Jessica Lyn Keen (September 24, 1975 – March 16, 1991) was a

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...

victim killed in Foster Chapel Cemetery in

West Jefferson, Ohio West Jefferson is a village in Madison County, Ohio, United States. The population was 4,222 at the 2010 census. Located along U.S. Route 40, the village has a fairly close relationship with the surrounding township, which include various o ...

. Her case was profiled on the television program ''

Unsolved Mysteries ''Unsolved Mysteries'' is an American mystery documentary television show, created by John Cosgrove and Terry Dunn Meurer. Documenting cold cases and paranormal phenomena, it began as a series of seven specials, presented by Raymond Burr, Karl ...

'' and ''

On the Case with Paula Zahn ''On the Case with Paula Zahn'' is an American documentary and news program broadcast on Investigation Discovery since October 18, 2009. The program explores in-depth stories of crime mysteries and interviews with involved individuals, closest to ...

'' as well as Dead Silent on ''

Investigation Discovery Investigation Discovery (stylized and branded on-air as ID since 2008) is an American multinational pay television network dedicated to true crime documentaries owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. As of February 2015, approximately 86 million Ameri ...

''.

Before the murder

Jessica Lyn Keen, a 15-year-old girl from

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

, was an honor student and

cheerleader Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to ente ...

. However, she quit cheerleading and her grades dropped after meeting and falling in love with 18-year-old Shawn Thompson, a boy at her school. Her parents objected to her seeing the young man, but did not know what to do. On March 4, 1991 they sought help at a free counseling center in Columbus and subsequently checked Jessica into Huckleberry House, a facility for troubled teens which offered temporary residence for two weeks along with individual and family counseling sessions.

Body discovered

After being missing for two days, Keen was found dead in the early morning hours of March 17th at the back of Foster Chapel Cemetery, 20 miles from the teen facility. She had been

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ag ...

d and badly beaten. She was still wearing her ring and watch, but a gold pendant with the word "Taken" that her boyfriend gifted her was nowhere to be found. Her boyfriend Shawn was the prime suspect, but DNA tests proved he was not responsible. Police theorized that she had escaped her abductors and ran to the cemetery.

Evidence Evidence for a proposition is what supports this proposition. It is usually understood as an indication that the supported proposition is true. What role evidence plays and how it is conceived varies from field to field. In epistemology, evidenc ...

in the cemetery shows she tried to hide behind grave stones, a pair of her socks was found, and a knee imprint in the mud behind a grave stone was found near the socks. She was killed near a fence in the cemetery, presumably by her abductors, who had followed her. Her family has since placed a cross with her name on it where her body was discovered near the fence in the cemetery.

Arrest

On April 9, 2008, police in

Burlington, North Carolina Burlington is a city in Alamance County, North Carolina, Alamance and Guilford County, North Carolina, Guilford counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the principal city of the Burlington, North Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Are ...

arrested 51-years-old Marvin Lee Smith Jr. Based on DNA evidence, Smith was charged with unlawful sexual conduct on Keen, a

felony A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that resu ...

, and was extradited to Ohio to face charges. In 2009, Smith pleaded guilty to first degree murder in a Madison County courtroom, confirming he had raped and murdered Keen. Evidence showed Keen had escaped his car and run into Foster Chapel Cemetery, where she collided with a fence post and fell. Smith beat Keen to death with a tombstone, which he then discarded over a nearby fence. In exchange for his admission of guilt, Smith avoided a death penalty trial that was set for March 2009. He pleaded guilty to one charge of aggravated murder, with specifications of rape and kidnapping, and was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison.

References

External links

Jessica Keen Memorial
{{DEFAULTSORT:Keen, Jessica, Murder of 1990s missing person cases 1991 murders in the United States American murder victims Deaths by beating in the United States Formerly missing people Incidents of violence against women Kidnapped American children March 1991 crimes in the United States Missing person cases in Ohio Child murder in the United States People from Columbus, Ohio People murdered in Ohio

Before the murder

Body discovered

Arrest

See also

References

External links