A Toxic Relationship

Summary

48 Hours: "A Toxic Relationship" – Detailed Summary

Introduction to the Case

In the March 6, 2025 episode of CBS News' "48 Hours" titled "A Toxic Relationship," viewers are drawn into the harrowing tale of Julie and Mark Jensen from Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin. The episode meticulously unravels the complexities surrounding Julie's sudden death on December 3, 1998, and the ensuing investigation that led to Mark Jensen's conviction for first-degree murder.

Julie and Mark's Relationship

Julie and Mark Jensen appeared to be the quintessential model couple. Their relationship spanned over two decades, beginning as high school sweethearts and culminating in a picturesque wedding in April 1984. Despite personal challenges, including Julie dropping out of nursing school due to emotional burnout from connecting too deeply with patients, their marriage seemed strong.

Mark Jensen: "Mark and Julie were a model couple. Starting off, it was a very good marriage. They loved each other. They had a good time."
[02:12]

Revelations and Strain

The harmony of the Jensens' marriage was disrupted when Julie confessed to Mark about a remorseful affair, sparking immense disappointment and leading her to file for divorce. Although counseling helped them reconcile temporarily, underlying issues persisted, particularly Julie's struggle with depression—a trait she inherited from her mother, who battled alcoholism.

Bob Jambois (Special Prosecutor): "She was sweet and gentle outwardly, but she has had a problem of depression, as her family did and as her mother did."
[08:17]

Julie's Mysterious Death

Julie Jensen was found dead in her bed on December 3, 1998. Initial assessments left the cause of death inconclusive, with no signs of natural causes. Her husband, Mark, was devastated and perplexed, mentioning her recent use of Ambien and Paxil as potential factors.

Bob Jambois: "We've considered that it could have been a suicide... It certainly was not death by natural causes."
[02:52]

Emergence of Suspicion

Three weeks before her death, Julie confided in acquaintances, expressing fears that Mark intended to kill her. She also left a letter implicating Mark, which became a pivotal piece of evidence. Additionally, emails revealed Mark's affair with a coworker, Kelly Labonte, and his concerning searches for poisons on his home computer.

Bob Jambois: "The computer was a treasure trove of inculpatory evidence... Mark had a girlfriend on the side at this time."
[16:47]

The Investigation

District Attorney Bob Jambois grew increasingly suspicious as evidence mounted against Mark. Toxicology reports eventually detected ethylene glycol—antifreeze—in Julie's system, a substance often associated with poisoning. Julie's letter and the altered position of her body suggested foul play rather than suicide.

Bob Jambois: "The cause of death is ethylene glycol poisoning with probable terminal asphyxia."
[20:27]

The Trial

Mark Jensen was arrested and charged with Julie's murder in March 2002. The trial hinged on Julie's letter and testimonies about Mark's suspicious behavior. A key witness, Aaron Dillard, claimed Mark confessed to poisoning Julie, although his credibility was later challenged due to his criminal history.

Bob Jambois: "Mark Jensen murdered her. She was poisoned with ethylene glycol."
[29:21]

Despite the defense's attempts to portray Julie as manipulative and suggest the letter was a ploy to frame Mark, the jury found Mark guilty after seven weeks of deliberation.

Judge: "Your crime is so enormous, so monstrous, so unspeakably cruel that it overcomes all other considerations."
[42:14]

Verdict and Aftermath

Mark Jensen was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The conviction was later vacated in April 2021 by the Wisconsin Supreme Court, granting Mark a new trial. In 2023, after the second trial, Mark was reconvicted under the same charges.

Julie’s brothers, Paul and Patrick, along with her eldest son David, struggled to reconcile the court’s verdict with their memories of Julie. They maintained that Julie was a loving mother who never showed signs of intending to harm herself or frame Mark.

Patrick Jensen: "After the death of our birth mother, Julie, he took care of us... We request that our dad be eligible for parole as soon as possible."
[41:41]

Conclusion

"A Toxic Relationship" delves deep into the complexities of domestic relationships, mental health struggles, and the quest for justice. Through gripping interviews and detailed analysis, the episode highlights how a seemingly perfect marriage can harbor dark secrets, leading to tragic outcomes. The Jensens' story serves as a poignant reminder of the importance of mental health awareness and the profound impact of unresolved emotional turmoil.

Bob Jambois: "Julie wanted the world to know the truth. She wanted you to know the truth. At the time she wrote these words, Julie Jensen had no motive to lie."
[37:42]

Key Takeaways

• Mental Health: Julie's hidden depression played a crucial role in the events leading up to her death.
• Evidence Handling: The significance of Julie's letter and electronic evidence was pivotal in Mark's conviction.
• Legal Challenges: The legal system's handling of circumstantial evidence and witness credibility was thoroughly examined.
• Impact on Family: The emotional toll on Julie’s family underscores the profound effects of unresolved familial conflicts.

Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Bob Jambois: "It was part and parcel of several years of her framing and planning how she was going to do this."
  [21:53]

• Mark Jensen: "I just kept reading it and reading like, oh my God, what in the world is this?"
  [03:43]

• Bob Jambois: "The evidence is abundantly clear that Mark Jensen, in a very cold and calculated fashion, murdered his wife."
  [20:02]

• Alice Jensen (Mark's Mother): "Mark is taking care of me."
  [06:04]

Final Thoughts

"A Toxic Relationship" masterfully navigates the intricate layers of a tragic domestic dispute, offering listeners an in-depth look into the investigation, trial, and emotional aftermath of Julie and Mark Jensen's story. It underscores the podcast's commitment to uncovering the truth behind complex crime and justice cases, providing valuable insights into the human psyche and the legal system's pursuit of justice.

Transcript

[Bob Jambois]

Wow.

[Mark Jensen]

What's up?

[Bob Jambois]

I just bought and financed a car through Carvana in minutes.

[Mark Jensen]

You, the person who agonized four weeks over whether to paint your wall's eggshell.

[Bob Jambois]

Or off white, bought and financed a car in minutes. They made it easy. Transparent terms, customizable, down and monthly. Didn't even have to do any paperwork.

[Mark Jensen]

Wow.

[Bob Jambois]

Mm. Hey, have you checked out that spreadsheet I sent you for our dinner?

[Mark Jensen]

Options finance your car with Carvana and.

[Bob Jambois]

Experience total control financing subject to credit approval. This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Fiscally responsible financial geniuses, monetary magicians. These are things people say about drivers who switch their car insurance to Progressive and save hundreds. Visit progressive.com to see if you could save Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Potential savings will vary. Not available in all states or situations. I'm continuing to tell my sister's story and to memorialize her with music. She was a really exceptionally warm and sincere person. She liked having us brothers. She wanted nothing more in life than to just have a family and be a mother.

[Mark Jensen]

Mark took joy in everything, and he was just such a great personality. Julie was the first real girlfriend. Mark was really enamored with Julie. You could just see it. He loved her a lot. I'm Florence Jensen, Mark's mother.

[Bob Jambois]

Julie and Mark were a model couple.

[Mark Jensen]

Starting off. It was a very good marriage. They loved each other. They had a good time. And then came this revelation of this affair.

[Bob Jambois]

Julie said, I had an affair with this guy. So remorseful about it. She just felt terrible.

[Mark Jensen]

Never told us about it, but he was devastated.

[Bob Jambois]

I felt something was amiss. She just seemed unhappy.

[Mark Jensen]

He knew that she had been depressed. He knew she had the problems. She's the one that told him, there is no relationship between you and I. She wanted the kids, the house. She wanted it all. And she didn't want a husband.

[Bob Jambois]

December 3, 1998. I was summoned by the Pleasant Prairie Police Department to this residence. My name is Robert Jambois, and I'm the special Prosecutor. She was 40 years old, a healthy person. She's dead. It was just the most unbelievable thing I could ever hear. It certainly was not death by natural causes. We considered that it could have been a suicide. Julie had written a letter. I'm writing this on Saturday. 11 hours, 21 minutes and 98 seconds at 7am I know he's never forgiven me for the brief affair I had with that creep seven years ago. In my view, it was almost like her last will and testament. She was planning a way of getting rid of her husband. Without a divorce. Read this. This is the one that your wife left me and Officer Rothschild.

[Mark Jensen]

The day Mark went for that police interview, he couldn't believe it. He just kept reading it and reading like, oh my God, what in the world is this? I think he finally realized that, my gosh, they think I killed my wife.

[Bob Jambois]

If Mark Jensen didn't murder Julie and she committed suicide, I just wanted to be able to prove.

[Mark Jensen]

Wasn'T murder. It wasn't even suicide. It was to set Mark up for attempted murder. And she was not supposed to die. The letter tonight's 48 Hours Mystery.

[Bob Jambois]

Julie lived in Pleasant Prairie.

[Mark Jensen]

Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin. It's about an hour north of Chicago on the western shores of Lake Michigan. It booms in the summertime, but when the Wisconsin winter settles in, the village becomes a cold, bleak place. No one who lived here was quite prepared for what happened. On December 3, 1998, my pager went off.

[Bob Jambois]

I got called to the scene and they told me, the ME is saying it's probably natural causes, but we have some questions, so you might want to come out.

[Mark Jensen]

Bob Jambois, then the Kenosha county district attorney, had a lot of questions about what he found inside the house on Lakeshore Drive.

[Bob Jambois]

40 year old women don't just drop dead for no reason.

[Mark Jensen]

Julie Jensen, a wife and mother of two small boys, was still in her bed where her husband Mark had found her. So you did consider that she might have committed suicide?

[Bob Jambois]

We absolutely considered that right from the very beginning. I was called the night of her death and told that she was dead and I was devastated.

[Mark Jensen]

Julie's brothers, Paul, you know, I didn't.

[Bob Jambois]

Know she was sick. I didn't know anything. Patrick, you get a call like that, it's like a baseball bat to your back. Mike, It's a surreal thing that Julie's.

[Mark Jensen]

Not with us and Larry, a demise.

[Bob Jambois]

That quickly, it was a shock.

[Mark Jensen]

Julie's husband Mark also struggled to explain his wife's sudden death.

