355: Vanished on Camera | The Case of Jennifer Kesse

Jennifer Kesse didn’t vanish into thin air… she vanished into a system that almost caught her killer. Her car was found. A person tied to her disappearance was caught on camera. And yet, one cruel coincidence turned solid evidence into a dead end. Nearly twenty years later, the same questions still echo: Who was watching? Who walked away unseen? And how close did investigators come to stopping the truth from slipping through their fingers?. If you’re new here, don’t forget to follow the show for weekly deep dives into the darkest true crime cases! To watch the video version of this episode, head over to youtube.com/@annieelise. .🔎Join Our True Crime Club & Get Exclusive Content & Perks..🎧 Need More to Binge? Listen to both of my weekly true crime series 10 to Life & Serialously with Annie Elise wherever you get your podcasts on the Annie Elise Channel!🍎 Apple Podcasts | Where you can also unlock access to 100+ and growing extra exclusive deep dives.💚 Spotify🔴 YouTube🎙️ All Other Platforms.📸 Follow Annie on Socials Instagram: @_annieeliseTikTok: @_annieeliseSubstack: @annieeliseFacebook: @10toLife.👗 Shop Annie’s Must-Haves! ShopMY: bit.ly/AnnieElise_ShopMy Amazon: bit.ly/AnnieElise_Amazon.🫵🏻 Get Involved or Recommend a CaseAbout Annie: www.annieelise.comFor Business Inquiries: [email protected].📚 Episode Sources 10 Tampa Bay | ABC7 WWSB | Brenmar71 (Medium) | CBS News | Daily Mail | Facebook (Find Jennifer Kesse) | Fox 13 News | Fox 35 Orlando | GoFundMe | Google Docs | JenniferKesse.com | Medium (The Yard) | MyNews13 | MyStateline | NBC News | NewsNation | Oxygen | Realtor.com | True Crime Times | Uncovered | WESH 2 News | WFTV Channel 9••••••••••••••••••🚨Disclaimers1️⃣ Some links may be affiliate links, they do not cost you anything, but I make a small percentage from the sale. Thank you so much for watching and supporting me. 2️⃣ Sources used to collect this information include various public news sites, interviews, court documents, FB groups dedicated to the case, and various news channel segments. When quoting statements made by others, they are strictly alleged until confirmed otherwise. Please remember my videos are my independent opinion and to always do your own research. 3️⃣ The views and opinions expressed in this video are personal and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any other agency, organization, employer, or company. Assumptions made in the analysis are not reflective of the position of any entity other than the creator(s). These views are subject to change, revision, and rethinking at any time and are not to be held in perpetuity. We make no representations as to the accuracy, completeness, correctness, suitability, or validity of any information on this video and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its display or use. All information is provided on an as-is basis. It is the reader’s responsibility to verify their own facts.

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Speaker 00

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• 1:26Speaker 03

  On the evening of January 23rd, 2006, 24-year-old Jennifer Kessie spoke on the phone with her family and boyfriend from her condo in Orlando, Florida. That's the last time anyone heard from her.

• 1:40Speaker 04

  As the days pass by, there's been few answers and even fewer leads.

• 1:45Speaker 05

  We miss Jen every single day.

• 1:47Speaker 04

  Hello, I'm Jennifer Kessie.

• 1:49Speaker 05

  It's her laughter, it's her wit, it's just her loving nature.

• 1:54Speaker 06

  We don't have her, we need her.

• 1:56Speaker 05

  Where is she? You know, aliens didn't have Doctor.

• 1:59Speaker 06

  It's been 14 years. Where is Jennifer Kessie?

• 2:06Annie Elise?

  Hey, true crime besties. Welcome back to an all-new episode of Serial Sleep.

• 2:29Annie Elise?

  Hello, hello, hello, and welcome back to an all-new episode of Serialistically. I hope you had a fantastic weekend, that you are ready to start your week, whether you're driving, maybe you're at your house cleaning, maybe you're on a walk, maybe you are watching this on your computer at work and not working, which, do you boo, do you? I remember the days I used to do that. So wherever you are, I hope that you are like mentally in a safe space for what we are about to talk about today, because I have a wild case for you today. It's one that kind of has a lot of questions throughout, which it's like you feel like you know where it's going, but then you're not really entirely sure. And I don't know, I'll be really curious to know what you guys think of it

• 3:13Annie Elise?

  once we like start really getting into it. So please, if you're watching this on YouTube, comment along the way. But basically, it starts on a day in 2006. It was Tuesday, January 24, 2006, and it started off as a normal morning for Drew and Joyce Kesse. But by 11:00 a.m., they got a very strange phone call. It was from their daughter's workplace, a timeshare company in Okeechob, Florida. Now, the person on the other end of this line, it wasn't their 24-year-old daughter Jennifer Kesse. It was her boss, and he sounded pretty worried. He was asking them questions like, "Hey, you're Drew and Joyce Kesse, Jennifer's parents, right?" And they were like, "Uh, yeah, can we help you?"

• 3:54Annie Elise?

  So that's when Jennifer's boss told them something that immediately set off alarms. Jennifer hadn't shown up for work. And not only was that completely out of character for her, but it was concerning. Jennifer was always the definition of reliable. She always went to work, and on the very rare occasion when she couldn't make it in, she would always call ahead and let them know. And this also wasn't just any workday. Jennifer had a major meeting that morning, the kind of meeting that she wouldn't miss under any circumstance, not illness, not, you know, hangover, not health, nothing. She would never- Miss it, not for anything. So with that one phone call, everything shifted. And it was the moment that would change things forever and launch a case that would haunt Jennifer's

• 4:39Annie Elise?

  family and friends for decades to come. Now, since Jennifer's parents were listed as her emergency contact, her boss had reached out to them first, as I mentioned. But like I said, Drew and Joyce were, they were just as stunned to hear that she hadn't shown up. Jennifer loved her job. It was her first real position out of college, one that she had worked incredibly hard for. She had been interning at that same timeshare company while also finishing her finance degree at the University of Central Florida, which really proved her dedication long before she ever even had a paycheck. Her efforts paid off, too. After graduation, they ended up hiring her on as a project manager. And within her first year, she earned multiple promotions. She was very proud of what she had built, proud of the independence it gave her as well. Proud enough,

• 5:24Annie Elise?

  too, that at just 24 years old, she bought her own condo in Orlando, which not many people her age could say that. But then again, Jennifer, she wasn't your typical 24-year-old. And that's exactly why her parents knew that there was absolutely no way that she would just blow off work, especially with this big meeting happening and potentially jeopardizing her reputation that she had worked so hard to build. So as soon as they hung up with her boss, they started calling and texting her nonstop, begging her to answer, saying, you know, just tell us you're okay. It's all fine. We just want to hear from you. We just want to know you're all right. And a thousand possibilities were running through their minds. Maybe she was sick, maybe she was hurt, maybe she

• 6:04Annie Elise?

  had been in an accident on the way to the office. Or maybe there was even some innocent explanation, something that maybe they would joke about later, like her alarm didn't go off, or she overslept and everybody was panicking for no reason. They knew that those scenarios were probably long shots, but it was almost comforting to cling to anything that kept the panic at bay. But with each unanswered call to Jennifer's phone, their fears just grew worse. Jennifer never missed a call. Her mom Joyce even said, quote, "Her cellphone that she has had since she was 16 years old went to voicemail for the very first." Time. That's how we know that something horrendous has happened.

