Naman Shrestha
When Jenny Heflin was shot down in her Winchester, Virginia, house in December 2016, the entire community was left shell-shocked, especially her family members and friends. Their hopes of seeing her recover increased with time, but when she died in the hospital after a few weeks, a wave of grief filled the air. The episode titled ‘Home Is Where the Nightmare Is’ of Investigation Discovery’s ‘Married to Evil’ delves deep into the life of Jenny and how she ended up on the hospital bed. Thanks to the interviews with her loved ones and the officials involved in the investigation of the case, the viewers get a detailed account of the murder.
Jenny Heflin Succumbed to Her Injuries in the Hospital in January 2017
Born on April 2, 1962, in West Covina, California, to loving parents — Virginia and Joseph Darrah, Jeanette “Jenny” Louise Heflin (nee Wisbey) had a memorable childhood. While growing up, she had lots of fun with her siblings — sister Sue Wisbey and brothers David Teunissen and Greg Teunissen. At the young age of 14, she met with Thomas Michael Heflin and grew close to him. A year or two later, she got pregnant with his child, and the two eloped.
Over the course of their marriage, the couple gave birth to two daughters — Sabrina Carter and Melissa “Mel” Heflin. As far as her professional life was concerned, she earned a degree as an LPN in nursing after graduating from high school. She spent the following years working for Westminster Canterbury and Blue Ridge Hospice in Winchester, serving geriatric patients. Later on, she started her own nursing home for patients in her Winchester house at 215 Stafford Drive, known as the “Heflin Home.” Jenny took in her own mother and cared for her until she passed away.
Everything seemed to be going perfectly fine in the Heflin household until 54-year-old Jenny was found dead in the bathroom of her house. When the authorities arrived, they found bullet wounds on her face and hand, and she was rushed to the Inova Fairfax Hospital, where she was placed in a medically induced coma. Although her health began improving, she succumbed to her injuries on January 12, 2017, and the investigators opened a murder investigation for the case.
Jenny Heflin’s Deteriorating Marriage Led to Her Untimely Demise
On the fateful night when Jenny Heflin was shot down, the police were informed about the incident by none other than her husband, Michael Heflin, who also confessed to shooting his wife after an argument turned heated. He surrendered himself to the police as soon as they arrived. As the detectives interviewed Jenny Heflin’s loved ones, they learned that her marriage to Michael Heflin was not exactly picture perfect, as others thought. In fact, the latter had become violent and abusive towards his wife as well as their daughters over the years. Despite the financial strains of the family, he used to spend loads of money on extravagant items while Jenny worked hard for every penny.
At the time, Michael was a licensed gun dealer with an extensive gun collection. Although their neighbors claimed that they didn’t see any sign of cracks in their marriage, Jenny’s sister and daughter contended that there was abuse. Trying to get out of the abusive situation, Jenny decided to leave her husband in 2014 and crashed at an acquaintance’s place. However, since her mother was living at the Heflin residence at the time, she decided to return and take care of her. Despite her giving Michael another chance, he could not help but return to his old habits of spending way too much money.
Jenny Heflin Was on the Verge of Escaping Her Killer
Soon, Jenny began planning to leave Michael for good and found a place to rent. She started exchanging texts with the owner of the property she was going to rent. When Michael found out about it, he assumed that the two were having an affair. When he confronted her about it just a few hours before she planned to escape, things took a turn for the worse. In an attempt to get away from him, Jenny locked herself in the bathroom. Meanwhile, the husband took a 12-gauge shotgun from his gun safe and loaded it with two rounds of buckshot pellets. He then fired one round through the bathroom door, which ended up hitting Jenny in the head and arm.
Upon his confession, the authorities arrested and took him into custody for attempted murder and a gun charge. When the investigators searched the Heflin property, they came across a vast collection of firearms and radio equipment, worth thousands of dollars. Soon, when Jenny wound up dead after a few weeks in the hospital due to the injuries inflicted by Michael, he was officially indicted for first-degree murder and using a firearm in the commission of a felony in February 2017.
Thomas Michael Heflin is Serving His Sentence at a Virginia Prison
On September 10, 2018, Thomas Michael Heflin took a plea bargain, which involved him pleading guilty to an amended second-degree murder charge and the firearm charge. In an attempt to put his perspective in front of the court, he read out from a written statement, “There was a terrible fight between me and my wife. I never hit her. She tried to break my arm. Then a brokenhearted old man snapped and lost control causing a tragic accident. If she had only left that night or that morning, this nightmare would’ve never happened.”
After about three months into the plea deal, on December 7, 2018, Michael was brought into court for his sentencing, which lasted for about three and a half hours, during which they also played the recorded 911 call that the convict made on the night of the shooting. Taking into consideration all the evidence and arguments, the judge sentenced him to 40 years in prison on December 7, 2018, with 16 years suspended. Less than a month into the sentencing, on January 4, 2019, the killer tried to withdraw his guilty plea, but his attempt was denied by the judge. As of today, Thomas Michael Heflin is incarcerated at Nottoway Correctional Center in Burkeville, Virginia, with his estimated release date set for November 2037.
