The Letter

A Letter Written By A Suspicious Young Mother Helps Solve Her Own Murder

(CBS)  This broadcast first aired April 15, 2008. It was updated on Aug. 18, 2009.

In December 1998, police in Pleasant Prairie, Wis., were called to the Lake Shore Drive home of Mark and Julie Jensen. Inside, Mark had found his wife's body lying in her bed.

Initially, investigators thought suicide was a strong possibility. But a letter written by Julie before her death pointed police in a different direction.

Was the husband somehow involved in his wife's death, as the letter hints? Or did Julie poison herself and pen the letter to implicate Mark in a twisted plot gone wrong, as his parents allege?

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Pleasant Prairie, Wis. is 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 there was quite prepared for what happened on Dec. 3, 1998.

Special prosecutor Bob Jambois, who at the time was the Kenosha County district attorney, remembers, "My pager went off. I got called to the scene. They told me, 'Well, the M.E. is saying it's probably natural causes but we have some questions, so you might want to come out there.'"

Jambois had a lot of questions about what he found inside the house. "Forty-year-old women don't drop dead for no reason," he explains.

Asked if he had considered that Julie might have committed suicide, Jambois tells correspondent Erin Moriarty, "We absolutely considered that, right from the beginning."

Julie's brothers, Paul, Patrick, Mike, and Larry Griffin, were shocked by the news.

Mark also struggled to explain his wife's sudden death. "He appeared somewhat shaken. And he was rambling on about some drugs that she had taken recently, Ambien and Paxil. And talking about some kind of a drug interaction," Julie's brother Paul remembers.

"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's father, Dan Jensen, remembers.

Mark had been with Julie for 20 years, since they had been high school sweethearts. They started college together, too, but Julie dropped out just one semester short of a degree in nursing.

"She did great with all the book work and everything. She had difficulty because she got very close to the patients. And emotionally she couldn't take it," Paul explains.

What drew Julie to Mark, say her brothers, was his drive: he was a young stockbroker, and on the move.

On April 13, 1984, the night before Mark and Julie got married, Julie's mother June suddenly passed out. "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," Paul explains.

"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," Mark's mother Florence tells Moriarty.

It was the first time that the Jensens realized that Julie's mother was battling alcoholism and depression.

Florence says Julie was afraid she'd end up like her mother. "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," she says.

Shortly after Mark and Julie's first child David was born in 1991, their marriage was rocked by the revelation that Julie had had an affair with another man.

Julie filed for divorce but changed her mind after she and Mark went to counseling. They had another son, Doug, in 1995, but the marriage was strained. By fall of 1998, Mark began telling friends that his wife was depressed

Julie went to see her family doctor, who prescribed an antidepressant. Two days later, she was dead.

With no obvious signs of injury and an inconclusive autopsy, the cause of Julie's death could not be determined.

Her brother Patrick says it's "not possible" that Julie had taken her own life. Julie had never talked about suicide and she didn't leave a suicide note, but, as it turns out, she did leave a letter.

[qwre0987]

It seems obvious to me that there are genetic weaknesses in Julie's family that demonstrate the state of mind she was really experiencing.
I find it bizarre that she could honestly feel that she was in danger, that she truly feared for her life, yet did not take any measures to protect herself - if only to ensure that she would be around to be there for her boys. If she was in a rational, sound state of mind she would have listened to the neighbors that tried to help her or she would have confided in her brothers who would have insisted that she not continue to live there.
It was clear that she WANTED to be there, that she wanted people to worry about her without taking any steps to ensure her safety. She made sure that she told people who would testify on her behalf about her "fears". She wrote a letter to seal her husband's fate.
We did not see a discussion as to whether that post-it note was really her husband's note. We did not see handwriting analysis of that note, nor did we hear his explanation of what it was for if it was proven to really be his note. That note side-by-side with the letter were the ultimate pieces of evidence that the jury used to make their decision.
I do not know if the jury were actually qualified to make this decision if this is the main basis of their thought process.
If Julie was truly depressed (as she seemed to be) and knew about the affair, this is a most-effective way for her to punish her husband and ensure that he would suffer tremendously (whether he was convicted or not).
What's more, if she really wanted to be there for her sons like she claimed in the letter ('I would never commit suicide because of my sons'), I am convinced that she would have taken refuge away from someone she feared: if she honestly feared him! And she would have taken her sons. And she would not have ingested food or drink that she herself did not buy and prepare.
I fear the justice system may have incarcerated an innocent man.

