Kriti Mehrotra
‘Where Murder Lies: No Hiding the Truth’ is an episode that delves into the homicide of Jennifer Webb, along with its investigations and aftermath. In a matter like this, driven by utter selfishness and greed, numerous secrets are left entangled. Therefore, as detectives strive to resolve the atrocious offense, they unearth tales of startling deceits, indiscretions, and enigmas that most would’ve preferred hidden. With the unraveling of this web, the perpetrator comes to light as well. So now, if you are wondering about the details of this particular case, we’ve got you covered.
How Did Jennifer Webb Die?
At the age of 32, Jennifer Webb had made a good life for herself in Buena Vista, Michigan, with the support of her parents and friends. Although she was not in a relationship, she was 8 and a 1/2 months pregnant with a baby boy she’d decided to name Braxton. Unfortunately, she lost her life before she could give birth and live out her plans as a single yet devoted mother. On August 30, 2011, Jennifer’s remains were found near a drainage ditch, with an extension cord wrapped around her neck and attached to the roof rack of her vehicle. It looked like she’d hung herself.
The first Buena Vista Township Police Officer to arrive at the scene was Kenneth Bluew, immediately followed by Tim Patterson. They approached the car as the standard procedure requires, pulled out her purse to find an identification card, and ended up discovering a typed suicide note as well. It stated that she’d lied to her friends and family about the baby’s father’s identity and claimed his name was “Chris,” a man she’d met at a bar on a random night. Jennifer’s note said that she “can’t afford to support herself and her baby” and that this was the “only way” out.
However, not only did Jennifer’s loved ones believe the letter to be a fake and the “suicide” to be staged, but medical examiners also confirmed the same in the autopsy. Her cause of death was ruled as neck compressions, not ligature strangulation, meaning that someone else had choked the life out of her from behind. In other words, she did not pass away by hanging herself; she passed due to someone else’s actions. Thus, her case began being investigated as a cold-blooded and planned murder, which officials were shocked to hear for more than a few reasons.
Who Killed Jennifer Webb?
Upon talking to those closest to Jennifer Webb, it came to light that she’d claimed that a man she had been friends with for almost a decade, police officer Kenneth “Ken” Bluew, was her baby daddy. Her cell phone records proved this with the myriad of exchanges between them. The state police were called as the local city department can’t probe into one of their own. Officer Tim Patterson subsequently admitted that he was at the scene as Ken hadn’t responded to his police radio in over an hour, not because he’d received a call from dispatch about the matter.
The officer knew that Ken regularly patrolled near that region, so he drove that way, only to find his car shining a light on Jennifer’s and him sweating profusely. They examined the scene together before calling dispatch, but his actions that evening, Tim insinuated, were unusual and fidgety despite their line of work. And soon, the evidence against Ken kept piling on. From his and only his fingerprints (non-bloody) being on the suicide note to his blood on the inside of a latex glove recovered from the crime scene to the scratches he had, everything incriminated him.
Where is Kenneth Bluew Now?
Kenneth Bluew was married with a family of his own, so he denied having sexual relations with Jennifer Webb at first and also hesitated in providing a DNA sample, but then he conceded. Apart from the aforementioned, as she’d presumably bit his fingers while fighting his chokehold, traces of his blood were found on the cord wrapped around the car’s roof, her clothing, his car, his uniform, the street, and more. A cigarette butt from the nearby area also held Ken’s DNA, and his online searches – about strangulation and suicide – did not help his case in any way either.
Ken stood trial in 2012. And after three weeks of testimonies, the jury took just two hours to find him guilty of all counts — first-degree premeditated murder, assault of a pregnant person with the intent to cause miscarriage or stillbirth, and two counts of possession of a firearm during a felony. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole, plus an additional 65 to 100 years for the assault count, which was later reduced to 18 years and nine months to 40 years. Thus, today, at the age of 46, he is imprisoned at the Chippewa Correctional Facility in Kinross, Michigan.
Read More: Kathy Middleton Murder: Where is Ken Middleton Now?