• 6:44Annie Elise?

  And her parents weren't sure what to do next, so they called the management office at her condo complex. Surely they could tell if something was going on, they could maybe gain access into her condo. So they explained everything, what her boss had told them, how none of this made any sense. And they asked if somebody could go check on Jennifer, check on her condo and see if anything looked out of place. Now, obviously, the management company couldn't just barge into her condo, but they did swing by. And from the looks of everything, things seemed very normal on the outside. It's not like her door was left wide open or there was anything suspicious, you know, at first glance. However, they did note to her parents that her black Chevy Malibu was gone.

• 7:27Annie Elise?

  So it definitely didn't seem like Jennifer was home. Now Jennifer's parents and her brother Logan lived in Florida as well, just not in the Orlando area. They were in Tampa, which is close enough to reach her, but far enough that every single mile that you're driving feels like it's taking forever. And you're like at this slow crawl. So as they rushed toward Jennifer's condo, that drive became the longest, most antagonizing trip of their lives. They were calling every single local hospital. They were asking if Jennifer Kesse or any Jane Does had been brought in. They were panicking that maybe if she had been in some sort of car accident or if something happened on her way to work, that maybe that's what happened. She was in the hospital and they just hadn't identified her yet. But each call ended the same.

• 8:11Annie Elise?

  No Jennifer Kesse, no unidentified Jane Does, no answers. And then they finally arrived at her condo. Now, I'm not sure if they had a spare key or if the complex maybe made an exception to let them in since they were so worried about her. But either way, they were able to get inside her condo and take a look. And what they saw inside, it only made them worry more. But before you get ahead of yourselves, no, it's not like they just like walked into a crime scene. There was no blood, there was no broken bases, no furniture, as if there had been some sort of struggle and things were turned over. In fact, it actually looked pretty normal, pretty clean. Her shower still had drops of water on the side of the walls.

• 8:51Annie Elise?

  Her shampoo and conditioner bottles still had, you know, little pools of water surrounding them like they had been freshly used. There was a damp towel sitting right there on top of her dryer in her laundry room. Her hairdryer and makeup were scattered on her bathroom counter, almost like she had been getting ready that morning, maybe even in a rush. There was also a T-shirt just lying on the ground near her shower. And her parents knew that Jennifer always wore T-shirts to bed, so they assumed it was probably the one that she had worn the night before, took it off when she got in the shower, then rushed to get ready to go to work and something happened to her on the way. Then they walked into the bedroom to check it out. And in the bedroom, the bed was unmade. It looked like it had been slept in the night before. So again, no real red flags.

• 9:35Annie Elise?

  There were even some different pieces of clothing on her bed, still on the hangers, almost like she had been rifling through her closet, trying to figure out what to wear. But that's when her mom Joyce noticed something else as well. Apparently Jennifer had just recently bought some brand new Nine West Alligator Skin Pumps, a heel, and she was really excited to wear them, specifically to work. And Joyce, being a typical mom, remembered that conversation that she had had with Jennifer. So she searched high and low through Jennifer's closet and bedroom, but the heels were nowhere to be found. So then, again, based on all this information and everything that they're seeing at her condo, the family believed that she had likely just gotten ready for work that day, having every intention of going in.

• 10:17Annie Elise?

  She's wearing her snakeskin heels in, she obviously got ready in the bathroom, she was looking for the right outfit to wear, her car is gone. It makes sense. Plus, the biggest clue to her family, that Jennifer had left her condo that morning, like normal, going to work, was the fact that her purse, her car keys, and her phone weren't there, they were all missing. And of course, like the complex had already told them, remember, her car was gone as well. So it really did seem like Jennifer had just gotten ready and headed off to work, but they knew that she never made it to her job. So obviously, something had to have happened between leaving her condo that morning and then arriving at work. And at this point, they were in full panic mode. Jennifer's phone was still going to voicemail. She wasn't at work. She wasn't at home.

• 11:01Annie Elise?

  And then her family learned that her boyfriend, a man named Rob Allen, also hadn't heard from her at all that day. Jennifer and Rob had been dating for about a year at the time. They had first met in January of 2005, when Rob and his roommate were out in Orlando for a trade show. Rob and his buddies went out one night. Jennifer and her friends were out as well. So they met at this bar and it was kind of almost like, you know, an instant connection. And apparently, they both knew right away that this connection wasn't because they were both just tipsy and having a good time. They were really into each other. So they got each other's contact information and the relationship grew from there. Now, Rob lived in Fort Lauderdale. That's about three hours away from Jennifer's condo in Orlando. So definitely long distance.

• 11:44Annie Elise?

  That's kind of the same distance from me here in Orange County to Vegas. So I mean, it's pretty a far distance, even though it's the same state. They also both had jobs and had established lives where they lived. So, so the weekends were really the only time when they could really spend quality time with each other. But Rob didn't seem to mind the distance. In fact, according to a quote with NBC News, he said, "When you find that instant connection with someone, you find a way to make it work." So that's exactly what they did. They made it work. They got into a pretty regular routine, too. Every morning, Jennifer would call or text Rob before going into work, just to check in, kind of, you know, debrief each other on the day ahead. Then, at the end of the day, they would call each other and they would talk for hours about everything that they did that day,

• 12:28Annie Elise?

  about what they were going to do on the weekend together and just all of the things. But like I said, Rob told Jennifer's family that he hadn't heard from her that day either, which was really weird and out of their routine. He thought, though, that maybe it was just because Jennifer needed some space. You see, the weekend before, they had gone on this little getaway together to St. Croix. And it had been an amazing weekend. Don't get me wrong. They got to spend quality time together in person. It was no more phone calls and text messages. And it was kind of almost like they were seeing the potential future that they could have with one another. But the night before Jennifer was reported... It is missing. They had a bit of an argument. And really, at least in the way that Rob describes it, it wasn't necessarily an argument in the way that you might be thinking.

• 13:13Annie Elise?