[Bob Jambois]

He appeared somewhat shaken. He was rambling on about some drugs that she had taken recently, Ambien and Paxil, and talking about some kind of a drug interaction. We didn't know what to think. It was a mystery. And it was a mystery to Mark.

[Mark Jensen]

Mark's parents, Florence and Dan Jensen.

[Bob Jambois]

Mark was an emotional basket case. He was in tears. He could hardly stand up. He didn't know what to say or he didn't know how to talk.

[Mark Jensen]

Mark had been with Julie for 20 years, since they had been high school sweethearts. I think she thought she could depend on Mark, and he just thought she was pretty and she was sweet. They started college together, too, but Julie dropped out just one semester short of a degree in nursing.

[Bob Jambois]

She did great with all the book work. She had difficulty because she got very close to the patients and emotionally just she couldn't take it.

[Mark Jensen]

What drew Julie to Mark, say her brothers, was his drive. A young stockbroker on the move.

[Bob Jambois]

She met this guy who kind of was success driven. And I think maybe she saw something solid in that.

[Mark Jensen]

That is Mark and Julie's wedding picture. It was a beautiful wedding. The only thing that marred it was the fact that Julie's mother was in the hospital. On April 13, 1984, the night before Mark and Julie got married, Julie's mother, June, saw suddenly passed out.

[Bob Jambois]

Our mother collapsed at the wedding rehearsal, and we didn't know what the problem was. And as it turned out, she was under alcohol withdrawal. So it was very, very disappointing for Julie.

[Mark Jensen]

She told me her mother had ruined everything that was important to her in her life. And if she had a wedding, her mother was going to ruin that too. And of course she did. It was the first time that the Jensens realized that Julie's mother was battling alcoholism and dep. Was Julie afraid of ending up like her mom? Yes, very much so. As she got older, she could feel that she was becoming more like her mother. And I'm sure her episodes of depression were part of that.

[Bob Jambois]

She was sweet and gentle outwardly, but she has had a problem of depression, as her family did and as her mother did. She was always camouflaging her mental illness. It was very difficult to decide that she was mentally ill or just peculiar.

[Mark Jensen]

Shortly after Mark and Julie's first child, David, was born in 1991, their marriage was rocked by a revelation.

[Bob Jambois]

She said, I had an affair with this guy. I don't remember if she said one night or one weekend. She was so remorseful about it. She just felt terrible.

[Mark Jensen]

Well, what was your reaction when you heard that Julie had had an affair? Disappointment in her, very definitely. There's always disappointment when you learn about an affair. Julie filed for divorce, but changed her mind after she and Mark went to counseling.

[Bob Jambois]

I never pried. She never offered details of home, domestic unhappiness or trouble. She never spoke ill of Mark.

[Mark Jensen]

They had another son, Doug, in 1995. But the Jensen marriage was strained. By the fall of 1998, Mark began telling friends that his wife was depressed. He was overwhelmed by this depression. Our family knows nothing about depression. Julie went to see her family doctor who prescribed an antidepressant Two days later, she was dead.

[Bob Jambois]

There was no report from the medical examiner as to cause of death.

[Mark Jensen]

With no obvious signs of injury and an inconclusive autopsy, the cause of Julie's death could not be determined. She was miserable. She was distraught. Isn't it possible that this was just a very low time and she took her life?

[Bob Jambois]

No, it's not. It's just impossible. There's no way.

[Mark Jensen]

Julie had never talked about suicide and she didn't leave a note. But as it turns out, she did leave a letter.

[Bob Jambois]

My life's greatest love, accomplishment and wish. My three D's Daddy Douglas and David.

[Mark Jensen]

What did you think when you read that letter?

[Bob Jambois]

It was always very difficult for me. I immediately cried and it was Julie's voice. Imagine what's possible when learning doesn't get.

[Mark Jensen]

In the way of life.

[Bob Jambois]

At Capella University, our game changing flexpath.

[Mark Jensen]

Learning learning format lets you set your.

[Bob Jambois]

Own deadline so you can learn at a time and pace that works for you.

[Mark Jensen]

It's an education you can tailor to your schedule. That means you don't have to put your life on hold to pursue your professional goals. Instead, enjoy learning your way and earn.

[Bob Jambois]

Your degree without missing a beat.

[Mark Jensen]

A different future is closer than you think with Capella University.

[Bob Jambois]

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[Mark Jensen]

I noticed she was acting very nervous, wringing her hands and acting like she was afraid to talk to me. But she wanted to talk to me. I just could see that in her face. In the fall of 1998, Julie Jensen blurted out an unusual story to a woman she barely knew. Her son's third grade teacher, Therese DeFazio. I think my husband's going to kill me. And I said, I went, what? That's a very serious accusation to make. Julie also shared her fears with Ted and Margaret Voight. When did Julie actually say to you, I think my husband's trying to kill me?

[Bob Jambois]

I would say around three weeks. Three weeks before her death.

[Mark Jensen]

Julie's accusation shocked the voids who had been the Jensen's next door neighbors for seven Years. Did they seem happy together?

[Bob Jambois]

Yes, they did. They seemed very happy.

