NASSAU COUNTY, Fla. — The latest mug shot for convicted killer Kimberly Kessler was obtained by First Coast News as she heads to prison.
Kessler will spend the rest of her life there for the murder of 34-year-old Joleen Cummings.
Kessler was convicted in December in the May 2018 disappearance and presumed death of Joleen Cummings, a Yulee hairdresser and mother of three, whose body has never been found.
Kessler worked briefly at the Tangles hair salon before Cummings vanished.
Life in prison is the mandatory sentence in a first-degree murder case where the death penalty isn’t sought. But Judge Daniel said the sentence would be imposed whether required or not.
"Even if it wasn’t a mandatory sentence, life without the possibly of parole would be absolutely be appropriate," he said.
Before the judge read the sentence, two victim impact statements were read to the court, one from her mother, Ann Johnson, and another that was written by Cummings' sister Justine.
Saying that their family’s security was destroyed by her daughter’s murder. Johnson told the judge that their life has become a “never-ending nightmare.”
“We are still waiting for Joleen to walk through that front door,” Johnson said. “But we go to the door and Joleen is never coming home.”
Cummings' sister's statement was read by her uncle.
"The last day I saw my sister was my wedding day, a day that was supposed to be cherished," Justine wrote. "I'll always remember how I should have hugged her goodbye and told her I love you."