  There wasn't any yelling or calling each other names. They also didn't break up. It was more of this like tense relationship conversation. Because after the end of this really fun, long weekend with Rob, the reality of doing the long distance thing suddenly kind of felt tougher to Jennifer. So she needed reassurance from him. She was wondering if he was really in it for the long haul, whether everything they were going through was going to be worth it in the end. So she was kind of just feeling a little bit down, kind of doubting things. I mean, maybe even being a little bit needy if we're being honest, like just being like, I just want to make sure we're on the right track. Like this felt so great. But now we're back to long distance. Like, are we working toward the same goal? Which, hello, what relationship hasn't gone through that?

• 13:54Annie Elise?

  Or maybe I'm just being overly sensitive because my relationship started as long distance. But unfortunately, that conversation was the last time that Rob would talk to Jennifer. It was around 10:00 PM on January 23rd, and really, it was the last time that anyone was known to have talked with Jennifer. Now, could Rob be lying about how the conversation really went? 100%. We don't know. We weren't on the call, but that's how he described it. So all of that to say, nobody knew where Jennifer was, and nobody had heard from her since the night before. By that evening, her family had done all of the searching that they could possibly have done to make sure that it wasn't just some sort of misunderstanding here. They ruled out everything that they possibly could. So now they knew they needed to get the police involved.

• 14:37Annie Elise?

  So Drew, Joyce, and Logan all sat around at Jennifer's condo, absolutely worried sick, and they called the police to explain everything. They wanted to file a missing persons report and get some help trying to locate her. However, something was off. Because an officer came out to the condo to talk to the family in person, and that's when things started to go south. See, Jennifer's dad, Drew, described what happened next like this. Quote, "We went up to the condo and they sent an officer out. Officer came in, looked around for about 30 seconds, and then said, 'She probably had a fight with her boyfriend. She'll be back.'" And then the officer walked out. So, right away, her disappearance, it wasn't really being treated as a disappearance.

• 15:22Annie Elise?

  There was no sense of urgency at all. And I don't know if it was the fact that she was an adult, or the fact that her condo didn't really look like a suspicious crime had taken place there, or what, or that it didn't seem like there was things, you know, thrown about or broken, or if this was just negligence. I really don't know. But at the time, it wasn't required by law for missing adults to be looked into right away. The police still could if they deemed that the situation was worthy, but it wasn't required. So I would imagine that they probably just didn't want to go above and beyond for something that they didn't have to, for something where they thought that she wasn't really missing, nothing nefarious, she probably just had a fight with her boyfriend. And regardless, this was frustrating because to the family, it seemed like the police had already jumped to conclusions.

• 16:07Annie Elise?

  They didn't know Jennifer's story. They didn't know her background or who she was as a person, which all really comes into play anytime somebody goes missing, right? You look at the patterns, the behavior, the history. And Jennifer didn't have any history indicating that she would just take off and ghost everybody. Yet they still kind of stereotyped her as a girl who would just be willing to go missing over a normal relationship conversation. And we hear these things time and time again, right? Whether it's a situation like this, or maybe a teenager who is automatically assumed to be a runaway. And I will say, it never gets any less frustrating. Her family knew that the police's theory was complete bullshit. Her suitcase was still lying on the ground. It was half unpacked from where she left it after coming home from that romantic getaway.

• 16:52Annie Elise?

  It looked like she got ready for work. Like, this was not somebody who's packing stuff up and taking off for a few days to cool off. If Jennifer truly needed space from everyone, some time to think and time to be alone, wouldn't she have just repacked a bag of clothes and her toiletries and her makeup? Surely that wouldn't all be left behind, right? And I get where some of you may be thinking like, okay, Annie, like, slow your roll. She could have just left with the clothes on her back and just needed some space. Which, yes, that could be true. But it also wasn't like she was fleeing her condo, trying to get away from an abusive partner and could only leave with the clothing on her back. She had time. The shower was still wet. She had just taken a shower. She, the blow dryer was out. She could have put together some clothing or at the very least brought a toothbrush with her, right? It just did not make sense.

• 17:38Annie Elise?

  Then finally, after two long days, the police finally started to come around. Not because they had a change of heart, but because they were presented with more information that kind of made them stop and think like, huh, maybe Jennifer's family is right after all. Maybe they actually know their daughter better than we do. Maybe there is more to this. And specifically what got them changing their tune is someone had found an abandoned black Chevy Malibu.

• 18:12Annie Elise?

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• 18:57Annie Elise?

  And when I tell you, not only was it the best decision of my life, I now have like service in places my husband doesn't even have service, but it was so easy. It took me 15 minutes, kept my phone, kept my phone number. It was the best. So for a new wireless plan starting at 15 bucks a month, go to mintmobile.com/ae. That's mintmobile.com/ae. $45 upfront payment required, equivalent to $15 per month. New customers on first three-month plan only. Taxes and fees extra. See Mint Mobile for details.

• 19:35Annie Elise?

  Now let me start by saying this. Jennifer was described as being somebody who was fun and adventurous, but only up to a point. She wanted to go out and have fun, but she was also somebody who was very big on safety. She never really wanted to do anything that would put her safety at risk. And it was something that her parents had instilled in her from her very young age, including her younger brother. You see, before the Kessys moved to Florida, they had lived in New Jersey. And there had been this very scary incident where Drew and Joyce were actually held up at gunpoint. And obviously, that kind of thing, it leaves a lasting impression on a person. And so they wanted their kids to realize you can never be too safe. You can never be too careful. And safety was actually partially why Jennifer chose the condo that she did. It was a new build. It was a really nice community.

• 20:20Annie Elise?

  It was also gated, so not just anybody could wander in. And it was a place that made her feel safe as a young woman living by herself. And being that she was this stickler for safety, there were a few other things that she made a habit out of doing on a daily basis. First and foremost, she always made sure to be in contact with at least one of her family members every single day, even if it was just to send a quick text message. That way, they would know that she was fine, that things were okay. She was just like checking in. She always did that. Then there were the more basic things, like always keeping her car and condo doors locked, never answering the door for strangers. And finally, if she was ever walking alone somewhere, she would call someone. She would be on the phone with somebody, whether it was her family, her friends, her boyfriend, Rob,

• 21:04Annie Elise?

  just someone, anyone, so that she didn't feel alone and so that somebody would know immediately if anybody approached her, tried to take her, or if anything happened to her. So the fact that Jennifer was always just so vigilant about her surroundings and her safety, it kind of made her disappearance even more terrifying for her family. Now, because the police weren't doing much yet, her loved ones really had to step in and act as the investigators. I mean, at least for the first two days after her disappearance, which two days might not seem like a long time, but imagine if that was your daughter or your sister who was missing. I mean, they say the- First 48 hours is crucial for a reason. Those two days might as well have been two years.

• 21:46Annie Elise?

