Shraman Mitra
911 operators in Palm Beach County, Florida, received a frantic call on June 15, 2004, informing them about a possible homicide at a residence in Lake Park. Subsequently, first responders arrived on the scene to find Cathy Lamb lying in a pool of blood in her house. Oxygen’s ‘Killer Relationship with Faith Jenkins: Canine Clues’ chronicles the horrific incident and even portrays how Cathy’s injured dogs eventually led officers toward the person responsible for her murder.
How Did Cathy Lamb Die?
A resident of Palm Beach County, Florida, Cathy Lamb was only 30 years old at the time of her murder. People who knew her described her as a cheerful and kindhearted individual who loved making new friends and was always full of life. Readers will be interested to know that apart from being known for her helpful nature, Cathy was a massive animal lover and took care of two dogs all on her own. Besides, she worked as a district scheduler at Walgreens, and although Cathy and her husband were seemingly estranged, she had hopes of getting back together. Yet, there was nothing out of the ordinary which could have hinted at the oncoming tragedy.
The police arrived at Cathy’s Lake Park residence on June 15, 2004, only to find the 30-year-old lying in a pool of her own blood on the floor. While it was apparent that the victim was dead, the brutality of the crime shocked even the toughest of police officers, as they found blood and brain matter splattered all over the walls. On top of it, both of Cathy’s dogs were severely injured, but the police found no evidence of forced entry anywhere. Hence, while an autopsy determined that Cathy Lamb was beaten to death by her attacker, officers believed she was well acquainted with her murderer.
Who Killed Cathy Lamb?
Interestingly, Cathy’s seemingly estranged husband, Jeff Lamb, was the one who called 911 after finding his wife’s body. Jeff later mentioned that he was working at a towing job until 5 pm and then spent an hour and a half helping a friend shift houses. He also insisted that Cathy had been unreachable over the phone throughout the day and insisted he came back home at around 7 pm to find her dead. Subsequently, Jeff’s friends seconded his alibi, and with no further information, the investigation came to a sudden halt.
Incidentally, a few days after Cathy’s murder, the story took a sudden turn when a woman named Joey approached the police and introduced herself as Jeff’s fiance. Joey mentioned that she and Jeff were already planning on tying the knot and had even purchased a house together. Jeff immediately refuted the claims and stated that although he and Joey were pretty close, he cut off all connection with her after deciding to get back together with Cathy. As a matter of fact, Jeff seemed pretty confident about ending things with Joey, and since the police did not have much information, they could not accuse him of lying.
Unfortunately, the investigation saw very little progress in the days that followed as the police exhausted the leads they already had and carried out a thorough search of the crime scene. Officers even went from door to door looking for witnesses but to no avail. People who lived near Cathy’s house claimed they saw nothing suspicious on the night of the murder, and the police were inclined to believe them since there was no sign of forced entry.
That was when investigators turned their attention toward Cathy’s dogs and wondered why they did not try to protect their owner. Subsequently, when veterinary surgeons treated the dogs, they realized that someone had repeatedly hit them on the head with a blunt object, which led to their injuries. Moreover, as Jeff’s dog was in the same house at the time of the murder, Cathy’s dogs attacked him instead of defending their owner. Animal behavior experts immediately circled in on this incident and theorized that the dogs would turn on each other only if they were well acquainted with the person who attacked them.
This person happened to be none other than Cathy’s estranged husband, and soon forensic tests discovered a blood splatter on the pair of jeans Jeff wore on June 15. Furthermore, the police learned that since Jeff was previously convicted of stealing from his employer, the court asked him to pay $20,000 as restitution fees. Conveniently, he would have been able to claim $29,000 from Cathy’s life insurance, which gave him a valid motive for murder. Thus, with enough evidence for an arrest, officers soon apprehended Jeff and charged him with the murder.
Jeff Lamb is Serving His Sentence Today
When produced in court, Jeff pleaded not guilty and insisted on his innocence. However, the evidence proved otherwise, and the jury convicted him of premeditated murder in the first degree. As a result, a judge sentenced Joe to life in prison without parole in 2006, and he currently remains behind bars at the South Bay Correctional Facility in South Bay, Florida.
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