Kriti Mehrotra
It was May 25, 2013, when successful realtor Vernon “Vern” Holbrook was found cruelly beaten within an inch of his life following what was supposed to be an ordinary house showing to clients. He managed to survive the attack, as profiled on ‘Dateline NBC: Secrets at the Sunshine Motel,’ but was declared comatose in the hospital before succumbing to his injuries eight months later. One of the most baffling aspects, though, was that his former daughter-in-law Jill Taylor was seemingly involved in the matter — so if you wish to learn more about her, we’ve got you covered.
Who is Jill Taylor?
Jill Taylor is not only the ex-wife of Vern’s stepson Chad Rockenfield, but she’s also the ex-girlfriend of ambitious real estate agent turned heinous criminal, murder mastermind Daniel Blizzard. The divorcee was actually the one who’d introduced the latter to her once-roommate Adriana Mendez and her boyfriend Luis Gomez-Monges, just for them to soon evolve into his hired hitmen. The truth is that Daniel had first attempted to have Jill slay her former father-in-law by poisoning him, yet he recruited the couple for $10,000 plus a $2,000 bonus after she failed to follow through.
As per Jill’s official statements, she’d disposed of the poison her partner had handed her, but she didn’t alert Vern or the police since she believed this knowledge wouldn’t have benefited anyone. Moreover, her fall 2013 arrest affidavit claims that she held a serious grudge against the late broker and had even argued with him a month before his demise because he’d financially cut her off. It thus came as no surprise to a majority of Vern’s loved ones when she was accused of being a conspirator in the case — charged with attempted murder, which was later upped to murder.
Where is Jill Taylor Now?
The suit against Jill Taylor was reportedly the weakest the prosecutors had, according to the ‘Dateline’ episode, driving them to turn her into a state witness in exchange for a lighter sentence. After all, they wanted the most culpable individuals to bear justice for the long haul, and the main argument concerning her was that she was aware of Daniel’s plans and did nothing to stop him. The count she faced was eventually dropped without prejudice, meaning the state can refile in the future if they desire, but as it stands today, Jill has not been convicted of a single offense.
Jill’s testimony did help the prosecutors achieve their goal, even if she had to reveal the details of the role she played, yet she now claims her former co-defendants also betrayed her. “I wouldn’t have headed it off anyhow because Daniel was determined to do what he wanted to do,” she told ‘Dateline.’ “I really cared about Daniel, and I was just really hoping that he would pull his head out of his rear. Maybe I have issues letting people use me; he just set me up for everything… Yes, he set me up.”
Jill added that although she had introduced Daniel to Adriana as well as Luis and knew he’d paid them, she didn’t tell the cops in part because Adriana had told her the attack would never happen. “I went to her hotel, it was about in April, and I told her, ‘I don’t care how much money he has already lent you or whatever; you’re not obligated to do anything.’ And she says, ‘No. we’re not gonna– I’m not gonna do that.'” We should mention that Jill never revealed this last bit of information on the stands in court.
Coming to her current standing, from what we can tell, Jill continues to reside in Washington, where she is focusing on getting back on her feet, being a devoted mother, and moving on from the past. It appears as if she prefers to keep her distance from the limelight these days, so we don’t particularly know the ins and outs of her daily experiences. Yet we believe serving a year in county jail (before she was cleared) would’ve transformed her outlook on life.
Read More: Where Are Vern Holbrook’s Wife and Kids Now?
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