  So with that, they made the decision to turn Jennifer's condo into a place where everybody who wanted to help and look for her could stay. That way, everybody would be together. Things could be done faster. Everybody would be in the know of any updates, any progress made. It was almost kind of like a home base for everything involving her investigation.

• 22:05Speaker 05

  Jennifer, we just want you to know we love you. We're doing everything, everything we can to find you.

• 22:13Speaker 06

  Let her go. We're not interested in prosecuting. We just want our daughter back.

• 22:18Speaker 05

  Leave her in a safe place. You leave. Call, call, call and say where she is. We just don't care. We want her back. Our, our family is aching. Our family is aching.

• 22:34Annie Elise?

  Which, look, I think that is all well and good. I think that it's important to have a home base set up where you can have people meet. You can, you know, give them updates. You can recap. You can give directives, whatever it is, make flyers, all of these things. However, at that point, they still didn't know what had happened to Jennifer. So there was this added element of could they have potentially been contaminating a crime scene? Having all of these people in and out, moving around, sitting on things, moving things, throwing things away. It just makes me a little nervous. Now, Rob, her boyfriend, put everything on pause as well. He came into town. He wanted to be with Jennifer's family. He wanted to help look for her.

• 23:11Annie Elise?

  And he was really helpful during the entire process, which I think we can all be honest, a lot of the times, the husband or the boyfriend is the first person that everybody looks at. But there really wasn't anything to suggest that Rob was involved. The only thing he was guilty of was having that tough conversation that they had had the night before. And obviously that in and of itself just seemed kind of like a case of bad timing. And it's my understanding that Jennifer's family was never really even suspicious of Rob. So for the next two days, after Jennifer's family tried to report her missing and get the police involved, they tried to do everything in their power to make her disappearance known. They were still hounding the police, of course, but they were also putting up missing persons flyers all over the city.

• 23:53Annie Elise?

  They were posting about her disappearance online. They were trying to just spread the word and spread it fast. They were handing out pictures with her name on it too, to anybody who lived at that complex, hoping that maybe one of her neighbors had seen something that could generate some sort of tip or lead. And I just can't imagine that feeling of only being able to do so much, just being hopeful, but only doing so much. I mean, none of them were trained investigators, right? They didn't have the tools or the resources that actual professionals do. So I don't know, nobody prepares you as a parent or a loved one for what to do in this kind of situation. There's no guidebook and they really did the best that they possibly could. And sure enough, it paid off because by this point, people in the area, they knew

• 24:37Annie Elise?

  Jennifer's name. They recognized her face. They knew that she was missing and they also knew that her car was still missing. So when someone saw a black Chevy Malibu that matched the description of Jennifer's car seemingly abandoned, they knew that they needed to reach out to the police. And this tip was huge because it not only was a huge lead in the investigation, but it also forced the hand of the police to finally get the shit together and like realize this is actually a missing person and the car was in fact Jennifer's car. But interestingly enough, it wasn't abandoned on the side of some back road or highway or like wooded area or something like that. It was just abandoned in the parking lot of an apartment complex, right there in the open, an apartment complex called Huntington

• 25:21Annie Elise?

  on the Green. Now, this apartment complex was insanely close to Jennifer's condo, only about 1.2 miles away. So the investigators went over, they started looking at the car, but it wasn't super helpful as far as clues go because there was no sign of Jennifer or any of her missing things like her purse or her phone. It also didn't look like the car itself was a crime scene at all. It looked almost like she had just parked it there and then went and visited a friend. So the investigators reported that not only was there no evidence in the car, but also that they believed that it had likely been cleaned by whoever left it there. Now, there was some good news and some bad news about the discovery of the

• 26:04Annie Elise?

  car. The good news is that the apartment complex had security cameras and they were actually up and running and working. Half the time, places either have fake cameras to give some sort of false sense of safety or cameras that are real, but just not working because There's tech issues, but in this case, the investigators were able to take a look at those cameras. And when they did, they actually caught something. It was around 12:00 PM on the day that Jennifer's family reported her missing. And at that time, her Chevy Malibu pulled into the apartment complex and it parked right in that parking spot near the pool area. Then, somebody got out of the car, but just one person, not two.

• 26:46Annie Elise?

  And Jennifer was nowhere to be seen. This person getting out of the car was not Jennifer. And this person just got out of her car and walked off like nothing had ever happened. Now, for those of you who are listening to the audio version of this episode, I highly, highly, highly recommend, just even briefly, checking out the YouTube version of this episode. Because I'm about to put a surveillance clip in and I'm playing it while I'm talking. So you, watching the video, will be able to see it, but let me describe it. And let me just say too, it's a terrible clip. It really is. When I first heard that they had caught this person of interest on camera, I was super excited, but the clip is just very, very bad quality. But there are two different angles, one from farther away and one that's a little bit closer.

• 27:30Annie Elise?

  Now, the one that's further away is literally just a white blob. It almost looks like a video from one of those like ghost hunting shows where they say they caught some sort of ghost or something like that. That's how bad it is. The closer clip is still pretty bad. You can never really get a solid view of the person's face or anything like that because the clip itself skips a few seconds, but it's at least something. The camera angle also made it so that the perpetrator was walking behind a fence. So literally every single view that they were getting from this camera, the person's face was behind a fence post, which it's so crazy because what are the odds of that? Something like that even happening? But again, at least it was a little bit more helpful in all of this.

• 28:11Annie Elise?

  It gave the police a slightly better idea of who the person was and it also helped to create a description of a person of interest. Now, I've seen some sources that indicate that this person of interest is a man. But from what I can tell, even when the FBI later got involved, they never indicated whether it was a Man or a woman because they just couldn't really tell if we're being honest. However, they do believe that the person was between five feet, three inches and five feet, five inches. The clothes that they were wearing have been debated on, especially online. Some people say it looks like the person is dressed in more of a blue collar type outfit, like a construction worker. Other people say it looks like a security guard uniform.

• 28:53Annie Elise?

  But personally, when I look at it, I struggle to see either of those two options. It almost looks like just a T-shirt and pants to me. But again, it's really hard to tell. So if you're watching the video version, I'm definitely curious to know what you think in the comments. Now, the investigators had said that the most important thing to make note of was the person's hairstyle and body type. And at the same time, the investigators were literally contacting local hair salons, telling them to be aware of somebody coming in and changing their hair from the style in the video to something completely different. And another thing that I found interesting in all of this, which again, I can't really even tell from the video clip, is that the investigators noted this specific person had, quote, unusually large feet compared to their height.

• 29:37Annie Elise?

  Which it seems like a random tip, but it could still be helpful if anybody knew somebody who matched that description. So needless to say, finding the car and catching the person of interest on camera, it really did ignite this case. The police tried to do what they could with the information that they had. They gave the description to the media and to the public and were hoping somebody would have a lead or say something. And they were also finally admitting that foul play was likely involved here. Which this discovery, it brought in an insane amount of tips. I'm not sure exactly how many tips came in right after the investigators released the information, but I do know that over the course of the investigation, there were over 14,000 tips.

