Animal rights lawyer is sentenced for soliciting murder of her husband's girlfriend
Photo from Jennifer Edwards - The Animalawyer Facebook page.
A 43-year-old Colorado animal rights lawyer has been sentenced to 10 years in prison, partly for trying to hire a hit man to kill her husband’s girlfriend.
Jennifer Emmi, who is also known as Jennifer Edwards, pleaded guilty on June 28 to nine felonies in three cases, including a charge of solicitation to commit second-degree murder, according to a press release. She was sentenced on Monday, report Fox News, CBS 4, 9 News, the Denver Gazette and the Denver Post.
Emmi was also accused of asking others to harass and retaliate against her husband and his girlfriend, as well as people involved in criminal and civil cases against her, according to the Denver Gazette.
Fox News reported that Emmi was also accused of holding a knife to her husband’s throat and threatening to drive a tractor trailer into one of their children.
Emmi was sentenced to 10 years each on three counts—the solicitation charge, along with charges of retaliation against a witness or victim and stalking, according to 9 News. The 10 years sentences will be served concurrently.
She received lesser sentences, also to run concurrently, for her guilty plea to other charges that included felony menacing, child abuse without injury and second-degree assault.
The Colorado Supreme Court lists Emmi’s license status as “disability inactive.”
An earlier affidavit said Emmi tried to hire a ranch hand to carry out her murder plot. He went to police after Emmi contacted him.
In recorded phone calls between the ranch hand and Emmi, she allegedly asked whether the man knew anyone who could “get rid of” the girlfriend, an au pair who took care of the family’s children. At one point, she allegedly suggested her husband should be killed, too. Later Emmi told the ranch hand the plan was “on hold.”
Emmi’s lawyers had sought probation.
CBS 5, Fox News and the Denver Gazette described testimony by Emmi and her lawyer, M. Colin Bresee, during the sentencing hearing.
Emmi said she had struggled with mental health problems and an autoimmune disease, and that the steroids she took for an eye problem caused psychosis.
Bresee said Emmi had struggled with illness and apparent addictions.
Judge Randall Arp said during the hearing that he had seen two sides of Emmi, and she took almost no accountability for her actions, according to the Fox News account. Arp said he believed Emmi posed a continuing risk to others “mostly because you’re blaming others, anything and anyone, rather than taking responsibility for your actions.”
Emmi will receive credit for seven months of time served and will have to serve three years on parole after her release from prison.