[Mark Jensen]

But Ted says In August of 1998, after taking a new job, Mark Jensen seemed to change, becoming very critical of Julie.

[Bob Jambois]

He's telling her she's a bad mother, she's a bad influence on the kids.

[Mark Jensen]

Two months later, Julie said Mark was acting suspiciously, searching the web for poisons and writing bizarre notes which Julie photographed. She started saying things like, well, I found some notes next to his computer that had lists of drugs and syringes and other paraphernalia that I think might be something he would try to use on me. Was there a side of you thinking she can't be serious? I didn't know what to think. I was worried sick about her. When Julie said that her husband's looking up poisons, what did you think?

[Bob Jambois]

To tell you the truth, I didn't.

[Mark Jensen]

Know when to think of it. But by early November, Margaret and Ted had become very concerned about Julie.

[Bob Jambois]

She got very sick.

[Mark Jensen]

And what did she say?

[Bob Jambois]

He's trying to kill me some way somehow. My husband said, take the boys, leave.

[Mark Jensen]

You need the money, I give you money. And she's like, no. And Therese suggested Julie go to a woman's shelter. Again, she said, no, he will find out where it is. And he's also always said to me that if I ever tried to leave him, he would make it look like I was crazy and I wouldn't get to see the children. On November 21, Julie handed Ted Voight a letter to give to the police if anything happened to her. Did you read the letter?

[Bob Jambois]

No, I didn't.

[Mark Jensen]

When's the last time you Talked to Julie? December 2nd, which was Wednesday. That's when Julie called Margaret to say she wasn't feeling well.

[Bob Jambois]

I keep asking her, please let me help.

[Mark Jensen]

Let me do something.

[Bob Jambois]

And she keeps saying no.

[Mark Jensen]

I keep saying, mark is being good to me.

[Bob Jambois]

Mark is taking care of me. And that was the last time I spoke to her. Her voice was shaky, like she was drunk.

[Mark Jensen]

A Little more than 24 hours later, Julie was dead. The Voids took Julie's letter to the authorities. Assistant District Attorney Angie Gabrielle. I took this picture and am writing this on Saturday, November. Julie's letter referred to the photo she took of a list, the same list she had mentioned to Terese DeFazio. 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.

[Bob Jambois]

Be my first suspect.

[Mark Jensen]

I pray I am wrong and nothing happens. But I am suspicious of Mark's suspicious behaviors and fear for my early demise.

[Bob Jambois]

That letter reinforced the suspicions that I'd had the night before.

[Mark Jensen]

District attorney Bob Jambois grew even more suspicious when experts examined the Jensen's home computer. Someone had tried to erase its history. But not everything was gone.

[Bob Jambois]

The computer was a treasure trove of inculpatory evidence. First of all, it showed us the motive because there were the emails between Mark and Kelly. We didn't know that Mark had a girlfriend on the side at this time.

[Mark Jensen]

Kelly Labonte is a woman Mark met at his new job. And the email spelled it all out for investigators.

[Bob Jambois]

Idly means I do love you. And then she's got idly too. And then I am y and I wy I miss you. I want you.

[Mark Jensen]

Not exactly what you would be saying to a colleague at work.

[Bob Jambois]

Absolutely not.

[Mark Jensen]

And that wasn't all Jambois found on the Jensen home computer.

[Bob Jambois]

He was looking up ways to kill his wife on the computer, just as.

[Mark Jensen]

Julie had reported to the voids the computer's history revealed. Search after search for various poisons, including ethylene glycol, the main ingredient in antifreeze. It's easily obtained.

[Bob Jambois]

It doesn't take much to kill someone.

[Mark Jensen]

Mary Malan, a physician, is the Kenosha county medical examiner. 50 milliliters, I think, could have killed her easily. A couple swigs from a can of soda. But wouldn't somebody notice it if somebody is pointed in juice or in some drink?

[Bob Jambois]

It has a sweet taste, and it's easily disguised.

[Mark Jensen]

Most of the ethylene glycol cases she's investigated were, in fact, suicides. But Dr. Manelan believes this was a murder and that Julie was poisoned sometime Tuesday night, two days before she died, because she started to exhibit symptoms in the overnight hours. And what were those?

[Bob Jambois]

Acting drunk.

[Mark Jensen]

But at first, toxicology tests showed no sign of ethylene glycol in Julie Jensen's system. Frustrated, investigators confronted Mark Jensen with Julie's accusing letter.

[Bob Jambois]

Read this. This is the one your wife left me.

[Mark Jensen]

And Mark seems a little stunned. But finally, he had to do something.

[Bob Jambois]

To cause her death.

[Mark Jensen]

Mark denies he had anything to do with Julie's death. Like the police, Jambois believes Julie's words prove that she was murdered.

[Bob Jambois]

I would never take my life because of my kids. They are everything to me.

[Mark Jensen]

But others read the same words very differently. What do you think this letter was?

[Bob Jambois]

It was premeditated. It was planned in advance, in years. It was fabricated. It was crafted.

[Mark Jensen]

You're saying that Julie wrote This letter to set up Mark?

[Bob Jambois]

Well, among all the other things, she did, yes.