• 30:21Annie Elise?

  They also brought in a scent dog to try and trace Jennifer's smell backwards from the car, but unfortunately, it led back to her condo, which was just a mile away. So the investigators and Jennifer's family started working more on the timeline of the case and they started building theories. Now, we know that on Sunday January 22nd, Jennifer and Rob flew back to Miami from their trip. Jennifer spent the night at Rob's place in Fort Lauderdale and then she left early the next morning on Monday, the 23rd, so that she can make that long drive to work. That day went completely as expected, totally normal. Jennifer left work around 6:00 PM and she went straight home. Then, after getting settled, she spoke to her parents, spoke with her brother.

• 31:03Annie Elise?

  They were catching up, talking about everything that had happened on the trip, and it was like nothing out of the ordinary. Jennifer was also asking how her brother's weekend had been because while she was gone on vacation with Rob, she actually let her brother and some of his friends stay at her condo, kind of like their own little vacation. Then, at around 10:00 PM, Jennifer talked to Rob. They had that little argument, that tense conversation, whatever you want to call it. And that was the last time that anybody spoke with Jennifer. So, thinking through that, could something have happened to Jennifer that night? Technically, but it also just doesn't add up with the way that her apartment was found the following morning. The investigators and her family believe that she went to sleep that night, that she woke up and got ready for work,

• 31:48Annie Elise?

  and that it was likely the walk from her condo to her car where something went wrong. The belief is that Jennifer left for work sometime between 7:30 and 8:00 AM. But there's no real, solid proof of that timeline. It's more of a theory. It's not like she sent a text message at those exact times or anything like that. It's just kind of what you would assume based on when she was going to arrive at work. Which, it might make you ask, why does everyone think that whatever happened took place after Jennifer left her condo? What if the perpetrator staged her condo to make it look like she got ready for work that morning? Now, let me start with that first question, which is one that we kind of already did touch on a bit.

• 32:31Annie Elise?

  But every detail of what was left behind in her condo showed that she had gotten ready for work that morning. However, some people have brought up a very reasonable question. How do we know that the perpetrator didn't purposefully do all of that? It certainly would have been smart to mess up everybody's theories and timelines, which technically, it could have happened that way. However, her family feels like everything looked too close and too authentically to what Jennifer's habits were for it to have been staged. For example, the T-shirt right by the shower. She always wore T-shirts to bed. The shoes that she was excited to wear, they were missing. Things that the perpetrator, if staging the scene, wouldn't exactly know or know where to place things, right?

• 33:15Annie Elise?

  It's also worth noting that even though it makes the most sense that Jennifer was the only one in her condo that morning, we can never say that with 100% certainty. Because her condo, remember, was never processed as a crime scene. And people were in and out of that condo as like the home base for the first two days. Now, the police also do double down, saying, "Yeah, we didn't process it as a crime scene, and there was no need to because the family had swooped in and contaminated any potential evidence." Which, yes, fair, but Jennifer's family was basically like, "Well, yeah, because you waited two full days to get on board, so we had to do what we had to do." Which I do wonder if processing the scene would have been a whole other mess anyway, because remember,

• 33:58Annie Elise?

  Jennifer's brother Logan had a bunch of his friends there over the weekend. So their prints and DNA was probably all over the place, too. Which could investigators rule out individuals? Probably. But all of that to say, everyone, both Jennifer's family and the investigators, they believe that she was likely abducted while she was at her car with her back turned, trying to get it unlocked or even right before she got into her car. But then that begs the question of, who would want to do that to her? Jennifer was an incredibly well-liked person. She kept to herself. She was never in any trouble. But here is where the different theories start to come into play, and buckle up, because there are a ton. And to be honest, each one sounds just as convincing as the next.

• 34:42Annie Elise?

  Now, I mentioned earlier that Rob was cleared pretty early on in all of this. There weren't any red flags in the relationship with Jennifer, nothing that really pointed to him wanting her gone, or any sort of like contention between the two. Not to mention, he was at work in Fort Lauderdale during the time that she disappeared. So, he had an alibi. However, there's someone from Jennifer's past who was looked into. His name was Matt, and he was an ex-boyfriend. And I couldn't find exactly when they dated, or why they had broken up, but apparently, some of Jennifer's friends and family had heard rumors that he was still in love with her, and that he wanted to get back together with her. Now, how they learned that, I don't really know. It could have been word of mouth, or maybe Jennifer herself had confided in them about it, I'm not sure.

• 35:26Annie Elise?

  But the night before Jennifer went missing, on the 23rd, Matt was at a bar called Blue Martini. And Blue Martini is right across the street from her condo.

• 35:44Annie Elise?

  This episode is sponsored by Chime. Get more of your money with Chime. With the Chime card, you get 5% cash back in a category of your choice with qualifying direct deposits, from gas to travel to dining. Choose the category that fits where you're spending most that month, then try switching it up next month. If you're spending $1,000 a month on groceries, you could get up to 600 a year back. Plus, you get travel perks like airport lounge access and 24/7 travel concierge included with your Chime card. There are no annual fees, no interest, and no credit check to apply. Join the millions who already are banking fee-free with America's number one choice for banking. Head to chime.com/serialistically. That is chime.com/serialistically. Sign up now, it only takes a few minutes.

• 36:29Annie Elise?

  Chime is a fintech, not bank. Banking services and Chime card provided by Chime's bank partners. Qualifying direct deposits required. Terms and limits apply. Go to chime.com/disclosures for details.

• 36:40Speaker 08

  Every night is a scream. This October with Fear Fest on AMC and AMC+.

• 36:47Speaker 08

  A month-long party of your favorite horror movies. So good, it could wake the dead.

• 36:52Speaker 04

  Hi, I'm Chucky. Wanna play?

• 36:54Speaker 08

  It's a killer non-stop lineup that includes Halloween, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, Tales from the Crypt, and all the best slash hits.

• 37:03Speaker 05

  Is this fun or what?

• 37:05Speaker 08

  Non-stop horror. One terrifying month. AMC Fear Fest.

• 37:18Annie Elise?