[rmagee3]

I seriously wonder how many men use this ploy to get rid of their wives and rid themselves of the possiblity of having to share their children and pay child support and spousal support. When they do it the right way they are obviously unable to wine and dine the adulterer that has been a party to this crime. How stupid that Kelly could even fathom marrying a man who could so easily dispose of his current wife to make room for her. Did she not think that if he became unhappy with her he might do the same thing to her? Almost eveyday a scenario like this plays out and a good number of them remain free for long periods of time. The world is no longer a safe place for relationships. Has marriage outlived its purpose?

[hercule1122]

I hope Mark's parents have time to stew over their lies and abetting his murder of hs wife. I am always amazed at the bent of parents to try to come to the aid of their child who obviously was a loser first class, as they are. Your acts are clear to us and I wish you what you deserve. I believe that you reap what you sow!

[wyo-kid]

Yes, He got all caught up in his affair and went bonkers. He took the life of a very lovely person. Now he can have another affair with Bubba.

[Alabamabell]

I also wondered why, if she was so afraid that he was trying to kill her, she did not go to one or all of her brothers with her fears??? The 2 people she confided in were more "acquaintances", not friends or family. I thought this too was strange.

[Alabamabell]

I saw this episode re: Mark and Julie Jensen last night for the first time (8/22/09). I did not have a good feeling at all about the results, ie, Mark being convicted. At first I thought THE LIST was something that Mark had written down and planned to go out and purchase. After reading this website, I see that it was a list of the contents of a locked dry bar belonging to Julie. In my opinion, this girl had a LOT of problems. It certainly did not sound as if she did "not smoke or drink". Also, all the empty benadryl and librium capsules, indicating that she had been "snorting" this stuff. Her "short" affair which evidently was not so short, and then the "inappropriate" contacts she continued to have with the police officer. What kind of relationship she did have with him??? I do not see how this jury convicted this man. I do not think they had enough evidence and I think she was an accident waiting to happen, ie, she had major mental problems. This is no reason to murder someone, but I agree with Mark's parents that she was setting him up to be sent to prison and she did not plan on dying.

[limaurs]

It took the authorities two years to find any trace of the poison in her body and nine years to determine that she was asphyxiated. If that's not reasonable doubt,what is?

[seebothsides]

GOOGLE all the documentation and ask all the questions and compile it along with the funds required these days to hire an attorney CAPABLE of explaining the TRUTH to a jury who has been BRAINWASHED by the LOCAL MEDIA for over 7yrs. All wives who hate your husband take note of this case. WAS THERE SO MUCH AS "ONE" DOMESTIC DISPUTE CALL TO MARK AND JULIE''S HOME IN 20YRS...INCLUDING WHEN HE FOUND OUT SHE SCREWED ANOTHER MAN IN MARK''S BED SHORTLY AFTER MARRYING HIM. I HAVEN''T FOUND THAT ON GOOGLE??
WARNING: WOMEN WHO PERCEIVE THEIR HUSBAND MAY POISON THEM EAT OUT EVERY MEAL AND ONLY DRINK FROM A BOTTLE FROM WHICH YOU HAVE BROKEN THE SEAL OR "MOVE OUT" UNTIL YOU DON''T THINK THIS ANYMORE. I HOPE MY SISTER KNOWS I LOVE AND RESPECT HER ENOUGH TO MAKE ME THE FIRST ONE SHE WOULD CALL IF PRESENTED WITH JULIE HENSEN''S TYPE EVIDENCE.

[Alabamabell]

I agree. Again, this all did not make sense to me.

[seebothsides]

Every ounce of me wants to motivate a team of attorneys,medical examiners,poisin experts and the best "COLD CASE RESEARCHERS" to assist in Mark Jensen''s appeal process. UNFORTUNATELY!!!...If this was WORTHY of appeal a Robert Shapiro or Johnny Cochran type attorney would have seen the 48hr show and been in the news already as WINNING the appeal for Mark Jensen would allow this LEGAL REPRESENTATIVE to earn national recognition ALMOST as televised as OJ. Why a was Mark not allowed another venue to select jurors? Why were the credible,mature and professional opinions squashed for a former co-worker who was not MAN enough to contact police immediately and a jail cell individual who had EVERYTHING TO GAIN AND NOT ONE THING TO LOSE BY REPEATING WHAT HE WAS FED BY THE PROSECUTOR. GOD IS YOUR FINAL JUDGE MARK!!

[playroxgirls]

If you research this case further online there really is no question that Mark Jensen is guilty. 48 Hours cut out a lot of important details of this case and trial. Mark Jensen is in jail and justice has been served.

I cant believe they actually interviewed Dan Jensen on this show. He has such a shady background that there is no way you can believe a single word he says.

