morning sun. An army hung on her every word. My champions, I have sold my chariot on Carvana. 'Twas a lovely SUV, an inexplicably queenly offer. They're even coming to the castle to collect it. Tonight We feast. An offer you can feast on. seellll your car today on Carmana. Pick up fees, manly. for the Embert family. The verdict marked the end of a terrible twelve year legal battle by failure disisappointment Setback and devastation. twelve years of reliving the worst days of their lives. overver and over again When it beam Will was just seventeen Tenager forward to spending the day with his dad watching that firebird race. todayod Well, it's all grown up. A husband and a police officer in Alabama Rachel also started a family of her own. Jake's first grandson boy, who will never meet the grandfather who would have loved him so much Ck's story didn't end that day. becausecause the people who loved him refuse to let it. Will's wife Catherine described with that loss and everything that followed Mant to him