A Voice From Beyond: How Julie Jensen Chillingly Predicted Her Own Murder
In November 1998, Julie Jensen had given a letter to her neighbors asking them to turn it over to the police if something happened to her. Years later, this letter would help solve her murder
Background
In December 1998, the Kenosha County medical examiners were attempting to identify the cause of death of a 40-year-old Pleasant Prairie wife and mother named Julie Jensen.
On December 3, Julie’s husband, Mark, had called 911 after discovering his wife’s body in her bed. Though her death initially appeared as though it may have been from natural causes, some of the details were troubling.
Though she had supposedly been quite ill that day, Mark claims that he left her by herself all day. It was also learned that Julie had been the victim of a stalker who had waged a years-long campaign of harassment against her.
However, it would end up being a letter written by Julie herself that would eerily spell out her worst fears about her husband Mark and ultimately predict her own murder.
Marriage to Mark Jensen
Julie Griffin met her future husband, Mark Jensen, while employed at a Sears department store in Oshkosh in 1981 as college students. The pair married in 1984, settled in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, and had two sons, David and Douglas.
She worked for Chicago’s Port Authority, while Mark worked as a manager at the Racine branch of a St. Louis-based brokerage firm.
December 3, 1998
On December 3, 1998, Julie’s body was discovered in the couple’s bedroom by her husband, Mark.
The more that investigators learned, the more they began to suspect that Mark was directly involved in his wife’s death. Their suspicions were further strengthened when two of Julie’s neighbors, Ted and Margaret Wojt, came forward with a letter written by Julie, who had asked the Wojts to give it to the police if anything happened to her.
After Julie’s death, the Wojts did as they were instructed and gave the police the sealed envelope. In it was a letter written by Julie along with a photo of a shopping list that included a syringe and chemicals as well as a possible motive for Mark wanting her dead - a brief affair that she had in 1991. Still, authorities needed proof.
A Voice From Beyond
In her letter, Julie spelled out her fears and concerns:
“I took this picture [and] am writing this on Saturday 11-21-98 at 7 AM. This "list" was in my husband's business daily planner, not meant for me to see, I don't know what it means, but if anything happens to me, he would be my first suspect. Our relationship has deteriorated to the polite superficial. I know he's never forgiven me for the brief affair I had with that creep seven years ago. Mark lives for work [and] the kids; he's an avid surfer of the Internet...
Anyway, I do not smoke or drink. My mother was an alcoholic, so I limit my drinking to one or two a week. Mark wants me to drink more with him in the evenings. I don't. I would never take my life because of my kids - they are everything to me! I regularly take Tylenol [and] multi-vitamins; occasionally take OTC stuff for colds, Zantac, or Imodium; have one prescription for migraine tablets, which Mark use[s] more than I.
I pray I'm wrong [and] nothing happens... but I am suspicious of Mark's suspicious behaviors [and] fear for my early demise. However, I will not leave David [and] Douglas. My life's greatest love, accomplishment and wish: "My 3 D's" - Daddy (Mark), David [and] Douglas.”
Mark Jensen’s Suspicious Behavior
In 2023, Julie’s friend Ruth Vorwald told ABC’s “20/20” that Mark displayed no signs of grief at his wife’s wake. According to her, “Mark was standing maybe 5 feet from her casket, and he had a group of men around him. He was laughing [and] joking, and it just was so odd.”
Vorwald added that soon after the funeral, she noticed over a dozen garbage bags containing Julie’s belongings on the curb outside the family’s home. She said, “It's like he wanted to erase her. He's erasing her from his life [and] from the house.”
Despite their suspicions, it wouldn’t be until 2002 that Mark Jensen was implicated in the death of his wife but did not immediately face charges in court until 2008, thanks to several motions and appeals.
Toxicological testing in 2002 found small traces of ethylene glycol, the main ingredient found in antifreeze. However, prosecutors were worried that the defense team could easily argue that Julie intentionally ingested the poison to end her own life.
The medical examiner determined that Julie had died from a combination of ethylene glycol poisoning and suffocation from having her face pressed into a pillow.
Legal Proceedings
There had been two trials held for Mark Jensen. The first was in 2007, with the defense team trying to argue that Julie had mental health issues and her death was a suicide. Two days before Julie’s death, she had been prescribed anti-depressants after telling a therapist about her failing marriage.
Defense attorney Jeremy Perri also told jurors in closing arguments that it was years after Julie’s death before authorities even interviewed witnesses in the case.
Nevertheless, Mark Jensen was found guilty of first-degree intentional homicide and sentenced to life imprisonment with no chance of parole on February 27, 2008.
However, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ordered a new trial because Julie’s letter was allowed as evidence. Mark’s conviction was overturned in 2013, but the decision was later upheld in 2015.
In 2020, a circuit court ruled against the admissibility of evidence contained in Julie’s letter. A new trial was set in 2023, where prosecutors maintained the defendant poisoned and suffocated his wife because he harbored deep-seated resentment towards her.
During the trial, it came out that Mark Jensen had also betrayed his marriage vows by having an affair with a co-worker that began before Julie’s death. Prosecutors argued that instead of simply divorcing his wife, he staged an excessive campaign of harassment, which included mysterious phone calls.
Anne Lynch, Douglas Jensen’s former preschool teacher, testified about a conversation she had with Julie wherein Julie confessed to Anne that her marriage was over. The Jensens’ son David also took the stand, testifying on his father’s behalf.
On April 14, 2023, Mark Jensen was sentenced again to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole.
Sources:
Luperon, Alberto. “Mark Jensen Found Guilty in Retrial for Murdering Wife Julie Jensen.” Law&Crime, 1 February 2023, https://lawandcrime.com/live-trials/live-trials-current/mark-jensen/mark-jensen-found-guilty-in-retrial-for-murdering-wife-julie-jensen/
Pereria, Ivan. “Julie Jensen murder: How investigators caught and tried convicted 1998 Wisconsin antifreeze killer.” ABC7 Chicago, 11 February 2023, https://abc7chicago.com/julie-jensen-mark-antifreeze-killer-murder-kill-list/12800338/
Pelisek, Christine. “Wife Wrote 'Letter from the Grave' Before 2008 Death — Now Husband Is Guilty of Poisoning Her with Antifreeze.” People, 2 February 2023, https://people.com/crime/wife-letter-from-grave-before-2008-death-husband-guilty-poisoning-antifreeze/
Stelloh, Tim. “Days before her death, a Wisconsin woman sent an ominous letter: ‘He would be my first suspect’ NBC News, 12 October 2023, https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/mark-jensen-julie-poisoning-death-conviction-rcna118167