Rhonda Glover

Case information

Rhonda Glover was tried and convicted for the murder of her on-again, off-again oilman boyfriend, Jimmy Joste, in Southwest Austin, Texas, in 2004. Glover was sentenced to 46 years in prison in 2006. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals declined a petition to review the Travis County murder conviction and the 46-year prison sentence; the conviction and sentence stood.

Glover owned an employee recruiting business.

People

• Rhonda Glover — defendant; girlfriend of the murder victim; mother of the couple’s son. At trial she gave testimony that she shot Jimmy Joste in self-defense.
• Jimmy Joste (Martin “Jimmy” Joste) — murder victim; 55 at the time of his death; oil-patch millionaire from Houston; had a son with Glover.
  • Birth: Jan. 15, 1949
  • Death: Jul. 21, 2004
  • Birth family: son of Martin William and Barbara Kelly Joste.
  • Grandfather: Forrest Kelly of Wichita, Kansas.
  • Education and background: grew up in the Memorial area; graduated from Memorial High School; attended The University of Texas in Austin.
  • He died in Austin, Texas, in Travis County, Texas, of gunshot wounds allegedly inflicted by his domestic partner and the mother of his son.
  • He was survived by: his brother, Kelly William Joste of Houston, and his son John Chandler Joste.
  • He was preceded in death by: his brother, John Forrest Joste, his father, Martin William Joste, and his mother, Barbara Kelly Joste.
• John Chandler Joste — son of Rhonda Glover and Jimmy Joste; was 9 when Joste was shot and later described as 11 at the time Glover testified about preparing for a trip to Nashville.
• Kelley Joste — brother of the victim; discussed the relationship and money matters.
• Sherlyn Shotwell — identified as Glover’s mother; described as having legal custody of the couple’s son.
• Rocky Navarro — a local real estate agent and friend of Joste since 15 years earlier; testified about Joste’s character and his generosity.
• Stan Weiner — former Houston oilman; described social distance and relationship on and off and troubled.
• Danny Davis — known Joste since they were boys; described Joste’s social behavior.
• Joe James Sawyer — Glover’s defense lawyer; made closing-argument remarks about Joste’s obsession with Glover.
• Bryan Case — prosecutor; made closing-argument remarks to the jury.
• Gail Van Winkle — prosecutor; made remarks about the alleged planning and luring.
• Paul J. Smith — Houston-based lawyer for Glover; declined to comment in connection with the arrest period.
• Hector Gomez — U.S. Marshal; discussed extradition timing.
• Lt. Mark Deterding — Kansas Highway Patrol lieutenant; spoke about tracing signals to the RV.
• Forrest Kelly — described as Barbara’s Dad and a successful wildcatter and CEO of the Treat-o-lite, Petrolite Corporation.
• Martin William Joste — victim’s father.
• Barbara Kelly Joste — victim’s mother.
• John Forrest Joste — victim’s brother (preceded him in death).
• Forrest Kelly — grandfather; CEO of the Treat-o-lite, Petrolite Corporation.
• Joste’s friends and family — referenced as trying to fathom motives after the killing.
• Child Protective Services worker — checked on the couple’s son; received statements from Glover.
• Glover’s trainer at the shooting range — testified about training and Glover asking about shooting from behind.

Timeline

• Jul. 21, 2004 — Jimmy Joste was found slain in his Austin home, shot 13 times; Rhonda Glover was charged with murdering 55-year-old Jimmy Joste.
• Early July 2004 — Glover asked at Top Gun of Texas: “How do you shoot someone in the head while they are sitting on a couch and you're coming up from behind,” according to an arrest warrant.
• A week after Rhonda Lee Glover bought a 9 mm Glock pistol at an Austin gun store and firing range, Austin police said she showed up at a Houston shooting range with her 10-year-old son seeking shooting lessons and advice.
• July 20 (year 2004 context) — Rocky Navarro said they shared a beer; Austin police said a call to Navarro the next morning was the last entry on Joste’s cell phone.
• A few hours after Glover returned to the couple’s home — she gathered up her son and said they were headed to Arkansas, according to the warrant.
• Tuesday (after the Sunday killing; year 2004 context) — Kansas Highway Patrol officers traced signals from Glover’s cell phone to the RV parked outside the Golden Ox truck stop in Hays; Glover was wearing a yellow sundress when she surrendered and was charged.
• 2006 — Glover was sentenced to 46 years in prison.
• Wednesday, July 9, 2008 — the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals declined a petition to review the Travis County murder conviction and 46-year prison sentence, leaving the conviction and sentence standing.

Background

Rhonda Glover and Jimmy Joste had an on-again, off-again relationship. The couple had a son, John Chandler Joste.

Glover and Joste had a history of delusional behavior, drug use, excessive drinking and domestic abuse, according to trial testimony.

Glover told a Child Protective Services worker checking on the couple’s son, who was 9 when Joste was shot, that the boy was Jesus Christ; Joste said the boy could “pull stars from the sky.”

Prosecutors said Glover had grown sick of Joste after draining him of most of his family and self-made wealth. Glover said it was self-defense.

Glover was described as having grown sick of Joste after draining him of his wealth and prosecutors said she carefully planned the murder.

The offence

On Jul. 21, 2004, Jimmy Joste was found dead in his Southwest Austin home. The body was found near the doorway of his upstairs bedroom, with police saying his 160-pound frame was perforated with bullets. Police said ballistics tests showed markings on the slug were consistent with a Glock weapon.

