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The 17-year-old Jessica Dishon had stepped out of her Shepherdsville home in September 1999 and was never to be seen again. The young woman had been on her way to school when she was abducted from her driveway
Dishon was found 17 days later in the Salt River bottoms near Mount Washington, as per the Courier-Journal. Her autopsy reports stated that she had been tortured for a day or two before she was strangulated to death.
The Murder In The Heartland episode titled Family or Feud chronicles Jessica Dishon's murder as it airs on May 1, 2024, at 9 pm EST on Investigation Discovery. The official synopsis reads:
"After teenager Jessica Dishon is murdered in Shepherdsville, Kentucky, police must sort through her past relationships, jealous friends, and an old family feud to find the killer."
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Who was Jessica Dishon? Details explored
Jessica Dishon was born on May 2, 1982, in Shepherdsville, Bullitt County to parents Michael W. Dishon Sr. and Edna F. Jett. She was the eldest child in the family with two brothers—Michael and Christopher Dishon. Jessica was a Bullitt Central High School senior while the brothers went to the Bernheim Middle School.
Jessica had a job at the local Hardee’s and wished to pursue a future in culinary arts, as reported by the Courier-Journal. She had saved enough from her job at Hardee's to buy herself a red Pontiac in which she had kept her belongings before she headed out on the morning of September 10, 1999.
What happened to Jessica Dishon?
Jessica had headed out for school in her Pontiac Sunfire around 7:15 am local time on September 10, 1999. However, her mother, Edna Jett returned home at around 1:30 pm local time to find her belongings including her backpack, keys, and purse inside her car while her cell phone displaying 9 on the screen left on the driver's seat.
Jessica's father, Mike Dishon, shared with the Courier-Journal:
"I was the second one to come home and get off the bus and find it. I thought maybe she went with a friend, but after hours passed and everything, you start getting very nervous and stuff."
While authorities from the Bullitt County Sheriff's Office responded, they passed off the incident as a runaway case. As Mike got in touch with the FBI, a manhunt for Jessica Dishon was launched. A reward of $18,000 was put up for any information on the case.
On September 27, a bus driver dialed 911 and reported a body found by the Salt River. The body found at Greenwell Ford Road was identified to belong to Jessica Dishon. She was allegedly left sitting upright against a tree with her pants pulled down.
According to the Courier-Journal, the autopsy reports revealed that Dishon had been tortured for a day or two before she was strangulated to death. Due to a lack of leads, the case turned cold and stopped at the mistrial of Dishon's neighbor David Brooks in 2003, as per Wave3 News.
A tip from a prison informant led the detectives working on the case to Jessica's uncle, Stanley Dishon, in June 2013. According to CBS News, Stanley was convicted of sodomy in 2005 and was incarcerated with the informant in Oldham County.
While he continues to maintain his innocence, he chose the Alford plea and received 20 years with a chance for parole in 16 years, according to the Courier-Journal.
Catch episode 14 of season 6 on Investigation Discovery on May 1, 2024.
