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On Monday, Snapped will delve into the bizarre Vermilion, Ohio, murder case of Jeremy Simko, whose wife Julene Simko was convicted in his shooting death nearly eight years later in 2017 and sentenced to 28 years in prison. The episode will air on Oxygen on December 26, 2022, at 5:00 pm ET.
The synopsis reads:
"When the owner of an Ohio landscaping company is found shot to death in his bed, the ensuing investigation exposes an elaborate web of s*x, obsession, and power."
On November 18, 2009, Jeremy Simko was found shot to death inside the couple's bedroom, with his wife being the only other person present at the crime scene at the time of the murder. The investigation would eventually reveal dark secrets about the couple's marriage, including the couple's past, their BDSM pictures and videos, and a master-slave contract.
About five years later, Julene Simko was charged with murder, and in 2017, she was convicted in the murder case, receiving a life sentence with the possibility of parole after 28 years. She was reportedly taken to the Lorain County Jail after the sentencing.
Julene Simko sentenced to 28 years to life in prison in husband's 2009 murder case
Julene Simko, 39, was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 28 years in October 2017 after being found guilty of shooting and murdering her husband in Vermilion. Judge Mark Betleski of the Lorain County Common Pleas Court sentenced the widow after finding her responsible for the death of Jeremy Simko, 36, on November 18, 2009.
Julene was convicted on three counts, including aggravated murder, felonious assault, and tampering with evidence. Judge Betleski looked into the defense's claim that Jeremy was shot by an armed intruder, an assertion that was ruled out before he delivered the sentence.
Prosecutors alleged that a bondage agreement between the couple partly acted as the motive for the murder, given the fact that Julene Simko was a victim of s*xual assault at the hands of her father when she was young. She corroborated this in a 2013 interview with detectives. The night before Jeremy Simko was shot, someone allegedly visited her father's obituary on a newspaper website on a computer found at the couple's home. She denied involvement in the matter.
Investigator Rick Thomas reportedly said,
"Given the unfortunate acts that happened to Ms. Simko as a child, coupled with the father-daughter/master-slave agreement and then her father’s obituary being accessed by someone that night, coupled with the murder of her husband gave me pause for thought and concern. Perhaps those things were related."
How was Julene Simko found guilty and where is she now?
The account of events Julene Simko gave about the incident included a number of contradictions, according to the prosecution. Investigators reportedly discovered that neither the murder weapon nor the 9 mm handgun Julene Simko claimed she used to shoot at an intruder in the hallway had any blood evidence on them, suggesting that both weapons may have been cleaned.
Moreover, the disturbing 14-page contract between the couple made peculiar revelations about their marriage. According to investigators, there was also no DNA evidence or prints at the murder scene, and there were no signs of a break-in. Furthermore, none of the alarms went off.
According to reports, Investigator Thomas claimed that.
"We’re left with two people in the house — one is dead, and one is not. Typically that lends itself to making you the prime suspect."
It was alleged that Julene Simko shot her husband with a .357 Magnum Smith & Wesson two inches from the back of his head and called 911, claiming that she found him shot dead in the bedroom of their North Ridge Road home. She was found guilty and sentenced to 28 years to life in prison, was reportedly taken to the Lorain County Jail, and is likely still serving time.
Snapped on Oxygen airs the case on Monday.