Trial testimony described Glover shooting Joste multiple times in the home. Glover was described as having emptied the gun’s magazine, shooting Joste 10 times, according to testimony, in an upstairs bedroom and hallway.

Austin police said Glover shot Joste 13 times, and police described ballistics tests consistent with a Glock weapon.

Investigation and arrest

Austin police said Glover had been reported missing in Houston since March.

An arrest warrant described that Glover had moved out of the couple’s limestone house in the Park at Travis Country, a gated subdivision, several months earlier and was probably living in Houston, where she had family.

A friend of Glover took her to rent a white Ford Taurus, which Glover said she needed to run errands, according to the warrant.

When Glover returned to the couple’s home a few hours later, she gathered up her son and said they were headed to Arkansas, according to the warrant.

Police said Glover showed up at a Houston shooting range with her 10-year-old son seeking shooting lessons and advice.

According to an arrest warrant, Glover asked an employee at Top Gun of Texas in early July: “How do you shoot someone in the head while they are sitting on a couch and you're coming up from behind”.

On Sunday, Glover hit the road north in a rented white recreational vehicle after the shooting. A week after Glover bought a 9 mm Glock pistol at an Austin gun store and firing range, Austin police said she showed up at a Houston shooting range with her 10-year-old son seeking shooting lessons and advice.

A call to Navarro the next morning was the last entry on Joste’s cell phone.

Kansas Highway Patrol officers traced signals from Glover’s cell phone to the RV, parked outside the Golden Ox truck stop in Hays. Kansas Highway Patrol Lt. Mark Deterding said Glover had stopped to buy milk for her son. Wearing a yellow sundress, she surrendered and was charged with murdering 55-year-old James Martin “Jimmy” Joste.

In addition to first-degree murder, Glover was charged with falsifying her address on a firearm application, described as a federal crime.

Trial

A Travis County, Texas jury found Rhonda Glover guilty of murder. The jury deliberated for less than two hours.

Glover’s testimony was that she killed Jimmy Joste to protect herself. Her testimony that she killed Jimmy Joste to protect herself was described by prosecutor Bryan Case as “trash,” and as a “prefabricated story.”

Closing arguments and disputed issues

Prosecutor Bryan Case told the jury that Glover’s testimony was “trash,” a “prefabricated story,” and called on the jury to recognize Glover’s “crocodile tears” and find her guilty.

Prosecutor Bryan Case told the jury during closing arguments: “trash”
Prosecutor Bryan Case told the jury during closing arguments: “prefabricated story”
Prosecutor Bryan Case called on the jury to recognize Glover’s “crocodile tears” and find her guilty.

Prosecutor Gail Van Winkle said: “She lured him to the house.” She also said: “He worshiped this woman. And she surprised him with the gun and started shooting.”

Glover’s defense lawyer, Joe James Sawyer, told the jury during closing arguments that Joste was obsessed with Glover. Sawyer cited testimony that Joste withdrew more than $1 million from a bank in early 2004 and spent it on Glover.

Glover’s account of the shooting

On Friday, Glover testified that she went to the Southwest Austin house the couple once shared to drop off her handgun and pick up camping gear in preparation for a trip to Nashville with the couple’s son, now 11.

Glover told the jury she had been avoiding Joste for months because he would drink too much and beat her. She testified that she did not think Joste would be at the house, but he came home, yelled at her and then grabbed her throat.

Glover testified, sobbing on the stand:

“I shot him,” she testified, sobbing on the stand.
“I shot him because I thought he was going to kill me.”

Testimony from witnesses called by prosecutors

Earlier Tuesday, prosecutors called several of Joste’s friends to rebut Glover’s testimony that Joste beat her. They testified that Joste was peaceful and docile and that Glover was an aggressive woman with a reputation for being a liar.

Sentencing

After the jury’s guilty verdict, Glover faced up to life in prison in the punishment phase of the trial, and later received a 46-year prison sentence in 2006.

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals declined to review the conviction and 46-year sentence, so the conviction and sentence stood.

Appeals

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals declined a petition to review the Travis County murder conviction and 46-year prison sentence of Rhonda Glover. With the high criminal court’s decision to decline review, the conviction and sentence stood.

Other details

• Glover had taken firearms training. One of her trainers testified she once asked how to shoot someone from behind while he was sitting on a sofa.
• She practiced firing her gun the day of the shooting at Red’s Indoor Range in Oak Hill.
• Glover and Joste had a son; at the time of Joste’s death, their son was 9, and later described as 11 at trial when Glover testified about preparations for a trip to Nashville.
• At the time Joste was killed, he lived there alone.
• Prosecutors said Glover began planning by purchasing the Glock 19 handgun and taking shooting lessons in the months before the shooting.
• Trial testimony described Glover renting a car, driving it to a shooting range in Oak Hill, shooting the gun at the range for about 20 minutes, and then going to the Mission Oaks Boulevard house.
• In early 2004, it was testified that Joste withdrew more than $1 million from a bank and spent it on Glover.
• It was testified that Joste bought Glover a $350,000 engagement ring in early 2004, which Glover testified she knew about and declined.
• According to Kelley Joste, Glover’s mother, Sherlyn Shotwell, has legal custody.
• Police said the couple’s son was living with a foster family in Kansas while officials worked out where to place him.
• A U.S. Marshal, Hector Gomez, said Glover should be extradited to Texas within a couple of weeks.
• Jimmy Joste’s murder later appeared on the television series “Snapped.”
• Rhonda Glover was described as facing up to life in prison when the punishment phase began Wednesday, and she was later sentenced to 46 years in prison.