The Murder of Jessica Keen

Jessica Keen, 15, was found raped and bludgeoned to death near a cemetery on March, 16, 1991. The case went cold for nearly two decades until DNA led them to her killer.

Jessica was a high school honors student and a cheerleader until she began dating high school drop-out, 18-year-old, Shawn Thompson. Shortly after, her grades began to rapidly decline and she quit cheerleading, as she began skipping class to meet up with him.

Due to Jessica’s change in behavior, her parents made the decision for her to spend two weeks at the Huckleberry House, a center for troubled teens. One day before Jessica was set to return home, she got into an argument with Shawn. Moments later, she left the Huckleberry House, where she was last seen at a bus stop.

Two days later, her body was found. DNA testing could not find a match for a possible suspect, and once Shawn was cleared by an alibi, the case went cold.

17 years later, in 2008, advances in DNA technology matched the DNA found at the crime scene to Marvin Lee Smith. Smith admitted to the crime, stating that he abducted Keen from the bus stop and abducted her. Afterwards, he took her to a nearby cemetery, where she managed to get away. She hid behind a tombstone and once she saw a light from a nearby farmhouse, she ran towards it. Being pitch dark outside, she ran into a fence, where Smith caught up to her. He then beat her to death with a tombstone.

He pled guilty and was sentenced to 30 years behind bars.