Sandra Jessee

Case overview

Sandra Jessee was convicted of ordering the killing of her husband, Jack Jessee. Prosecutors said she wanted to avoid paying for Jack Jessee’s cancer treatment and to collect his insurance and other benefits. At sentencing, she received a required life sentence of life in prison without parole.

People involved

• Sandra Jessee — defendant; third husband was Jack Jessee.
• Jack Jessee — victim; described as a 56-year-old man diagnosed with colon cancer.
• Thomas Aehlert — Sandra Jessee’s son; co-defendant; pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.
• Brett Schrauben — hit man recruited as part of the conspiracy; pleaded guilty to one count of voluntary manslaughter.
• Thomas Joseph Garrick — alleged killer in prosecutors’ account; had pleaded not guilty and had yet to stand trial.
• Cheryl Deanda — daughter who found Jack Jessee and called 911; lived nearby.
• Chere Williams — one of Jack Jessee’s daughters; spoke at sentencing.
• David Jessee — Jack Jessee’s brother; gave statements to reporters.
• Beverly Crane — Jack Jessee’s sister.
• Mike Murray — Senior Deputy District Attorney / prosecutor.
• Derek Bercher — defense attorney for Sandra Jessee.
• James A. Stotler — Orange County Superior Court judge.
• Glenda Sanders — judge who declared a mistrial after a hung jury in 2009.
• Amy Taxin — author of a report referenced in the case summary.
• R. Scott Moxley — author of referenced reports.
• Erika I. Ritchie — author of referenced report.
• Brian Sutton — Orange County Sheriff Department homicide investigator.
• Tom Dove — Orange County Sheriff Department homicide investigator.
• Craig Johnson — then-sheriff’s investigator mentioned in the accounts.
• Daron Wyatt — detective in Placentia who interviewed Sandra Jessee after the murder.
• Al Stokke — defense lawyer named as advising Sandra Jessee to stop calling.
• Chere Williams — daughter who addressed the sentencing court.
• Cheryl Deanda — daughter who found the victim and testified.

Timeline

• Aug. 13, 1998 — Jack Jessee was stabbed to death on the living-room floor in the couple’s Orange County home; Sandra Jessee returned after a shopping trip and found him.
• February 2006 — Sandra Jessee was first arrested and charged with planning a murder-for-hire scheme to kill her husband.
• Four months later (relative to the February 2006 arrest) — Sandra Jessee was released after an Orange County Superior Court judge dismissed charges following a four-day preliminary hearing, citing lack of sufficient evidence.
• 2002 — the case was turned over to the Orange County Sheriff Department cold case squad.
• 2003 — Orange County Sheriff’s Department cold-case review began as part of the recounting of the investigation.
• 2005 — Orange County sheriff’s investigators began reviewing the evidence, including a strip of paper retrieved from Jessee’s purse; investigators matched the name on the paper to a tip; investigators began surveillance efforts described in the reports.
• 2007 — Sandra Jessee and Aehlert were arrested in Arizona and brought to stand trial in Orange County; the reporting also describes arrests and extradition to California.
• 2008 — Brett Schrauben pleaded guilty to one count of voluntary manslaughter in a deal with the district attorney’s office.
• 2009 — a jury deadlocked 11-1 in favor of conviction in Sandra Jessee and Thomas Aehlert’s first trial; Aehlert later struck a deal and pleaded guilty to second-degree murder before Sandra Jessee’s retrial.
• December (year referenced as “December” before conviction at retrial) — a jury deliberated only four hours before convicting Sandra Jessee.
• March 22, 2012 — Sandra Jessee was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
• May 4 (scheduled) — a hearing was scheduled to discuss restitution for the victim’s family.
• July (scheduled) — Schrauben was scheduled to be sentenced.
• September (scheduled) — Aehlert was set to be sentenced.

The offence

Jack Jessee was recovering from colon cancer when he was killed. Prosecutors said Sandra Jessee recruited a hit man and used her son and other people to carry out the killing so she could move to Arizona where Aehlert lived.

On Aug. 13, 1998, Sandra Jessee told her husband she was going out to buy chicken nuggets and ice and stop at the bank. After more than an hour passed, Jack Jessee grew worried and called his daughter, Cheryl Deanda, who lived nearby, and asked for her help. Deanda drove to the couple’s house but Sandra was not back yet. Deanda then took a spin around a nearby shopping center to see if she could find Sandra. When Deanda returned about 15 minutes later, she found Jack Jessee stabbed to death on the living-room floor. Deanda called 911, and she testified that she rolled him over and that she could hear air going through the holes.

During the investigation and trial accounts, prosecutors described the stabbing as involving Jack Jessee’s jugular and aorta, with multiple stab wounds. Family and trial accounts also described that the killing involved a walkie-talkie to signal a getaway driver, placing the knife inside a black shoulder sheath, and leaving a blood-drip trail for a short distance.

Investigation and evidence

The case remained unresolved for years. Police interviewed Sandra Jessee after the murder, and detectives later reviewed evidence during a renewed investigation beginning in 2005. Authorities said investigators found a strip of paper retrieved from Jessee’s purse during a police interview after the murder; the name on the paper was Schrauben, and investigators matched the name to a tip received a few years earlier.

The recounting also describes notes near telephones reading:

• “Be careful. Somebody might be listening”
• “Don’t use cell phones.”

Investigators later pursued connections that included phone evidence, and prosecutors described evidence involving banking, phone, and other records supporting pre-murder payments and travel to Phoenix.

