Mark Jensen

Overview

Mark Jensen was a stockbroker husband accused of killing his wife, Julie Jensen, in 1998. The case involved a posthumous letter written by Julie Jensen, allegations that she had feared Mark Jensen would poison her, and a dispute at trial over whether her death was suicide or homicide.

Timeline

• Dec. 3, 1998 — Julie Jensen was discovered dead in her bed by her husband Mark.
• Nov. 21, 1998 — Julie Jensen wrote a letter and took a picture, recording her suspicions and describing items she believed were relevant.
• June 19, 2002 — Mark Jensen appeared in Kenosha County court and entered a not-guilty plea through his lawyer.
• March 20, 2002 — An arrest was made for the antifreeze poisoning death; Mark Jensen was arrested and charged with first-degree intentional homicide.
• June 25, 2003 — A hearing addressed whether Julie Jensen’s statements predicting her death would be kept from the jury; a decision was announced in September.
• 2002 — Julie Jensen’s letter was ruled inadmissible.
• 2007 — After legal disputes reaching the Wisconsin Supreme Court, Julie Jensen’s letter was ruled admissible and a trial date was set.
• Feb. 27, 2008 — Mark Jensen was sentenced to life in prison without parole; Judge Bruce Schroeder pronounced sentence.
• Feb. 29, 2008 — Julie Jensen’s case was discussed in coverage referencing the letter and her death.

Background

Mark Jensen and Julie Jensen had been married for 14 years. Friends described Julie Jensen as “a perfect mother.” Julie Jensen and Mark Jensen lived in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, at a home on Lakeshore Drive.

Julie Jensen’s husband, Mark, was described as having secrets and having an affair. Mark Jensen had been having an affair with a married co-worker, Kelly LaBonte, and professed his love to her in emails found on his computer. After Julie Jensen’s death, Kelly LaBonte moved into the Jensen household, and she and Mark Jensen were married in 2002.

Julie Jensen’s marriage began to unravel gradually. Neighbor Margaret Wojt remembered them as “always working on some kind of project,” and said, “Just laughing and having fun with it ... it was amazing to watch them.” Wojt’s husband, Ted, told “20/20” that Mark had wanted Julie to be more sexually experimental.

Wojt said Julie told her:

• “Mark would kill me first, before he divorced me”.

A friend, Kim Shaw, said:

• “We all looked up to her as being a perfect mother,”

A neighbor, Margaret Wojt, described:

• “[Julie and Mark] would always be outside, always working on some kind of project,”

The offence

Mark Jensen was accused of murder in the first degree. Prosecutors contended that Mark Jensen poisoned his wife, Julie Jensen, with anti-freeze and then suffocated her in 1998.

The defence argued that Julie Jensen was depressed and killed herself, framing Mark Jensen by leaving a letter making it look like he harmed her.

Investigation

In the early hours of the investigation after Julie Jensen was discovered dead, police said suicide was the likely cause of death. District Attorney Bob Jambois said he felt differently and that “It didn't look right.”

An autopsy did not confirm Jambois’s suspicions and found no evidence of foul play. Jambois said:

• “It showed nothing.”

Julie Jensen left an envelope with Ted and Margaret Wojt. She told them:

• “if anything happens, give it to the police.”

The sealed envelope contained a letter written by Julie Jensen, accompanied by a photo of a shopping list.

Investigators viewed the contents of the envelope as key evidence and as “Julie's last will and testament,” said Jambois.

Investigators also seized Jensen’s computer during the investigation. Prosecutors described evidence of an affair between Mark Jensen and his co-worker and emails indicating he'd visited her in St. Louis where they’d met on business. One email quoted in court coverage included:

• Mark Jensen: “Was great just hanging out. Got a few looks and questions about being in St. Louis -- all covered.”
• Fiancee: “If you continue to be a good boy maybe you'll get what you wish for.”

Police said Mark Jensen spent six weeks online plotting to poison Julie. They found hits on websites about botulism and physician-assisted suicide, and in the week before Julie Jensen’s death they found hits related to antifreeze poisoning.

When police confronted Mark Jensen about the antifreeze in Julie Jensen’s system, he changed his story. He said Julie had been suicidal and didn't want him to call for help as she lay dying in their bedroom.

Arrest

Mark Jensen was arrested on March 20, 2002. Police arrested the 42-year-old stockbroker at his Kenosha home.

He was charged on March 20, 2002 with first-degree intentional homicide. Cash bail was set at $500,000.

