'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wgARCAAGAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFgABAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMG/8QAFAEBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA//aAAwDAQACEAMQAAAA2lAE/8QAIBAAAQIHAAMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAgMEAAEFBgcREhUhUv/aAAgBAQABPwDImNHl1HTwUrItqY3LtRuKO5mX1uG+NrdRQTS8ckfAyHoi9zj/xAAVEQEBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABAP/aAAgBAgEBPwAW/8QAFhEAAwAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEC/9oACAEDAQE/AKR//9k='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Jocelyn Earnest was a 38-year-old woman from Forest, Virginia who was found dead at her home by her close friend Mary Shephard on December 20, 2007. Mary was trying to connect with Jocelyn throughout the previous day and decided to drive to her house. Mary already had spare keys to Jocelyn's house, and by the time she entered, she was left terrified.
The body of Jocelyn Earnest was found dead on the floor, with a revolver beside, it and a bullet wound inside of her head. She found a note in the front door, which looked like a suicide letter. However, when investigators arrived, upon examination, it was found that Jocelyn Earnest had been the subject of a planned gruesome murder.
The complete murder case of Jocelyn Earnest is documented in the 48 Hours podcast titled Marriage Secrets. The 40-minute podcast episode made its release on December 19, 2024.
Trending
Note: the opinions expressed in the article are solely those of the author.
5 chilling details on the murder of Jocelyn Earnest
1) The murder of Jocelyn Earnest was staged
As per CBS, Mary Shephard had been texting Jocelyn on December 19, 2007, but wasn't receiving any reply, which became the prime reason for her concern. The next day, when she drove to her residence and opened the door with her spare key, she found that a .357 handgun was kept beside the victim's body, and it was clear that she was shot to death.
However, the typewritten note that Mary retrieved had different things to say. As per Investigator Gary Babb, the letter was to the victim's mother, where she apologized for killing herself due to financial constraints.
2) Jocelyn Earnest had a disturbing marriage with Wesley Randolph Earnest
Investigator Gary Babb had years of experience with suicide notes, and he clearly stated that Jocelyn's note felt more suspicious. The note had 83 typed words and had fingerprints of another person apart from the victim. This fingerprint shockingly matched Jocelyn's estranged husband Wesley Earnest.
Formally known as Wesley Randolph Earnest, he was a 38-year-old high school assistant principal, who had been working in another city after the couple got separated. Earnest denied the accusations of being involved in the murder. As per investigator Babb, they found a condom on the bed, and an open packed on the bit. However, this cleared that the culprit was trying to stage the murder to be a sexual assault.
3) Suspicions began to encircle Jocelyn's estranged husband Wesley Randolph Earnest
Wesley Earnest worked as a financial services manager and met Jocelyn while studying at West Virginia University. Jocelyn Earnest was a star basketball player, who met him outside of mathematics class, and the couple soon began to hang out at ball games together. As per CBS, the couple got married in the summer of 1995, however, things quickly began to take a sharp downfall. They together moved to Bedford County, and despite their odds, the couple started a business venture together.
The two opened a holiday destination on the Smith Mountain Lake, in Virginia, whose expense became the prime cause of their debates. The couple would often have debates, which turned into fights when Wesley earnestly started having an affair with a woman named Shameka Wright. The couple eventually separated, and as per their prosecutor Randy Krantz, Jocelyn Earnest was suffering from depression and consulting a therapist.
4) Wesley Earnest began to become furious with Jocelyn Earnest for his financial constraints
After the couple got separated after spending nine years together, Wesley Earnest took a new job, a three-hour drive away, as the assistant professor of Great Bridge High School in Chesapeake, Virginia. Soon Wesley found it very difficult to maintain the Lake House, with his constricted income. He soon began to drown in debts, with loans, credit card pending balances, and the mortgage, which soon raised to $ 1 million.
As per Insurance NewsNet, Wesley got increasingly frustrated and angry with Jocelyn Earnest. It was around 7:30 pm when someone entered her residence, and by 9:00 pm she was dead. As per Prosecutor Wes Nance, Wesley Earnest entered her house, and she was about to run five or six steps when Wesley pulled out his .357 revolver and shot Jocelyn Earnest in the back of her head.
5) Wesley Earnest pleaded guilty to his murder
To gather more investigation, investigator Gary Babb decided to go through Jocelyn Earnest's journal and found shocking revelations. In the journal, she mentioned that if she died, it was highly likely that her estranged husband had killed her. Though the journal entries were ruled out by the court, however after almost 15 months another shocking incident took place.
Wesley's million-dollar lake house was shot up in flames, and it thickened the suspicion that Wesley wanted to escape the debts, by burning the house itself. Almost four years after the incident, in March 2010, Wesley Ernest was finally found guilty of the murder of Jocelyn Earnest.
In the jury, Wesley revealed that Joselyn had a broken window in her house and committed the crime. He was sentenced to lifetime imprisonment added with three extra years, for first-degree murder.
As per ABC 13 News, Wesley Earnest filed for another to prove his innocence and moved to Amherst County with a Nelson County jury. The judges took nine days to re-examine the case and Wesley Earnest was again found guilty, and sentenced to a lifetime in prison.
To know complete details about the murder of Jocelyn Earnest, listen to 48 Hours Podcast Episode 765 titled Marriage Secrets. The 48 Hours True Crime podcast is available to be played both on Spotify and Apple Music.
