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Cold Case - Who Killed Jennifer Judd? · Murder Files Unsealed

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: All right, So get this picture of bloodstain knife right
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  just sitting in an evidence box for decades. Talk about chilling,
• 0:06
  and that's where we're stinning this deep dive. It's a
• 0:09
  detail that gets right to the heart of the mystery
• 0:11
  surrounding the unsolved murder of Jennifer.
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  Speaker 2: Jud Yeah, that sense shivers down my spine. Unsolved cases
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  always have that extra layer of intrigue.
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: Totally, and this one is especially unsettling. It's nineteen ninety
• 0:24
  two in Baxter Springs, Kansas. Jennifer, a newlyweds, found murdered
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  in her own home and the killer still out there somewhere.
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  It's been over thirty years and this case continues to
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  haunt this small town.
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  Speaker 2: It's hard to imagine what the families go through that
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  not knowing must be agonizing.
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  Speaker 1: Absolutely, and what makes it even more perplexing is that
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  there were no signs of forced entry, nothing was stolen,
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  and everyone we've come across describes Jennifer as a well
• 0:48
  liked person. It begs the question, why why would someone
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  do this?
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: You've hit on the question that lingers over every cold
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  case and cases from the early nineties. Well, that's unique
• 1:00
  challenges back then forensic technology was nowhere near as advanced
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  as it is today. We were working with the limitations
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  of the time.
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  Speaker 1: That's true, But isn't there some hope now with advancements
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  in DNA analysis, Like, couldn't that be a game changer
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  for a case like this?
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  Speaker 2: You're right, there's definitely a glimmer of hope there. We're
• 1:19
  talking about advanced techniques that can extract DNA from the smallest,
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  most degraded samples, even trace it through familial lines. It's
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  a long shot, but it could be the break this
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  case needs.
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  Speaker 1: That's incredible. So much has changed in just a few decades.
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  Speaker 2: It really has.
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  Speaker 1: This deep dive is especially intriguing because of that the
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  potential for this seemingly forgotten case to suddenly take a turn.
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  It's like the whole story is being rewritten right before
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  our eyes. So let's rewind back to the initial investigation
• 1:47
  in ninety two. We're talking police reports, crime scene photos,
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  the whole nine yards, and there are these details that
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  jump out. A minute made can that seems out of place,
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  a missing kitchen knife, It's like a frozen moment in time.
• 2:00
  Speaker 2: Right, And those seemingly insignificant details they can make or
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  break a case. Howso think of it like a giant puzzle.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, each piece, no matter how small, adds to the
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  big picture. The position of that can, the fact that
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  the knife is missing. It could either back up someone's
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  story or completely dismantle their alibi.
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  Speaker 2: In this case, two names keep popping up. Jeremy Jones,
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  who's already a convicted killer, and Chuck Chance, a local
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  guy who knew Jennifer.
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  Speaker 1: And her husband.
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  Speaker 2: Okay, so starting with Jones, we're talking about a guy
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  already serving time for multiple murders. And get this, he
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  actually confessed to Jennifer's murder, said it was driven by
• 2:35
  and I'm quoting here unrequited love.
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  Speaker 1: Wow. So that's it. Then, right open and shut?
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  Speaker 2: Not quite see he later took back that confession. Plus,
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  there were holes in his story, like what for one,
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  Jones said he got in through the back door, but
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  Jennifer's husband he'd recently put in a brand new lock
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  after some renovations, even had receipts to prove it.
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  Speaker 1: That's interesting, right.
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  Speaker 2: This there's a wrench in Jones's whole can fashion makes
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  you wonder about the rest of it.
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  Speaker 1: And there's that detail about Jones's description of the apartment layout.
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  It matched perfectly, even though the layout had been changed
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  years before. Could that just be a coincidence?
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  Speaker 2: That's the million dollar question. Memory is a tricky thing.
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  Sometimes details get mixed up, changed by time, suggestions, even
• 3:20
  media coverage. It's not always cut and dry. It's not
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  always true or false. There's a whole lot of gray
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  area we have to consider.
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  Speaker 1: Okay, so Jones is a bit of a question mark.
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  What about Chuck Chance? Then he was at Jennifer's place
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  the day she was murdered. Plus they are all those
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  rumors swirling around locally, and even Jennifer's husband thought his
• 3:38
  behavior was off.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, you're hitting on the important stuff. Okay, So a
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  hair found at the crime scene didn't match Chance, but
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  we can't ignore his possible motives or that he was
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  there that day. And we have to think about the
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  fact that Jennifer's husband was convinced Chance had feelings for
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  his wife. That all keeps Chance in the picture, even
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  after all these years.
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  Speaker 1: You know, we talk about these details, but it's impt
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  possible to forget about the human side of this case.
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  Jennifer's family, especially her husband Justin and her sister Amanda.
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  They've been living with this unanswered question, this whole in
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  their lives for over three decades.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's unimaginable, that kind of loss, that not knowing
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  it can be a weight that never really goes away.
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  Speaker 1: Absolutely, and they've never given up hope. Justin especially, he
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  believes that it has to be one of them, either
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  Jeremy Jones or Juck Chance. He has to know. You know,
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  you can hear it in his voice, even after all
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  this time. Makes you think about how important closure is.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a common thread in unsolved cases, that lack
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  of closure just adds another layer to the grief. It's
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  not just about finding out who did it, but understanding why,
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  finding some sort of justice no matter how long it takes.
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  Speaker 1: And from what we've gathered, the family isn't completely happy
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  with how the initial investigation was handled. They've voiced concerns
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  about how the trime scene was processed. They even ended
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  up bringing in their own private investigator.
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  Speaker 2: Well, it is important to remember that forensic science back
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  in ninety two whole different ballgame. The techniques they use now,
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  some weren't even around then and some were in their
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  very early stages. What looks like a misstep now could
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  have been standard procedure back then, right.
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  Speaker 1: It was a different time, which brings us to the
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  biggest development recently, Sheriff Crows decided to send evidence to
• 5:18
  a specialized lab in California for that advanced DNA testing.
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  Speaker 2: This is where things get really interesting, where technology could
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  really make a difference. They'll be doing something called familial
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  DNA searching. This means that even if they don't find
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  an exact match, they might find a partial one leading
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  them to a relative of the killer that could crack
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  the case wide open.
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  Speaker 1: That's incredible to think about a tiny piece of evidence
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  re examined with modern technology could be all it takes.
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  Speaker 2: It really makes you realize how the truth has a
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  way of coming out no matter how much time passes.
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  Those small details, the ones that might have been missed
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  or misinterpreted years ago, they could hold the key.
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  Speaker 1: And that brings us to you, our listeners, this case
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  it's still open, and we know that someone out there
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  might hold that missing piece of the puzzle. No matter
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  how small or insignificant you think it is, any information
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  about Jennifer Jud's murder could be what finally brings justice
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  for Jennifer in her family. So please, if you know
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  anything at all, don't wait. Contact the authorities. Your call
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  could make all the difference.
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  Speaker 2: It's never too late to come forward. You never know
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  it could be your piece of information that finally brings
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  closure to this case and to Jennifer's family. Let's hope
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  that someone out there is listening, someone who can shed
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  some light on this tragedy and help bring peace to
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  those who have waited so long for answers.