District Attorney Robert Jambois said the toxicology information had come together after it filtered into his office:

• “It was information we needed from the city crime lab. It was information we needed from pathologists. It was information we needed from the toxicologists. All of this information has filtered into our office the past several months, and it all came together earlier this week,”

Trial

Evidence and admissibility dispute

In 2002, Julie Jensen’s letter was ruled inadmissible. A reason discussed for inadmissibility was constitutional guarantees related to a defendant’s right to confront accusers.

Jambois said:

• “He can't confront her because he killed her,”

Julie’s four brothers were described as devastated and wanting the letter admitted. Paul Griffin said:

• “We should fight to get the letter admitted. Because that was Julie's voice,”

In 2007, after legal disputes that made their way to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, the letter was ruled admissible and a trial date was set.

Prosecution theory

The prosecution argued that Mark Jensen poisoned his wife with anti-freeze and then suffocated her so he could start a new life with his mistress.

Jailhouse informant testimony

Aaron Dillard, a jailhouse informant with an extensive criminal record, came forward. Dillard said that Mark Jensen told him he fed his wife juice mixed with anti-freeze but that:

• “[Julie] wouldn't die fast enough.”

Dillard testified that Mark Jensen told him his sons saw their mother having difficulty breathing and wanted to take her to the hospital. Dillard said Mark Jensen responded:

• “He told me he got scared. And that's when he rolled her over and sat on her back, pushed her face into the pillow.”

Dillard said Mark Jensen initially told him a different story in which:

• “that she [Julie] poisoned herself with antifreeze and she tried to commit suicide, that basically her whole family was crazy, and she followed the same footsteps.”

Dillard said that Mark Jensen later changed his account:

• “it started spilling out” after Dillard made a comment about “all of us have some problem in our life.” Dillard described Mark Jensen as teary-eyed and said:
• “He [Mark] was teary-eyed talkin' about his kids. And that's when I ... brought in the point of we all did what we did to get here. And then he ... that's when he came out with and started telling me more about what he did.”

Dillard also testified about Mark Jensen’s demeanor:

• “He didn't show any sorrow about his wife been [sic] dead. He didn't. About her passing away. About any of it.”

Defence theory

Defence attorney Craig Albee attacked Dillard’s testimony and obtained Dillard’s admission that he was a con-man. Albee told the jury:

• “You heard Aaron Dillard is a liar. You cannot believe him beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Witnesses described Julie Jensen’s character. Ted Wojt testified that Julie Jensen believed her husband was trying to kill her. Ted said she had seen him:

• “on poison sites” on the Internet.

Ted said he believed Julie Jensen feared her husband was:

• “trying to make me look crazy, to take my kids.”

The defence also presented testimony about Julie Jensen’s suspicion and her interactions before her death.

Craig Albee told the jury:

• “facts will prove that Mark Jensen did not kill his wife. Depression and despair caused [Julie] to taken her own life.”

Albee continued that Julie framed Mark by leaving the letter making it appear he harmed her, saying:

• “her depression and her despair and her anger and her delusional thinking caused her to point the finger at Mark.”

Dr. Richard Borman testified that he saw Julie Jensen days before her death. Borman said:

• “She was highly upset. It was burned into my mind. I'd never seen her look like that. She was distraught, almost frantic, actually,” and that Julie Jensen was concerned about her family’s history of mental illness. Borman prescribed Paxil and Ambien.

Characterisation in court and prosecution statements

During sentencing reporting, jurors described the letter as influential in their conviction deliberations. One juror said the letter gave them:

• “a clear road map” to conviction.

A female juror said:

• “He tortured Julie hoping she could be classically diagnosed as a nutcase,”

Verdict

Mark Jensen did not take the stand in his defence. The jury deliberated for four days.

Before a packed courtroom, the foreman read a verdict of guilty in the murder of Julie Jensen. Albee said:

• “convinced the jury reached the wrong decision” and said he was:
• “hopeful that Mark will get a new trial.”

Sentencing

Mark Jensen was sentenced on Feb. 27, 2008 to life in prison without parole.

Judge Bruce Schroeder said:

• “I've come to the conclusion that if I were to impose anything less than the maximum sentence in this case, I'd feel I had cheated the other people because your crime is so enormous, so monstrous, so unspeakably cruel, that it overcomes all other considerations,”

A different sentencing quote attributed to Judge Bruce Schroeder also stated:

• “Your crime is so enormous, so monstrous, so unspeakably cruel that it overcomes all other considerations,”

Mark Jensen was described as sitting stoically in blue jail fatigues.

Julie Jensen’s two sons, David and Douglas, submitted a letter before sentencing expressing belief in Mark Jensen’s innocence and requesting mercy. They wrote that Mark Jensen held them after their mother died and worked to support the family. The reporting quoted the letter’s sentiment:

• “If anyone in this world is the epitome of loyalty, it is our dad.”