  When the investigators learned that Jennifer's ex Matt had been literally across the street from her condo the night before she went missing, I mean, obviously, they were interested in learning more. So they interviewed Matt, and they asked if he would be willing to take a polygraph test, which he agreed to. He seemed willing to help in whatever way necessary. But for whatever reason, the investigators never dug any deeper. They didn't give him the polygraph test. They kind of just dropped him as being a person of interest. Which Matt claimed that he had an alibi for the morning of the 24th because he went to work. But I'm not sure if this was something the investigators ever even looked into, or if it was after they had already dropped him as a potential person of interest. The source that I saw indicated that the bar that I had mentioned, Blue Martini,

• 38:03Annie Elise?

  was a pretty popular bar. So maybe it wasn't really that crazy that Matt was there. I mean, maybe it wasn't like he was there because he specifically knew it was across the street from Jennifer's condo, or maybe he knew that, but still, like, a bar is where a bar is going to be. Maybe it's just a coincidence. Who knows? But it seems like we don't know the whole story when it comes to Matt. But in the end, it also seems like it was a coincidence that he was near her condo that night. It's also worth noting that Jennifer's family does not think that he was involved in any way. So the current boyfriend and the ex-boyfriend were cleared. But there was another man who was in Jennifer's life. Not a current boyfriend, not an ex-boyfriend.

• 38:46Annie Elise?

  But a coworker who very much wanted to be her boyfriend. His name was Johnny Campos, and to put it bluntly, every description I can find makes him seem like your typical workplace creep. He was a supervisor, which makes it even worse because not many people are willing to stand up to a supervisor who's being, you know, weird or creepy, unfortunately. Also, this guy was married, but apparently that didn't really mean much to him. And Jennifer's dad claims that on multiple occasions, she would complain about Johnny to both him and her mom. Jennifer said that he was always hitting on her and that she would just try to reject him as best as she could every single time, you know, saying no, but in the nicest possible way because she didn't want to piss him off or get fired.

• 39:31Annie Elise?

  And according to one of Johnny and Jennifer's coworkers, a guy named Adam, in the days before Jennifer went missing, Johnny was ranting to him about the fact that Jennifer was on vacation with her boyfriend. It apparently very deeply upset him. Now, I'm going to say allegedly because again, remember, all of this is coming from another coworker named Adam. Adam also said that on the last day before Jennifer went missing, Monday, the 23rd, people at her office actually heard Johnny confronting Jennifer about her vacation. Johnny apparently told her that he was upset that she went on this trip, to which she responded and she's like, "Well, too bad. I had the best time." So it was kind of this weird and tense conversation to have in a workplace.

• 40:14Annie Elise?

  But that was just the weird stuff that happened before Jennifer went missing. Apparently, on the day that Jennifer went missing, Johnny actually came into work late. So he didn't have the luxury of work being his alibi. Now, he claimed it was because he got a ticket on the way to work, but this has never been officially confirmed or denied by the investigators, as far as I can tell. Then there's also the fact that the people in the office say that he was acting really weird that day, almost like panicky throughout the day. And to make matters worse, Adam, the same coworker who had spoken up about his concerns with Johnny, Claimed that a few days after Jennifer disappeared, when it was still a major topic of conversation in the office, that Johnny allegedly said to him that Jennifer was,

• 40:59Annie Elise?

  quote, "likely eaten up by alligators already." Now investigator said that Johnny was not a person of interest. And so a lot of these theories are mainly just theories circulating online. Which begs the question, are the internet sleuths just trying to find something suspicious that isn't there? Or are the investigators way off and the sleuths are right? I don't really know. But that leads us into some other theories. Ones that Jennifer's family has been more than outspoken about. See, pretty early on in Jennifer's case, her family was outspoken about their concerns with some of the workers at Jennifer's condo. Like I said, the condo that Jennifer bought was a new build, but the entire complex itself wasn't completed yet.

• 41:44Annie Elise?

  There were still plenty of sections under construction. And it was these workers that her family really was suspicious of. According to Drew and Joyce, there was more than one occasion where Jennifer told them that she felt uncomfortable around some of these workers. Like I said earlier, she was very safety conscious and she was always aware of her surroundings, even when walking around her own complex. And apparently Jennifer had confided in her parents that some of the workers would like, check her out, catcall her when she was walking by, just typical annoying things that women literally have to deal with on a daily basis. But it wasn't like she was getting catcalled and feeling uncomfortable at a grocery store or, you know, walking to a liquor store and she can just decide, okay, I'm not going to go to that liquor store anymore.

• 42:28Annie Elise?

  I'm not going to go to that grocery store anymore. It was her home. This was her complex. So it made her feel even more uncomfortable. Almost like her safe space was being taken away from her. And then there was the fact that they weren't just there during the day. You see, the complex had allowed some of the workers to stay in the unrented or unbought condos while they worked on the construction. So they were there all the time. And they likely knew where Jennifer lived and that she lived alone. Which I think back to my apartment days and not that you have to be nosy or pick upon every detail, but it is pretty easy to clock patterns and routines and to know

• 43:09Annie Elise?

  who usually is walking with a spouse or always walking alone or looks to be young enough that they probably don't have a partner or things like that. So I think it could have been easy to identify that she lived alone, at least in my opinion. And remember how I mentioned that on the night of the 23rd Jennifer had been on the phone with her parents and her brother? Well, during that phone call, Jennifer apparently had been taken off guard because someone knocked on her front door. And she wasn't expecting any friends over. She also wasn't expecting her boyfriend Rob over. She also hadn't put in any maintenance requests or ordered food. So there was no good reason for anybody to be at her condo knocking on her door at that time of night.

• 43:50Annie Elise?

  So Jennifer told her family like, "Look, I'm not going to answer it. I'm just going to ignore it. It's probably just one of my neighbors." However, to this day, we still have no idea who was on the other side of her door that night. Could it have been one of those men who was potentially watching her, scoping out where she lived? Could it have been her perpetrator trying to act out whatever nefarious plans they had that night, but then were forced to wait until the morning? Or was it just actually a neighbor who, you know, saw a package delivered or wanted to check in or I don't know? The point is, we don't know. But like I mentioned earlier, Jennifer's condo was in a gated community, so it was relatively safe. Most people who were in the complex were residents, were workers, maybe even visitors of the residents.

• 44:32Annie Elise?

  It wasn't like her condo was on this busy city street next to a sidewalk where there's tons of random foot traffic. However, still, it's not really too difficult to get into any locked building or gated community. You can either buzz in, you could ride the coattails of somebody else going in. So there is always that possibility that whoever abducted Jennifer wasn't a worker or another community member. It certainly could have been random. Now, from what I can tell, the theory that's most prevalent among investigators is the idea that it was one of the men working at her complex. But this theory wasn't something that was being brought up in the first few weeks or even months after Jennifer's disappearance.

• 45:16Annie Elise?

  These were theories that took years to form. For example, it took six months for the lead investigator to even theorize that Jennifer was abducted when she was about to get into her car. Then, three years later is when they started looking into people who were working at the complex at the time of her disappearance. And that was only after the investigators decided to, quote, "take a fresh look at the case." So during this time, they interviewed some more people, specifically a former housekeeper who worked at Jennifer's complex during the time that she disappeared. We don't know this housekeeper's name, only that it was a woman, but the detectives showed her the very grainy security camera footage.

