Kriti Mehrotra
When William “Jake” Embert was found dead inside his home in Albany, Georgia, on the morning of June 28, 2014, shockwaves went through the entire community owing to the details of the matter. However, the initial assumptions and reports regarding what had transpired turned out to be wrong because he had not died by suicide in any way, shape, or form; he had actually been killed. All this, along with his family’s efforts to secure him justice, the ensuing investigations into the matter, and the emotional aftermath of it all, has been carefully chronicled in NBC’s ‘Dateline: Malice.’
Jake Embert Was Found Dead in His Bedroom With a Gunshot Wound to the Head
Since William “Jake” Embert was born on May 2, 1961, in Wilmington, Delaware, as the only son yet one of six kids born to Hazel Bernard and LaSel da Embert, he grew up surrounded by pure joy. He was the apple of not only his parents’ eyes but also his sisters’ – Joyce Tims, Barbara MacDowell, Bonnie Rodriquez, Yvonne Magnus, and Carlene Humphreys – and he did everything in his power to care for them, too. According to his loved ones, he was protective by nature, so it came as no surprise when he eventually served in the army before settling down in Albany, Georgia, for good in 1994.
Jake subsequently found his calling as an officer at the Marine Corps Logistics Base, all the while being a family-oriented individual with a big heart, an open mind, as well as a passionate disposition. As per records, he had tied the knot with a woman named Betty Ember at some point, with whom he soon welcomed two kids into the world — a daughter named Rachel and a son named William. Unfortunately, their union didn’t pan out as they had expected in the long run, resulting in them parting ways for good but reportedly staying on rather amicable terms for the sake of their children.
In the ensuing years, Jake devoted himself to his career and his role as a father, unaware that he would find love again with a nurse by the name of Susan Fortune despite their fair share of differences. The couple had a whirlwind romance that led to their engagement in December 2012 and their wedding in March 2013, only for everything to turn upside down just over a year later, on June 28, 2014. That’s when the 53-year-old was found dead in his bedroom, with a gunshot wound straight to the head. His death was initially ruled a suicide, but it later came to light that he was murdered: he was shot after allegedly being poisoned with antifreeze, arsenic, and insecticides.
Jake’s Family Was Crucial in Ensuring His Death Was Investigated Until The Truth Unraveled
When Jake’s death was ascertained to be suicide at first, almost everyone close to him refused to believe that he would have taken his own life simply because of what they knew of him and who he was Thus, they hired a private investigator to look into the matter, and that’s how the claim about traces of poisons like antifreeze, arsenic, and insecticides being on his hair fiber surfaced. What followed was his family growing vocal about their discovery as well as their suspicion that he was killed, ultimately driving local authorities to get involved by opening an official investigation.
It was in the inquiry process that officials learned about Jake’s wife, Susan, being one of the only family members who didn’t contest the original determination of him having taken his own life. They hence decided to look into her further while also conducting extensive routine questioning of everyone close to the victim, whether it be his co-workers, sisters, children, or friends. According to records, nearly all of them indicated that the 53-year-old had been getting really sickly recently, but his severe health problems hadn’t started until he had tied the knot with the nurse.
As if that’s not enough, Jake’s family also alleged to detectives that Susan was a master manipulator, as she had somehow managed to convince him to live separately from their tight-knit group. All of this, along with the fact that she was a professional nurse with possible ways to access the poisons found on/in the victim, led authorities to identify her as the lead suspect in the matter. They hypothesized that she had gradually been poisoning him, but when they didn’t work as quickly or in the way she had expected, she shot him before setting the scene to appear as a suicide.
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Jake Embert’s Assailant Has Been Convicted Twice in The Past Decade
Susan Embert was arrested at her home in Florida in February 2015, following which she was extradited to Dougherty County, Georgia, and charged in relation to Jake’s murder. She faced 5 counts: murder, felony murder, two counts of aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, for which her trial commenced in December 2019. According to records, her defense was her maintaining that her husband had taken his own life, but in the end, she was found guilty as charged before being sentenced to life in prison with a possibility of parole, plus an additional 15 years.
However, over 3 years later, Susan’s verdict was overturned because one jury member from her trial was a convicted felon, making them ineligible for jury service. The prosecutors decided to retry her as they believed the original conviction judgment in itself had been right, but her second time in court in December 2025 ended in a mistrial after a witness referenced evidence that had been excluded. Her third trial commenced on January 7, 2026, which ultimately culminated in another guilty verdict on January 16. As a result, she was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, plus five years, on January 28, 2026.
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