[Mark Jensen]

She wanted the kids, the house and everything. And she wanted it all. And she didn't want a husband. You really think Julie was that calculating? Yes.

[Bob Jambois]

The evidence is abundantly clear that Mark Jensen, in a very cold and calculated fashion, murdered his wife. It is just the most cold blooded case I've ever seen.

[Mark Jensen]

It takes more than two years and three labs, but tests finally reveal a small amount of ethylene glycol in Julie Jensen's stomach. You do not believe she committed suicide?

[Bob Jambois]

Absolutely out of the question.

[Mark Jensen]

Assistant DA Angie Gabrielle and Bob Jambois now a special prosecutor. You believe she was murdered?

[Bob Jambois]

This is a poisoner, A poisoning murder case. And poisoners are different breed of murderers.

[Mark Jensen]

In March of 2002, Mark Jensen was arrested and charged with the first degree murder of his wife Julie. I absolutely do not believe he did it.

[Bob Jambois]

He was Open us up.

[Mark Jensen]

Mark's parents believe the police have it all wrong. That as a trained nurse, Julie is the one who knew all about drugs and poisons. How do you believe Julie died?

[Bob Jambois]

She died through misadventure. And we have the evidence to prove it.

[Mark Jensen]

Dan and Florence Jensen say that Julie, after going on the home computer to do research, took the small amount of ethylene glycol herself, but never intended to die. You're saying that Julie Jensen didn't mean to commit suicide.

[Bob Jambois]

Oh God.

[Mark Jensen]

And that she wasn't murdered, but that she basically was trying to make it look as if she was being poisoned by Mark so that he would go to prison and she would end up with the kids in the house?

[Bob Jambois]

Yes. She miscalculated as to what it was going to take, how much time she had left. She had been starving herself. She was anorexic. She lost control and she died.

[Mark Jensen]

And even Julie's letter, they say was part of her plan.

[Bob Jambois]

It was part and parcel of several years of her framing and planning how she was going to do this. She needed witnesses. Besides the poisons. She made sure that she gave this letter to the next door neighbor. She needed to establish people who would be witnesses on her behalf.

[Mark Jensen]

Listen to the odd wording says Florence. I fear for my early demise. Early demise is a literary term. It reminds me of Jane Austen. It doesn't sound real. It's not real.

[Bob Jambois]

It is phony. So the fact that Dan Jensen or Florence Jensen say they believe something that carries no weight with me at all. They're both a couple of liars.

[Mark Jensen]

But the Jensens aren't the only ones who think Julie may have orchestrated her own death. A forensic pathologist hired by Mark Jensen's defense called the letter contrived, unbelievable and self serving. What matters is what jurors will think of the letter and they may never see it. By law, Mark Jensen is entitled to confront his accuser in court. But Julie Jensen is dead. So before trial, Jensen's attorneys argue that the law should be thrown out of court. And shockingly, the judge agrees the letter means everything. Julie's brothers are devastated.

[Bob Jambois]

From the beginning of this case, the letter has been Julie's voice. He kills the witness and then he complains because he can't cross examine her. That's the definition of chutzpah.

[Mark Jensen]

Jambois decides to fight for the letter. His appeal, which takes another eight, five long years, goes all the way to the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

[Bob Jambois]

We fought hard to get this letter into evidence. By God, her words should be heard by that jury.

[Mark Jensen]

The state Supreme Court agrees Julie's letter can be used at trial, but only if the state can show at a preliminary hearing that there's enough other incriminating evidence to point to Mark Jensen as the killer. Almost nine years after Julie Jensen's death. Free on bail, Mark is now married to his lover, Kelly Labonte. As the hearing begins, he is looking and feeling confident until suddenly a surprise witness takes the stand.

[Bob Jambois]

Your honor of the state calls Ed Klug to the stand.

[Mark Jensen]

Ed Klug, who used to work with Mark.

[Bob Jambois]

Could you point to him?

[Mark Jensen]

Now claims that three weeks before Julie died, Mark told him he was looking up ways to kill her.

[Bob Jambois]

He started talking about websites that you could go to different poisons that would be non detectable in a normal autopsy.

[Mark Jensen]

Wait a minute. Suddenly he talks about going on websites on how to kill his wife?

[Bob Jambois]

It was the oddest conversation that I've ever had.

[Mark Jensen]

Klug and Mark Jensen were in St. Louis at a company convention. They'd been drinking.

[Bob Jambois]

He put a lot of thought into how he was going to get rid of her, cover it up and make it look like it was a suicide or that, you know, she was a sickly, unstable woman.

[Mark Jensen]

Did he seem serious?

[Bob Jambois]

You know, I never really saw anything in Mark that he wasn't serious.

[Mark Jensen]

Yet. Klug never reported the conversation to the police. So you find out that Julie Jensen dies a month after Mark Jensen tells you he's looking up ways to kill her. Do you say anything to the police then?

[Bob Jambois]

I didn't at that point, no. I just.

[Mark Jensen]

Why not?

[Bob Jambois]

You know, at that point I was busy transitioning my Business.

[Mark Jensen]

And, you know, just wait a minute, though. I mean, your life was busy, but we're talking about a possible murder, right?