• 45:57Annie Elise?

  And she claimed that the person on the camera looked a lot like a guy she recognized, a guy named Chino. She specifically said that the person's hair, clothes, and the way that they walked resembled Chino. Now, Chino was a new name to the investigation at this point. They had never heard of this guy before, but they were able to discover that he used to be a maintenance worker during the time that Jennifer lived in her condo. He also lived at the same complex, but in a different building than Jennifer's. So it wasn't much, but it certainly was something. So they tracked down this Chino guy because he was no longer a worker at the complex and didn't live there anymore. And technically, he didn't live anywhere at all.

• 46:41Annie Elise?

  Because when they finally found him, he was in prison and serving time for a statutory rape charge.

• 46:54Speaker 08

  Every night is a scream. This October with Fear Fest on AMC and AMC Plus. A month-long party of your favorite horror movies. So good, it could wake the dead.

• 47:06Speaker 04

  Hi, I'm Jackie. Wanna play?

• 47:08Speaker 08

  It's a killer non-stop lineup that includes Halloween, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, Tales from the Crypt, and all the best slash hits.

• 47:17Speaker 05

  Is this fun or what?

• 47:19Speaker 08

  Non-stop horror. One terrifying month. AMC Fear Fest.

• 47:32Annie Elise?

  When the investigators finally talked to Chino and asked him specifically about Jennifer and her disappearance, he claimed that he did remember her. Which, I mean, hello, it's hard not to. Her disappearance had their entire complex crawling with investigators. It was also all over the news at the time. But he claimed that he had even been inside her condo to do some maintenance work one time. But he said that that was the extent of the relationship with her. Anything he knew about her, that's kind of where it all stopped. He specifically said that he had absolutely no idea what happened to her and that he was not involved in any way with her disappearance. Now, that very same day that the police interviewed Chino, they also asked him if he would be willing to take a polygraph test, which he agreed, and he passed it with flying colors.

• 48:16Annie Elise?

  So ultimately, it felt like it was a promising lead that ended up going nowhere, and it felt like they were back to square one. Now, that was back in 2009, and that was three years after Jennifer disappeared. Then, in 2010, the head detective on the case was reassigned, which, in theory, does sound good. Maybe it was time for some fresh eyes, but it didn't really do much. The case was stagnant then, and it stayed stagnant for years. Then, in 2016, after 10 full years of searching for Jennifer, there was finally an update in her case. But it wasn't one that brought the family any sort of comfort. At this point, Jennifer was legally declared dead. I mean, after 10 years, the assumption was that she was likely to-

• 49:01Annie Elise?

  deceased, but having the official confirmation definitely didn't make it any easier. At that point, Jennifer should have been thirty four years old. She could have been married, had children, moved homes, moved jobs. She could have and should have experienced so many different things in those ten years, things that she just never got the chance to. And Jennifer's family didn't really have much faith in the Orlando Police Department and their investigation at this point. So declaring Jennifer legally dead, it kind of opened up a whole new set of wounds. They were sick of feeling like the investigators weren't doing enough, a feeling that they had had since day one. So they decided to hire a private investigator. His name was Michael Toretta, and he was really invested in Jennifer's case.

• 49:43Annie Elise?

  And he told the family, quote, "What I'd like to do with this investigation is put a puzzle together, one piece at a time." And that is exactly what he did. He started back at the very beginning, combing through any possible leads that he could, looking into every single theory. And the theory that he really took his time with was the one regarding the construction workers living in Jennifer's complex. Apparently, he had found and interviewed six other women who were living in the complex at the same time as Jennifer, all who had their own experiences with catcalling and gross behavior and different stares from the workers. The problem, though, was that Michael didn't know what the police had already looked into or who they had cleared.

• 50:28Annie Elise?

  So Drew and Joyce decided that they were going to do something very drastic. And in two thousand and eighteen, the Kesse sued the city of Orlando and the Orlando Police Department. This was in the hopes of getting access to Jennifer's case files. Not just some things here or there or whatever that he would share with them, but access to everything.

• 50:48Speaker 06

  It's okay. We understand how hard it is. We understand people make mistakes. I've made mistakes. We're all human.

• 50:57Speaker 06

  But it's time to get every resource available, and we feel that we have the right to.

• 51:03Annie Elise?

  Now, it took a lot of back and forth, and the legal process was much longer than they would have liked. But in the end, they reached a settlement, and the Orlando police had to hand over the case files. It was a huge win for Jennifer's family, especially when they finally got access to the 15,000 pages of information regarding the case. The other part of the agreement, too, was that the Orlando police would no longer be the ones leading Jennifer's investigation. And what's even crazier, other than the fact that Jennifer's family literally had to fight tooth and nail for these documents, is that once the settlement was reached, the total price just to get copies of everything was $18,000.

• 51:45Annie Elise?

  Which it's like, why this family had to pay for these documents for their own daughter is beyond me, but that's a fight for a different day. Now, after looking into these files, her family felt like there was finally a clear reason why the Orlando Police Department didn't want these files released. There were a lot of holes in their investigation. For example, after the footage of the person of interest was discovered, the investigators honed in specifically on food service workers, healthcare workers, painters in the area. And the reason for this was because this person looked to be wearing a white shirt, which I guess the investigators thought showed their profession. But here's the thing, the files apparently don't list everybody who was questioned,

• 52:24Annie Elise?

  which, imagine being the private investigator on this case, trying to see who has been interviewed, who's been looked into, who hasn't, who's been vetted, from a case room over a decade ago, and you don't even know who the police talked to because it's not listed. There's also, then, the issue of Jennifer's car. If you recall from when we talked about it earlier, the Orlando Police Department had claimed that there was no evidence left behind, because it looked like the perpetrator had wiped the car clean, right? But when the Kesse and their private investigator were looking through the official pictures of Jennifer's car from the day that it was discovered, they felt like the police description and what they were actually seeing were two completely different things. They believed that the pictures-

• 53:06Annie Elise?

  Taken of the hood of Jennifer's car show a very clear image of what potentially happened to Jennifer. The hood itself is pretty dirty, just normal dirt and dust. But if you look really closely on the right side, there are these big areas that look like smudges. Smudges that somebody's body would make if they were bent over or slammed down onto the front hood of the car. Not to mention, near the bottom middle area of the hood, there are what appears to be finger marks that are dragged down the hood. It's very eerie looking at this picture. For those of you watching the video version, you know what I'm talking about. And it's eerie to see the picture and knowing that Jennifer's body is the one that possibly made those marks.

• 53:49Annie Elise?