Craig Albee read a letter from Jensen’s attorney describing the sons’ request for mercy. The reporting also quoted:

• “He never failed to support us throughout this ordeal,”
• “If we ever need help, advice or just someone to talk to, we know we can go to him for anything,”

Julie Jensen’s four brothers also spoke at sentencing. Patrick Griffin said:

• “I hope the court shows the same mercy and compassion that the defendant showed our sister,” and later:
• “So be it.”

Patrick Griffin said he felt grief over her death and anger that Mark Jensen started a successful construction business while out on bail and remarry.

Patrick Griffin described his “disgust” at hearing a witness testify that Mark Jensen tired of waiting for the poison to work and suffocated his wife.

The prosecutor, Robert Jambois, spoke after the brothers and said Mark Jensen tormented his wife with pornographic pictures and accusations of infidelity. He also said Mark Jensen moved his girlfriend into his house before Julie Jensen’s wake. Jambois said:

• “Mark Jensen treated his wife the way some demented people torture small animals or pick the wings off flies,” and asked the judge to not give parole or set a parole date:
• “so far in the future that it's not possible that it could be within Mark Jensen's lifetime.”

Albee argued for parole, describing Jensen as hardworking and law-abiding:

• “He's always been employed. He's been an excellent father to his children,” and:
• “Even neighbors who were extremely biased against Mr. Jensen recognized he was a loving father from all of their observations.”

Outcome

The court sentenced Mark Jensen to life in prison without parole on Feb. 27, 2008. He was described as currently in jail.

Aftermath

Julie Jensen’s sons, ages 18 and 13, were being raised by Mark Jensen’s wife and former mistress.

In sentencing reporting, it was said that Mark Jensen was described as having trembled slightly as the sentence was read but did not cry.

Other details

Letter text attributed to Julie Jensen

The following text appeared as the letter Julie Jensen wrote and gave to a neighbor, accompanied by a photograph. The letter contained references to poisoning-related items and to her fear for her life. The letter was written by Julie Jensen on Nov. 21, 1998 and was found dead in her home on Dec. 3, 1998.

The letter included:

• “Pleasant Prairie Police Department, Ron Kosman or Detective Ratzenburg- I took this picture + am writing this on Saturday 11-21-98 at 7AM. This "list" was in my husband's business daily planner -- not meant for me to see. I don't know what it means, but if anything happens to me, he would be my first suspect. Our relationship has deteriorated to the polite superficial. I know he's never forgiven me for the brief affair I had with that creep seven years ago. Mark lives for work + the kids; he's an avid surfer of the Internet... Anyway -- I do not smoke or drink. My mother was an alcoholic, so I limit my drinking to one or two a week. Mark wants me to drink more with him in the evenings. I don't. I would never take my life because of my kids -- they are everything to me! I regularly take Tylenol + multi-vitamins; occassionally [sic] take OTC stuff for colds; Zantac, or Immodium; have one prescrption for migraine tablets, which more use more than I. I pray I'm wrong + nothing happens... but I am suspicious of Mark's suspicious behaviors + fear for my early demise. However I will not leave [edited] + [edited]. My life's greatest love, accomplishment and wish: "My 3 D's -- Daddy (Mark), [edited] + [edited].”
• “Julie C. Jensen”

Other reporting also summarized the letter’s statements as:

• “I am suspicious of Mark's suspicious behaviors and fear for my early demise,” she wrote.
• “If anything happens to me, he would be my first suspect.”

Comments to others

Julie Jensen made foreboding comments to police and to her son's teacher stating she suspected her husband was trying to kill her. Her note to police included:

• “I pray that I am wrong and nothing happens, but I am suspicious of Mark's suspicious behaviors and fear for my early demise,”

In addition, a neighbor named Carrie Ashley said:

• “I would probably mourn a stranger more than he mourned Julie.”

A friend, Ruth, described the immediate aftermath of the death and said:

• “She didn't make it.”
• “Mark, what happened?'

Another friend, Marion, said:

• “It was a total shock, just couldn't believe it,”

Jambois described the initial feeling:

• “It didn't look right,”

Marriage timeline and legal proceedings

Mark Jensen was accused of murder in the first degree and was found guilty. The prosecution's case was described as running five weeks, and the defence took just five days. Jurors deliberated for four days.

A high-profile trial was described as shown live on cable television and the Internet. Mark Jensen’s trial attracted attention after years of legal wrangling over admissibility of Julie Jensen’s letter.