[Alabamabell]

Is Dan Jensen Mark's father? What kind of shady background did he have??

[bounder27]

This is a tough one. I''m not sure they got it wrong, but I''m not sure they got it right either. It seems like the jury was just as confused as I am - at least when they started their deliberation. If I had to take a guess, my gut says he''s guilty, but it sure seems like an awful lot of circumstantial evidence to send a man away for the rest of his life. I''m glad I didn''t have to sit on that jury.

The part that surprises me the most is how convinced everyone else is - one way or the other - there''s a reason this case was published on 48 hours "mystery"

[Rohanite]

What I don't understand is why, if she was strangled, was this not on the initial autopsy report? They make it seem like they based that simply on the position of the body and the testimony of an not-very-credible witness. Asphyxiation is usually quite clear on autopsies because they look at the lungs and also at possible exterior markings that could lead to that conclusion. Instead, they went lab-shopping to find a small bit of evidence in the stomach... it doesn't seem to add up.

[bounder27]

This is a tough one. I''m not sure they got it wrong, but I''m not sure they got it right either. It seems like the jury was just as confused as I am - at least when they started their deliberation. If I had to take a guess, my gut says he''s guilty, but it sure seems like an awful lot of circumstantial evidence to send a man away for the rest of his life. I''m glad I didn''t have to sit on that jury.

The part that surprises me the most is how convinced everyone else is - one way or the other - there''s a reason this case was published on 48 hours "mystery"

[bounder27]

This is a tough one. I''m not sure they got it wrong, but I''m not sure they got it right either. It seems like the jury was just as confused as I am - at least when they started their deliberation. If I had to take a guess, my gut says he''s guilty, but it sure seems like an awful lot of circumstantial evidence to send a man away for the rest of his life. I''m glad I didn''t have to sit on that jury.

The part that surprises me the most is how convinced everyone else is - one way or the other - there''s a reason this case was published on 48 hours "mystery"

[bounder27]

This is a tough one. I''m not sure they got it wrong, but I''m not sure they got it right either. It seems like the jury was just as confused as I am - at least when they started their deliberation. If I had to take a guess, my gut says he''s guilty, but, it sure seems like an awful lot of circumstantial evidence to send a man away for the rest of his life.

The part that surprises me the most is how convinced everyone else is - one way or the other - there''s a reason this was published on 48 hours "mystery"

[anne11925]

Mark Jensen got what he deserved - life in prison without parole. The only injustice is that he wasn''t convicted of the crime right after it happened. Had the 1st judge allowed Julie''s letter as evidence, the husband would have been sent to jail right away. This is another case of protecting the rights of the criminal and not the victim.

What''s really sad is how in the end, Mark had obviously turned Julie''s sons against her through the years. The note they had read mentioned their "birth mother" Julie. She was their MOTHER, period, and would still be alive had it not been for their cold-hearted father.

[drdavedmd]

JenSam17,

To answer your question, you can always google it and you''ll get loads of information.... that''s the thing with anything these days......

But trust me, Jensen is where he belongs, with or without the letter. He was cold and heartless. A complete loser who really got leniency for what he did.When you murder somebody, you don''t go around bragging it to other people.... the jailhouse snitch could not be lying, as his account of the story matched the forensics (wife''s face was smeared to the side). As if he could have made that up. Please, spare me!

[nng2008]

re: JenSam17
I don''t think the entire letter was read during the episode. You can view the unabridged reading of the sons'' letter here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJ668aYH5BY
Julie Jensen''s family has a website which includes a source-annotated timeline of the events leading up to her death and highlights some of the events at trial-- could be a helpful resource in learning more about the case: http://www.oursisterjulie.com./Julie/Timeline.html

[swwils]

I watched this unfold on court t.v.,his trial was pretty gruesome.I mean he poisoned her with ethylene Glycol,that is radiator fluid.That is pretty horrible the way you die,it isn''t instant.A person suffers a long time before it shuts your kidneys down.She was smart,after she found some information on his computer,and day planner.He left it out in the open and she found it then got suspicious and wrote a cop a note,plus her neighbor saying she believed her husband was planning to kill her and make it look like a suicide.

[barbaraf4]

"A most frightning thought ....having to be judged by a jury of your peers." Posted by sword31
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
O.J. was judged by a jury of his peers.

[sword31]

A most frightning thought ....having to be judged by a jury of your peers. How can you be found guilty of a murder and with not one shred of physical evidence ; a letter which any reasonable person would have to have doubts about it''s validity, and eight jurors who admititly believed the state got the manner of death