JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Nassau County judge ruled Wednesday that accused killer Kimberly Kessler is competent to stand trial.
Kessler was brought into her court hearing strapped to a chair. She was later taken to a holding cell when she would not stop yelling that her former public defender is related to her alleged victim Joleen Cummings.
The judge denies the relationship between the two.
More than 10 correctional officers testified at Kessler's hearing saying that she smears feces in her cell and has thrown feces and urine at deputies.
Deputies also testified that Kessler has stripped naked and acted vulger towards them.
Some of the officers have had differing experiences with some mentioning her aggressive behavior.
"She told me her attorneys were [expleitive] idiots," one deputy said. "I start to tell her that I’ll make her disappear too, but I didn’t say it.”
Other officers said they get along with her, including one that speaks to her for up to six hours.
"Sometimes friendly, likes to joke," the deputy explained. "Sometimes gets angry and has a vulgar mouth."
However, virtually all were in agreement that Kessler is able to choose when she acts out and thus is able to stand trial.
"Some of the things she does are very intentional,” said Alexandra Johnson, a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner at Starting Point Behavioral Health.
One psychologist did testify that he does not believe Kessler is competent to stand trial. However, the judge said he was persuaded by the testimony of the officers.
“The testimony from the corrections officers I think strengthens my belief that this is volitional in nature,” the judge said. “I'm very comfortable in my decision that she remains competent."
Anne Johnson, the mother of Joleen Cummings, was also at the hearing. She said she was relieved that Kessler will indeed stand trial for her daughter's murder.
“I’m feeling elated that our prayers have been answered that we waited a long three years, and it has been three competency hearings," Johnson said. "And we are ready for justice to be served.”
Background:
*WARNING: Content may be disturbing and contain expletives.
Just 80 pounds following a hunger strike and allegedly prone to spreading and throwing feces, accused killer Kimberly Kessler has presented mental health issues consistently since her arrest on murder charges in 2018.
She is accused of killing Joleen Cummings, a Yulee mother of three and hairstylist, in May of 2018.
Now, a doctor has found her mentally incompetent to stand trial, according to court records
After 45 minutes, Kessler arrived in court, strapped down to a chair and shouting. She yelled "Jordan Beard is Joleen Cummings' cousin!" repeatedly. The judge asked her if she was going to cooperate, but she continued to shout. The judge said she would have to appear via Zoom in a holding cell because she was being disruptive.
Deputy Matthew David Holland took the stand to speak about an incident on April 13 when he says Kessler got naked, spread feces all over her cell and on the cell window and yelled "do you like my (expletive)." Holland said this isn't the only time she has done this.
Another detention deputy told the judge about an incident on April 11, when Kessler reportedly asked which side of her neck was the jugular located, rubbing a tube of toothpaste against her neck.
"I can do it on either side, right?" Kessler reportedly asked the deputy. Since then, Kessler has been on and off suicide watch, the deputy said.
The deputy said Kessler reads the Bible a lot, saying she was looking for a loophole to kill herself and still go to Heaven.
When she was put on suicide watch, Kessler stripped naked, urinated on the floor and screamed vulgar sexual things, the deputy said. She said she witnessed Kessler smear feces on the window of her cell several times and write with the feces.
During cross-examination, the deputy said Kessler talks to her 6 hours of her 12 hour shift and is "absolutely" capable of communicating her needs and thoughts. The deputy said Kessler is "jovial, sometimes friendly, likes to joke, sometimes gets angry and has a vulgar mouth, normal, regular personality, very intelligent."
The deputy said Kessler told that her "mother is the Satanist and that is why I did what I did."
The deputy testified that Kessler has "sculpted out" a "welcome mat" of feces at her jail cell door, so anyone who enters has to step in it.
She said Kessler's feces throwing and smearing started after another inmate did the same and was taken to the state hospital. The deputy said Kessler is capable of behaving and acts out when she doesn't get what she wants.
The deputy also said Kessler confides in her, saying her attorneys are "effin' idiots."
"I started to tell her that I'll make her disappear too, but I didn't say it," Kessler reportedly told the deputy once, referring to attorney Teri Sopp. "Why can't they just take me to the state hospital?"
The next witness, another detention deputy, said he has seen Kessler smear feces and act out sexually and in a vulgar way several times. He said Kessler recently wrote "PREA" in feces on the window of her cell. The deputy said Kessler talks about the Prison Rape Elimination Act often and believes that male deputies watching her on suicide watch is a violation.
The fourth witness, a detention sergeant, tells the judge she has witness Kessler throwing, and smearing feces and urine "every day, every other day" since February. She said it's "normal daily stuff they all do" when talking about Kessler taking off her clothes.
The fifth witness, Deputy Camisha Miller, said she has witnessed Kessler throwing feces and urine several times, and has witnessed her disrobing several times. When asked about Kessler's behavior during hearings, Miller said Kessler is able to behave "but chooses not to and will act out."
Deputy Elizabeth Smith, the sixth witness, said she has seen Kessler throwing or smearing feces at least 10 times. She said Kessler has directed very vulgar language at her and other corrections deputies a lot.
Deputy Caleb Hodges, the seventh witness, recalled the day Kessler threw feces at him and other deputies when they tried to move her to another cell due to maintenance near her cell. She was arrested and charged for that incident. Hodges said the vent was blocked in Kessler's cell by feces and toilet paper.
The eighth witness, Deputy Kaitlin Hodges, spoke about Kessler refusing meals and writing "PREA violation" in feces on her window. Hodges said on Sunday, Kessler asked to be back in the general population part of the jail "so all the other inmates could kill her."
Hodges said she finds Kessler to be extremely intelligent. She said Kessler has told her "Don't be offended. It's for the other shift," when speaking about the feces smeared in her cell.
The ninth witness, a sergeant in the jail, described Kessler tampering with a fire sprinkler. He said Kessler has threatened to break every bone in his body.
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A determination of mental incompetence means that she is unable to either comprehend the charges and penalties she faces, or assist with her own defense.
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She was previously deemed incompetent to stand trial in 2020, but Circuit Judge James Daniel overruled that determination. At the time he said, “as extreme as Defendant’s behavior has been, it does not automatically mean she is incompetent for the purpose of standing trial.”
Kessler is charged with first-degree murder in the death of 34-year-old Joleen Cummings, a mother of three who ran a Yulee hair salon where Kessler worked.
Cummings went missing on Mother's Day in 2018. Her body was never found and the Nassau County Sheriff's Office believes she is dead.