[Bob Jambois]

Right. You know, I guess I just didn't at that point come forward.

[Mark Jensen]

But you never tell the police. You never tell the DA's office.

[Bob Jambois]

No.

[Mark Jensen]

You never told him you had a conversation with Mark about killing his wife, right?

[Bob Jambois]

I was afraid to get involved.

[Mark Jensen]

In fact, Klug only became involved because one of his co workers tipped off the prosecutor. Klug was then ordered to testify.

[Bob Jambois]

He wanted to stay out of this. He didn't want to get involved.

[Mark Jensen]

That was incredibly heroic. Was he?

[Bob Jambois]

Well, I'm not putting him up for hero of the year.

[Mark Jensen]

Do you believe that Mark did discuss with Ed Klug that night the research he was doing or the idea of killing his wife? No. What do you think of Ed Klug?

[Bob Jambois]

You can't really rely on a story that comes out from drinking in the middle of the night. And I find that the bond is currently said is not appropriate.

[Mark Jensen]

But the judge believes Klug and suddenly raises Jensen's bond to more than a million dollars.

[Bob Jambois]

In the event that that bond is.

[Mark Jensen]

Not posted, he'll be committed to the.

[Bob Jambois]

Custody of the sheriff.

[Mark Jensen]

Unable to pay it, Mark Jensen hugs his son goodbye and is taken to jail to await trial for murder.

[Bob Jambois]

So many what ifs. You know, what if I would have called her that day and said, let's have lunch? What if I would have stopped by your house? I can't even imagine being pushed to the point of writing a letter like this. She had to have been just at wit's end, very desperate, I think.

[Mark Jensen]

Julie Jensen's brothers struggle to understand why Julie never shared her fears with them. The defense says Julie planned this whole thing. She was going to commit suicide and punish her husband with it because he was having an affair. Isn't that a possible reason why she didn't tell anybody?

[Bob Jambois]

It's not. Julie would never, ever try to get back at her husband and leave the kids she loves with the guy she hates. It doesn't make sense.

[Mark Jensen]

But will it make sense to 12 jurors? More than nine years after Julie's death, Mark Jensen goes on trial for her murder. And at the heart of the case is her letter. The judge will allow it in as evidence.

[Bob Jambois]

And I'm writing this on Saturday, November 21, 1998. If anything happens to me, he would be my first suspect.

[Mark Jensen]

Special prosecutor Bob Jambois wastes no time letting Julie speak. But he also begins the trial with a bombshell. Jambois no longer believes that poison alone killed Julie Jensen.

[Bob Jambois]

She was poisoned with ethylene glycol. And it may have killed her. Except we now have very good reason, very good evidence that what actually killed her was Mark Jensen sitting on her in that weakened state, shoving her face in a pillow and suffocating her. And that's what I believe happened.

[Mark Jensen]

Julie Jensen was suffocated. Why, after more than nine years, would Jambois suddenly change his theory of how Julie died? Because of this man, Aaron Dillard, and what he has to say.

[Bob Jambois]

Mark Jensen murdered her.

[Mark Jensen]

How do you know that?

[Bob Jambois]

Mark Jensen actually told me what he had done. Tell me about meeting Mark Jensen. We just started talking and just had general conversations in the beginning.

[Mark Jensen]

Just months before the trial, Aaron Dillard suddenly came forward with a shocking story. He says Mark Jensen confessed that he had killed his wife. That at first he tried to spike her drink with a small amount of ethylene glycol.

[Bob Jambois]

So he gave her juice to drink. And that was when he told me at that point, it was mixed with the antifreeze. He was laughing at it. He laughed about her acting drunk and jumping around on the bed. At that point, I started getting to thinking that, wow, you're really a piece of crap. You know, you're laughing about this lady dying. You had just poisoned her with antifreeze.

[Mark Jensen]

But according to Dillard, the poison didn't work.

[Bob Jambois]

What did he do when he came home and found that she was breathing better? He said that he got really nervous. He got scared. Did he tell you why? Well, she was breathing better, and he didn't think she was going to die. And why would that scare him? Because the kids wanted to take her to the hospital. And if she wasn't better by the time he got home, that's where they were going to go.

[Mark Jensen]

That's when Dillard says Mark Jensen took matters into his own hands.

[Bob Jambois]

That's at the point where he rolled her over and he sat on her back and actually pushed on her neck into the pillow.

[Mark Jensen]

Does he tell you when she dies?

[Bob Jambois]

He said that's when I. That's when I killed her. Then did he tell you what happened? Said she died.

[Mark Jensen]

Dillard's story makes sense of something that has troubled investigators all these years. The odd position of Julie's face when her body was found. What do you mean? Her nose and mouth were pushed away.

[Bob Jambois]

The nose was off to one side, the mouth off to one side. Like she'd been shoved into something. People don't sleep like that. So she was put in this position. Somebody put her like this.

[Mark Jensen]

The prosecution still believes that Mark Jensen poisoned his wife's drink.

[Bob Jambois]

Would you like to try a swif of ethylene glycol right now? I have no objection. Please take a taste of it.

