Shivangi Sinha
In April 2008, Gerald Jensen’s wife, Kristan Jensen, reported him missing. She told officers that he was supposed to pick her up on the day she had been released from rehab, but he never showed up. Just a few days later, his remains were found by workers compacting trash at the Palm Beach County Solid Waste Authority landfill in Florida. He had been stabbed multiple times, and his remains showed signs of trauma to the body. ID’s ‘Signs of a Psychopath,’ especially the episode ‘Everybody Believes in Bad People,’ gives the full backstory of his life and the events leading up to his killing.
Gerald Jensen’s Remains Were Identified by His Tattoos
Gerald Lee Jensen was born on November 6, 1959, in Albany, New York, to Carl Jensen and Marilyn Jensen. He spent most of his early childhood years there with his siblings, Vera, James, Dennis, Paul, and Chris. He eventually made his way to Stuart, Florida, where he settled down and worked as an electrician and handyman. He also got married, but the relationship did not last long, and he eventually divorced. Just as he was settling into his new life, he got into an accident and was prescribed painkillers. Some reports suggest that he started facing issues with addiction around that time.
In the mid-to-late 1990s, Gerald connected with Kristan Thornhill. She was a former veteran who had been divorced and had three children, Nicole, Sara, and Kyle. Kristan herself had been dealing with substance issues, and she found the perfect partner in Gerald. The two decided to get clean together and began living a much quieter and more peaceful life in Stuart. In April 2008, Kristan had a relapse and decided to go to rehab for four days. She would talk to Gerald every day, and on April 20, when she called him, he promised that he would come and pick her up the next day. However, when she left rehab, she did not see Gerald anywhere. She tried calling him, but was not able to reach him.
Kristan grew concerned when she came home and found that all of his personal items, including his car and his favorite pair of trousers, were still in the house. Days passed, and posters with Gerald’s face were circulated throughout the area. On April 28, 2008, workers at the Palm Beach County Solid Waste Authority landfill found human remains. Since they were very deteriorated, they could not immediately identify them. However, after looking at the tattoos and later conducting a forensic examination, authorities determined that the remains belonged to Gerald. The cause of his death was concluded to be multiple stab wounds, and his throat had also been slit.
Gerald Jensen’s Killers Initially Gave a False Account of His Disappearance
When Kristan Jensen reported Gerald Jensen missing, it was initially believed that he had left on his own accord. Much of the initial account came from Kristan’s daughter, Nicole Thornhill, and her boyfriend, Christopher Tomlinson. Tomlinson was a former US Army personnel who had been stationed in Germany. He and Nicole had met online through a social networking website called DeviantArt. They decided to be together and, in March 2008, welcomed a newborn baby into their lives. Since they did not have much savings, the couple had been living with Kristan and Gerald since the baby was born.
According to the statement Nicole and Christopher gave the police, they claimed that Gerald had received a phone call around 10:30 pm and was allegedly in an argument with someone. They said they had left the house to spend some time at a nearby library because they wanted some quiet, and when they returned, Gerald was no longer in the house. When Kristan asked them why the entire house was trashed and the bathroom door was missing, they said that it had been like that when they found it. However, evidence soon pointed to a different picture. Gerald’s phone records did not show that he had received any phone calls that night.
Nicole was called in for an interrogation, during which she immediately admitted that the tension among the four of them had been high. She said Gerald did not agree with Christopher, and Kristan corroborated this, saying the two of them did not like the young man at all. Nicole claimed that the two had allegedly been planning the killing for months, mostly because of their religious differences. According to police reports, she stated that Gerald did not agree with Christopher’s beliefs in Wiccan philosophy. She also said that Christopher believed people who consumed drugs had a bad aura and that such people should not be allowed near their baby.
One of Gerald Jensen’s Killers Claimed That He Had Acted in Self-Defense
According to Nicole Thornhill’s statements featured in the episode, she said that two months earlier, she and Christopher had bought some painkillers and put them in Christopher’s food, but nothing had happened. She then admitted that her boyfriend had used a Samurai sword to carry out the attack. She said he had asked her to leave the house on the morning of April 21, 2008, before killing Gerald as soon as he woke up. When detectives first spoke to Christopher, he denied the attack, but later claimed that he had acted in self-defense. The sword was retrieved from under the bed in the main bedroom, as Nicole had told authorities.
Nicole also reportedly admitted that she and her boyfriend had been planning something similar for her mother and had purchased the drugs for the same purpose. A Walmart receipt showing the purchase from the day after Gerald was killed was also found. In late 2008, both Nicole and Christopher were arrested on first-degree murder charges. Nicole later changed her statement and alleged that she had not participated in or planned the crime and had instead been coerced by the father of her baby.
Christopher Tomlinson and Nicole Thornhill are Being Held in Florida Prisons Today
In 2009, Nicole Thornhill pleaded guilty to second-degree murder charges. Her plea covered the second-degree murder of her stepfather, two attempted murders, and two adulteration counts. Christopher Tomlinson’s trial began in May 2010, and he was found guilty of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder. He was sentenced to life plus 60 years. In June 2010, Nicole was sentenced to 50 years (600 months) for second-degree murder and 30 years (360 months) on each of the other four counts. In December 2021, Nicole filed an appeal, which was rejected, and her sentence was also upheld by the Florida Supreme Court in 2013. She is being held at the Homestead Correctional Institution FDC in Homestead, Florida, with her release date set for 2053. Christopher is being held at the Okeechobee Correctional Institution in Okeechobee, Florida, and will not be eligible for parole.
Read More: Dallas Spruill Murder: Where is Denarius Harris Now?
You must be logged in to post a comment.