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Rhonda Oakley, a loving stepmother to two teenagers, was found strangled and stabbed to death in the basement of the family's Danville, Kentucky, home during the late afternoon hours of one September day in 2016. The discovery was made by her stepson, David, who had just returned home from school. His sister Jenna and Rhonda's car, which was usually parked in the driveway, were also missing.
Authorities learned that the stepdaughter, Jenna Oakley, was in a relationship with an older man named Kenneth Nigh, something Rhonda and her husband Phillip did not approve of. Following multiple leads and their cellphones, authorities were able to track Jenna and her boyfriend while they were on the run. They were arrested at a motel in Tucumcari, New Mexico, within days.
An upcoming episode of See No Evil will chronicle Rhonda Oakley's murder by her stepdaughter, who had planned on killing her entire family for love. The episode, titled Cruel Love, airs on ID this Wednesday, May 3, at 6 pm ET.
The synopsis states:
"In Kentucky, 13-year-old David Oakley comes home to find his stepmother murdered and his 15-year-old sister Jenna missing; Police race to piece together a killer's video trail, only to uncover a brutal plot."
Rhonda Oakley was found with multiple stab wounds around her neck in the basement of her Danville home
Rhonda Oakley, 52, worked at a printing plant in Danville, Kentucky, a job she held for about three decades. She was married to Phillip Oakley and was the stepmother to her husband's two teenage children, David and Jenna. The children had only recently moved in with the couple in April 2016.
Reports state that Rhonda left town on August 31, 2016, to attend a business conference and was expected to return the next day. However, the following afternoon, around 4 pm, her 13-year-old stepson David returned home from school and discovered a gruesome crime scene in the basement. Rhonda was found with a plastic bag over her head and multiple knife wounds around her neck.
David Oakley made a 911 call from their neighbor's house, and first responders who arrived at the scene found the 52-year-old victim dead with several lacerations around her neck. Authorities searched the home, and while there were no signs of a break-in, they found a trash can filled with vomit and a knife missing from its block in the kitchen.
Rhonda Oakley's car, a white 2014 Honda Civic, was missing from the driveway, and there was no sign of her stepdaughter, Jenna Oakley. Authorities later learned from the victim's husband that Jenna was in a relationship with an older man named Kenneth Nigh, whom she met while living with her mother in Indiana. Both Phillip and Rhonda disapproved of their relationship and tried to limit their contact.
Authorities were able to track both suspects in Rhonda Oakley's killing using tips, surveillance, and other leads
The investigation soon unearthed information that led authorities to believe that Kenneth was in Kentucky at the time of the murder. Surveillance footage from the airport along with a taxi driver's statements proved that he was near the Oakleys' home that day. A tip came in that claimed to have spotted Jenna and Kenneth together at a local Walmart. Security footage confirmed the information.
Using both their phone locations, authorities tracked them to a motel in Tucumcari, New Mexico. They found the victim's car outside and arrested them. Meanwhile, authorities also discovered Jenna's journal, which detailed her plans to murder her entire family. Kenneth hung himself in a New Mexico detention cell while awaiting extradition and died at a hospital six weeks later.
Although Kenneth Nigh took full responsibility in a suicide note for the murder, seemingly absolving Jenna Oakley, the latter confessed to the events, stating that she stayed with her boyfriend on August 31, but when her stepmother Rhonda Oakley returned home the next day, they got into an argument, which escalated into an altercation, and she tried to choke Rhonda.
That's when Kenneth, in an attempt to help the 15-year-old, attacked Rhonda, and once she passed out, they stabbed her multiple times with a kitchen knife. Jenna later dumped the murder weapon at a gas station. She pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter and theft.
ID's See No Evil will further delve into Rhonda Oakley's murder this Wednesday.