Arrest and pre-trial events

Sandra Jessee was arrested in Arizona in 2007 and brought to stand trial in Orange County. Her son, Thomas Aehlert, was arrested as an accomplice in Arizona as well, and both were extradited to California and were held in Orange County jail awaiting court appearances.

A report also described that Sandra Jessee had been first arrested in February 2006 and that charges were dismissed after a four-day preliminary hearing due to lack of sufficient evidence, leading to her release about four months later.

Trial

First trial and mistrial

A first trial ended with a jury deadlock 11-1 in favor of conviction in 2009. In a separate recounting of the earlier proceedings, a jury deadlock prompted shouting during deliberations and a mistrial declaration by Superior Court Judge Glenda Sanders.

Pleas by co-defendants

• Aehlert struck a deal with prosecutors and pleaded guilty to second-degree murder before testifying during Sandra Jessee’s retrial.
• Schrauben pleaded guilty to one count of voluntary manslaughter in 2008 and testified against Sandra Jessee during the retrial.

Retrial and conviction

At the retrial, a jury deliberated only four hours in December before convicting Sandra Jessee. The conviction carried a required life sentence.

During the retrial period referenced in the reports, prosecutors and defense counsel disputed credibility and evidence. The prosecution account included allegations that Sandra Jessee ordered the killing and signaled when Jack Jessee would be alone. Defense counsel Derek Bercher sought character evidence and presented alternative explanations for events and transactions.

During jury testimony and related discussion, Sandra Jessee decided to testify after the other conspirators testified and named her. She testified that she “died” the day of the ambush killing and gave the following remarks to the jury:

“I didn't believe it,”
“I wanted to know what the hell happened. . . . I died the night he died. I, I, I couldn't go back [to the crime scene]. It wasn't my home anymore. . . . I cried . . . I didn't know where to go or what to do.”

Sandra Jessee also testified about her commitment to her husband and her response to colon surgery requiring a colostomy bag, including the following exchange described in the reports:

“I remember being there [and] nothing else,” she said.
“It didn't happen,” he asked, “or you don't recall?”
Jessse stonewalled, providing another non-responsive answer: “I was there, yes.”
Eventually, Murray got her to say the nurse had invented her observations.

In the retrial accounts, Mike Murray asked her:

“Who killed Jack Jessee?” he demanded to know without a hint of sympathy.
“I can't tell you,” she said.
“I don't know.”

Defense counsel Bercher presented a theory that addressed her interactions and explanations for phone calls and purchases.

Sentencing

On March 22, 2012, Sandra Jessee was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

The judge James A. Stotler indicated he would not have granted probation even if the law had allowed it. Jack Jessee’s family welcomed the sentence and expressed that Jack Jessee had missed seeing grandchildren grow up and attend college and that his daughter had missed a wedding.

Chere Williams, one of the victim’s daughters, pleaded with the court to impose life in prison and told the court:

“At first I wanted the death penalty, but I think it would be much better for her to sit and rot in jail,”

Appeals and current status

No appeal outcome was provided in the source. Defense attorney Derek Bercher said the defense would appeal Sandra Jessee’s murder-for-financial-gain conviction and conspiracy.

• A hearing was scheduled for May 4 to discuss restitution for the victim’s family.
• Thomas Aehlert was set to be sentenced in September.
• Schrauben was scheduled to be sentenced in July.
• Garrick had pleaded not guilty and had yet to stand trial.

Other details

Identity details and family relationships

The case described that Jack Jessee was diagnosed with colon cancer and had undergone surgery. Sandra Jessee was described as being the victim’s wife and the stepmother of Thomas Aehlert. Aehlert was described as Jack Jessee’s stepson. The family included Jack’s daughters Cheryl Deanda and Chere Williams and his brother David Jessee.

Prior arrest and dismissals described

Sandra Jessee had been charged in February 2006, and a judge dismissed those charges following a four-day preliminary hearing due to lack of sufficient evidence, leading to her release about four months later.

Money and benefits described by prosecutors

Prosecutors said Sandra Jessee hired a hit man and then received more than $650,000 from the sale of the couple’s Placentia home along with 401(k) death benefits and insurance. Prosecutors also said she wanted to avoid paying for cancer treatment and to collect insurance and other benefits. The reports also described prosecutors characterizing the motive as greed and financial gain.

Case quotes and attribution

• Senior Deputy District Attorney Mike Murray said:

  “She's just one of the most twisted defendants I've come across who would engage her own biological son in the murder of a man she's been married to for 15 years at probably the most vulnerable time in his life,”
  “To see her finally get justice is very gratifying.”

• Defense attorney Derek Bercher said the case would be appealed and characterized his client’s expected course of action.
• David Jessee told reporters:

  “This is like a 14-year ordeal that has come almost to completion,”
  “This was my sister-in-law who put this whole thing together and she is going to spend the rest of her life where she belongs, thinking about this.”

Murder investigation role details

In one account, detective Daron Wyatt was assigned the case and began an interview of Sandra Jessee at 4 a.m., and the interview was described as hazily filmed with a secret camera.

Victim identification and age details described

The victim Jack Jessee was described as 56 at the time of the Aug. 13, 1998 killing and as then 56 when the daughter found him around 9:45 p.m. in their home. Sandra Jessee was described as 61 at the time of sentencing. In sentencing coverage, the defendant was described as wearing thick glasses and a jail jumpsuit.

Witness testimony describing the call and discovery

Cheryl Deanda described rolling over Jack Jessee, hearing air through gashes, and calling 911. The account also stated that police arrived, and paramedics were described as arriving before Sandra Jessee drove up and said she had “only been gone five minutes.” The phrase “only been gone five minutes” was attributed to Sandra Jessee in the account.