[Mark Jensen]

And in a rather startling demonstration, the Kenosha county medical examination tastes a minute amount herself just to show the jury why Julie wouldn't have noticed she was drinking a poison.

[Bob Jambois]

So how did that taste? Sweet.

[Mark Jensen]

But Dr. Manelan has changed her opinion on what actually killed Julie Jensen.

[Bob Jambois]

What is your opinion? To a reasonably of medical certainty as to the cause of Julie Jensen's death? The cause of death is ethylene glycol poisoning with probable terminal asphyxia.

[Mark Jensen]

All because of this man. But there is a serious problem with Aaron Dillard. And how did you meet him?

[Bob Jambois]

I met him in the Kenosha County Jail.

[Mark Jensen]

That's right. Aaron Dillard is a jailhouse snitch with a long record of fraud. He's got seven criminal convictions.

[Bob Jambois]

We think more, we're not sure.

[Mark Jensen]

And this is your star witness?

[Bob Jambois]

I would not buy a used car from him.

[Mark Jensen]

But you're going to put him on the sand and rely on winning over a jury in this murder trial on the guy that you wouldn't buy a car from?

[Bob Jambois]

You want to know why the jury's going to believe him? Because he's telling the truth. You promised to begin telling the truth when you started dealing with these prosecutors, right? Yes. You would agree that you're a liar? Sure was.

[Mark Jensen]

Defense attorney Craig Albee goes after Dillard, who was released from jail in exchange for his testimony.

[Bob Jambois]

Mr. Dillard, while you were in the Kenosha County Jail, you saw Mark Jensen as a way to get out of jail, right? Yes. And your plan to use Mark Jensen to get out of jail has worked pretty well, hasn't it? Yes, it has.

[Mark Jensen]

The defense says that this whole story is just your get out of jail free card and that you made the whole thing up.

[Bob Jambois]

I'm pretty good. And that's all I can say, is to make up a story that I was told and have it fit so well with everything that they had.

[Mark Jensen]

And Dillard has at least four believers. Julie's brothers.

[Bob Jambois]

Listening to Aaron Dillard describe the cold, sickening manner in which Mark smothered her just broke me up. It was just very hard to listen to. Why don't you ask Mrs. Jensen to come up?

[Mark Jensen]

Please. To establish a motive for murder, the prosecution calls Kelly Jensen, Mark's former mistress, now his wife.

[Bob Jambois]

As soon as he had somebody available as soon as he had somebody on tap to replace her, bang, she was out of the picture.

[Mark Jensen]

But the defense says the affair wasn't a motive for murder. It was the reason for suicide. It's why Julie took the ethylene glycol herself and tried to blame it on Mark.

[Bob Jambois]

Someone who's concerned about being poisoned. It's very difficult to get them to drink anything. Treated many paranoid patients. Someone was really trying to kill her and she knew it in advance. Why in the devil would she then drink it?

[Mark Jensen]

A defense psychiatrist testifies that Julie was suicidal.

[Bob Jambois]

It just doesn't make any sense. That to me suggests the state of mind of a person attempting suicide.

[Mark Jensen]

Julie's own doctor concedes she was depressed.

[Bob Jambois]

Is there any other way that you'd discovered she seemed to be depressed and distraught and almost frantic, actually. Frantic? Mm. Yes.

[Mark Jensen]

And that's when another surprising witness is called. Julie's own brother Patrick.

[Bob Jambois]

I had an episode when I was 16 years old. Yes.

[Mark Jensen]

Reluctantly, he admits to the jury that at age 16 and angry at his father, he cut his wrist.

[Bob Jambois]

I took a razor blade and I carved ever so slightly.

[Mark Jensen]

Which one?

[Bob Jambois]

My left wrist. Here.

[Mark Jensen]

And do you still see the.

[Bob Jambois]

Yeah. You see a scar?

[Mark Jensen]

Where is it?

[Bob Jambois]

Right here. Right there. Okay.

[Mark Jensen]

Did you actually intend to kill yourself?

[Bob Jambois]

I have to say yes, because I wouldn't have hurt myself if I didn't.

[Mark Jensen]

Was there a side of you concerned that because of something you did so long ago that could make the jury find Mark not guilty?

[Bob Jambois]

Yeah. I was very afraid of that.

[Mark Jensen]

Mark Jensen is the only person who really knows what happened to Julie Jensen.

[Bob Jambois]

And is it your desire that you not testify in this case? Yes.

[Mark Jensen]

But he decides not to take the stand in his own defense. Mark.

[Bob Jambois]

There's no question about that. And the only person that could have done that was you.

[Mark Jensen]

The jury will have to rely on what he told the police nine years ago.

[Bob Jambois]

What can you tell me to disprove that? That's what I'm trying to figure out.

[Mark Jensen]

Then how did I stop breathing? Mark. I don't know. I understand. So true.

[Bob Jambois]

I don't understand this. This is totally the face of everything. That I kind of did nothing to hurt her but think she wanted to die. She was so depressed. It's like banging your head against the wall for nine years. You kind of get used to it.

[Mark Jensen]

The mystery of Julie. Julie Jensen's death has taken so long to resolve that both sides are ready for some answers.