  And apparently, this was information that the family hadn't been made aware of before. But it changes things because the theory before was that maybe someone came up behind Jennifer and grabbed her or forced her into the car. But the marks on the hood make it seem like somebody snuck up from behind her and then threw her body against the hood of the car. So the Kesse, they released these photos to the public, hoping that it would change things. That maybe somebody would remember seeing something that day or seeing someone that day and that seeing pictures of the car would refresh their memory. And sure enough, some people came forward. One woman told the investigator that she remembered seeing what she believed to be Jennifer's car swerving in traffic near an exit that was close to Jennifer's condo.

• 54:32Annie Elise?

  She claimed that she remembered seeing two people in the front seats and it looked like they were fighting over who was in control of the steering wheel. Another person came forward claiming that 10 months after Jennifer's disappearance, they saw somebody throwing a rolled up carpet rug into a lake, a lake that wasn't too far from the condo. And I have to say, this was an interesting tip because on the day that Jennifer went missing, the construction crew was scheduled to lay down carpets in several of the condos that they were working on. So the lake was searched by dive teams for two whole days, and then they ended up calling it quits. They didn't find any carpet, any rugs, and they didn't find Jennifer. So now it's been years since the Kesse and their

• 55:16Annie Elise?

  An investigator, Michael, took over the case and they've created a slightly new theory. Apparently, Michael is claiming that at the time of Jennifer's disappearance, there were up to 10 construction workers living in the condo directly across from Jennifer's condo. And he believes that those people know way more than they're letting on. He has also stated that it could have been one or two people who actually kidnapped and likely killed Jennifer that day, despite there only being one person caught on that security camera footage. Then, in 2022, there were more updates. Drew and Joyce had successfully gotten the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to take over the case.

• 55:57Annie Elise?

  So now there was this new hope and resurgence in the case, like, okay, we finally have the people who were initially involved out of the picture. These new people are on the case. They've got fresh eyes. We can go somewhere with this. And at the time, the FDLE looked into any new leads, but unfortunately, the case quickly turned cold again. But then, in October of 2025, there was some major breaking news in Jennifer's case.

• 56:23Speaker 09

  Well, this morning, new hope in the Jennifer Kesse case. This is nearly 20 years after her disappearance. Now, we've been talking about this for years now, and we first told you that authorities found more evidence in this case back in May. And now Jennifer's father, Drew, is telling us that new, that new evidence has DNA on it, and it's never been tested.

• 56:45Annie Elise?

  In regards to this information, the Kessies wrote on the Find Jennifer Kesse Facebook page, and they wrote, "We recently met with the FDLE special agents who lead Jennifer's case. First, they have advised us that Jennifer's case is no longer cold. This is huge. We are told that work has presented itself through nonstop investigations by the team. A lot has opened up for the investigation through active work being done on the case. We are thrilled at the news, yet guarded, as we have been here many times before. However, this seems different. With this renewed focus, we were also informed that there was DNA found within evidence that was never tested. Again, huge for the investigation. Hopefully, that will lead to more factual information leading to Jennifer."

• 57:31Annie Elise?

  We were also told that the list of people of interest has been greatly reduced and down to just a few individuals that they are working heavily on. We knew that this would happen once a team truly started to investigate the case. This again is great news. We can hear it and see it in our investigative team at FDLE. They are definitely hyped up and moving forward quickly. It's exciting to see and we are letting them do their work uninhibited by us. We simply don't want to get in the way at this point. Finally, all good things are happening. On another note, recently, we were approached by a few production companies in an effort to bring a documentary of Jennifer's story to the television market. We are now working with the documentary team to bring Jennifer's story to the world in

• 58:14Annie Elise?

  a meaningful way through a television series. Please stay tuned for more as the production company continues their work. So even though almost 20 years has passed, we still fight the good fight on a daily basis to bring Jennifer home. Now that is as much as we know so far, and even though this case doesn't have the kind of conclusion that any of us would like, I genuinely am so hopeful that sometime soon, maybe within the next year even, or sooner, hopefully, we will be getting an official arrest in Jennifer's case. Now, we have seen cases much older be solved, so it seems like this case 100% can be solved, especially now that DNA evidence is involved, right?

• 58:56Annie Elise?

  Jennifer's family says that they have never been more hopeful than they are at this very moment, but at the same time, too, they're tired, they're worn down, and they have been through so much, and they just want to bring their daughter home, and they just want justice.

• 59:09Speaker 06

  I've never rested. I have not slept a full night in 20 years. I get up every, I get up and change beds every night.

• 59:16Annie Elise?

  Hmm.

• 59:18Speaker 06

  No, I, we, I have two minds. Jennifer is always going and then, you know, it, I learned really quick one day from a psychiatrist that this world isn't stopping for you or anything that's going on in it, and either you can be chewed up and spit out, or you can deal with it.

• 59:38Annie Elise?

  Yeah.

• 59:39Speaker 06

  We've chose to deal with it.

• 59:40Annie Elise?

  Right.

• 59:41Speaker 06

  But no, it's, it's the hardest thing I've ever done in my life. It's, it's harder than parenting. Um, it's continual, it's draining, it's tiring.

• 59:55Annie Elise?

  Um.

• 59:57Speaker 06

  My body has hurt for 20 years. Uh, it's no, I, no.

• 1:00:01Annie Elise?

  So for now, there are still a lot of unanswered questions. It might be a long shot, but maybe one of you who is watching or listening to this episode, i- it sparked something new. We do have a big demographic in Florida. So maybe you didn't even realize it would be connected to this case until today. There are a lot of different avenues, though, where you can contact the authorities if you do feel like you know something. So I'm going to put all of that information on the screen and also put it in the show notes below. And if you don't have any direct information that you can provide, but you want to help this case in other ways, you can share this video or this link to the audio episode with your friends, your family, on your social media. You can also check out the Jennifer Kesse Facebook page and you can donate to their GoFundMe as well.

• 1:00:44Annie Elise?

  Hopefully, we will be getting justice for Jennifer very, very soon. And I'm hopeful that even though it's been two long, long decades, hopefully, her family gets some answers here. I am curious to know what you think. Do you think it was the construction workers? Do you think it was the weird coworker? What's with the weird alligator comment? Did he feed Jennifer to the alligators? What is really going on here? Let me know your theories in the comment section, the Q and A section on Spotify, or the review section on Apple. Thank you again so much for tuning in to another episode of Serialistically with me. I will be back on the mic with you on Thursday, breaking down everything happening this week in true crime and all of the breaking cases. So if you're not following the podcast already, take a quick second,

• 1:01:27Annie Elise?

  open your phone, look at the app, whether it's Apple, Spotify, iHeart, wherever you listen, press follow so that you do not miss an episode. All right. Thank you so much. And until the next one, be nice, don't kill people, don't catcall people and be a creep, and always check in with your loved ones. All right. Bye.

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