[Bob Jambois]

You think maybe the pain isn't as great as it is. But it's even worse. For nine years, I've been trying to tell a jury about what happened to Julie Jensen. She expresses her pain.

[Mark Jensen]

In closing, special prosecutor Bob Jambois uses Julie's letters to convince the jury that she was poisoned.

[Bob Jambois]

She wanted the world to know the truth. She wanted you to know the truth. At the time she wrote these words, Julie Jensen had no motive to lie.

[Mark Jensen]

While the defense argues that the letter is the work of a sick woman who wanted to punish Mark Jensen, she.

[Bob Jambois]

Wanted a trail left behind that pointed the finger at her husband.

[Mark Jensen]

Determining the truth was rougher than any juror could imagine. Eight of them in one alternate say they didn't believe the prosecution's new theory that Julie Jensen was suffocated. How do you believe Julie Jensen died? Ethnic lying and suffocation. No. Which means they also didn't believe the prosecution's star witness, Erin Dillard. Did anybody believe Erin Dillard?

[Bob Jambois]

No. No misagreement. Yeah.

[Mark Jensen]

And even after seven weeks of trial, they still found Julie Jensen herself a mystery.

[Bob Jambois]

We were held up trying to determine.

[Mark Jensen]

If she had enough depression in her to take her life. For three long days, the jurors were split.

[Bob Jambois]

The idea of a hung jury just stuck sideways in my throat because then there's no closure for anyone.

[Mark Jensen]

But finally, the jury has a verdict.

[Bob Jambois]

The defendant will rise and face the jury. We, the jury, find the defendant, Mark D. Jensen, guilty of intentional homicide of the first degree.

[Mark Jensen]

Guilty of first degree murder. What do you think Mark was feeling inside? Devastated. He knew he hadn't killed her. He just thought that the jury would see that. And of course, they didn't. And when you heard the word guilty, I was relieved.

[Bob Jambois]

It was kind of like a big weight had been lifted off.

[Mark Jensen]

In the end, Julie turned out to be the most important witness. The jury believed her letter was truly a cry for help. How important was the letter to me? I thought it was extremely important.

[Bob Jambois]

It was extremely important. Then we took her picture of the day planner with a post it note and put beside it and re read the letter.

[Mark Jensen]

This. This list was in my husband's business daily planner, not meant for me to see. And it said, like nicotine, booze, bottle. Julie in her letter said, I do not smoke or drink.

[Bob Jambois]

You could see where she was taking the things from the post it note and incorporating those in her letter.

[Mark Jensen]

I will not ever take my life.

[Bob Jambois]

The reference to the race she was leaving, a clear roadmap to her murder. Here's this jury. Just common people, you know, and they finally, they. They set the letter right by the list, which Was the way Julie intended it to be. And then her letter just simply became a response to this list, and it all made sense.

[Mark Jensen]

Less than a week later, Mark Jensen appears for sentencing.

[Bob Jambois]

I hope the court shows the same mercy and compassion that the defendant had shown to our sister Julie. I ask today for the maximum. No mercy, no parole for Mark Jensen.

[Mark Jensen]

But also in court is Mark and Julie's oldest son, David, now 18. And there is another letter, this time written by David and his brother, read by the defense attorney.

[Bob Jambois]

After the death of our birth mother, Julie, he took care of us. If we ever need help, advice, or just someone to talk to, we know we can go to him for anything. He cares deeply for his family. In light of this, we request that our dad be eligible for parole as soon as possible. We love you, dad. Thank you.

[Mark Jensen]

For the first time, Mark Jensen shows emotion. But the judge is unmoved.

[Bob Jambois]

Your crime is so enormous, so monstrous, so unspeakably cruel that it overcomes all other considerations.

[Mark Jensen]

Mark Jensen is sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole.

[Bob Jambois]

I loved hanging around with my sister.

[Mark Jensen]

Patrick's loving tribute to his sister, an album dedicated to her life.

[Bob Jambois]

It's for my family to share in remembering Julie. You know, I believe that now there can be some emotional healing start to take place, and we can finally remember Julie in the pictures who she was. A great mother, A humble, sincere person.

[Mark Jensen]

In April 2021, a Kenosha county judge.

[Bob Jambois]

Vacated Jensen's conviction after the Wisconsin supreme court ruled he deserved a new trial.

[Mark Jensen]

In 2023, Jensen was convicted for a.

[Bob Jambois]

Second time of killing his wife with antifreeze, and by suffocation, he was sentenced to life in prison without parole. When you think about businesses that are selling through the roof, like aloe, allbirds or skims, sure, you think about a great product, a cool brand, and brilliant marketing. But an often overlooked secret is actually the businesses behind the business. Making, selling, and for shoppers, buying. Simple. For millions of businesses, that business is shopify. Nobody does selling better than shopify. Home of the number one checkout on the planet. And the not so secret secret with shop pay that boosts conversions up to 50%, meaning way less carts going abandoned and way more sales going. So if you're into growing your business, your commerce platform better be ready to sell Whenever your customers are scrolling or.

[Mark Jensen]

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[Bob Jambois]

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[Mark Jensen]

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[Bob Jambois]

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