Snapped: Women Who Murder - Janeene Jones

Episode Date: July 9, 2023

Allegations of real estate fraud and and rumours of murder have Sarasota Police on the tail of a criminal whose final plan to evade trouble lands her in the very hands she tried to avoid.Seas...on 28 Episode 19Originally aired: January 10, 2021Watch full episodes of Snapped for FREE on the Oxygen app: https://oxygentv.app.link/WatchSnappedPodSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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Starting point is 00:00:35 Search NPR Black Stories, Black Truths, wherever you get your podcasts. podcasts. A report of a white collar crime sparks a potentially deadly chain of events. I wanted to tell them everything I knew and they wanted every little detail. He realized that he was kind of caught up in something and you know, maybe he was kind of angry about it. As tempers begin to boil, the consequences are lethal. One of the informants knew somebody that wanted to have somebody murdered.
Starting point is 00:01:12 I was really thinking there's no way. Do you think just snapping is nuts and putting them to sleep that way? Is that what you prefer? There have been reports that the hit list keeps growing. So how do you know what you're doing? The only other person that usually be at his home with him is his lemony old daughter.
Starting point is 00:01:34 And she said if she gets in the way, kill her too. I think that was one moment that shows how dark her heart is. When detectives think this case is as twisted as it gets, rumors about a mysterious death from the past resurface. There was two police officers, and they told me that my father had passed away. We kind of felt like my world came, my world crashed. To this day, I still have unanswered questions.
Starting point is 00:02:09 I just can't believe what she has turned into. Over the past few decades, there has been a population boom in Northport, Florida. That area was previously undeveloped, and during the 90s it began to become developed. The housing prices were excellent, and a lot of people that couldn't previously afford housing in Sarasota moved to that area. But when the housing market crashed in the mid-2000s, Northport was hit hard. It was the height of the foreclosure debacle and many of the homes in Northport had been walked away from. And they were simply waiting to be foreclosed on by the banks. But in the meantime, they were just sitting empty. On January 25, 2013, a foreclosure real estate scheme
Starting point is 00:03:22 is what brings John Chamberlain to Northport authorities. I walked into City Hall and I said, I want to see somebody in charge. And they sent me to the City Manager. John tells the City Manager he has information to share about a real estate company and its owner, Janine Jones. A corporation in the name of my retirement LLC, it's set up to take over foreclosed properties and then rent them out to people that were looking for a place to live.
Starting point is 00:03:53 Jan and I were friends, and she's like, I'm gonna need a lot of plumbing to work done. And I was like, okay, steady work. I wasn't gonna turn it down. She goes, since you're gonna be doing so much work for us, We can actually even rent you a house and reduce the rent for you. What work would you want? John explains that after a few months of working for Janine, he realized something wasn't quite right.
Starting point is 00:04:21 There would be a lock box on the door and she said these houses have sat so long they can't contact anybody that has the key for them and so we got to go in there and drill the locks off. I did like one or two for her and then I told her I said I don't feel comfortable doing this. I don't do illegal stuff like this and I knew at this time now that she was involved in illegal stuff. He knew Janine and he realized that he was kind of caught up in something and you know maybe he was kind of angry about it. You know if someone's defrauding people I wanted to tell them everything I knew so that they would know I had nothing to
Starting point is 00:04:59 deal with this little scheme that she was doing. The city manager directs John to a detective who officially opens an this little scheme that she was doing. The city manager directs John to a detective who officially opens an investigation. They took me in a room and closed everything off and put me on camera. You're here today to do this information regarding some kind of real estate scheme to defraud that was brought to your attention.
Starting point is 00:05:25 That's the truth. He claimed that Janine Jones was collecting rent on approximately 13 homes that she did not own. Why don't you take me back to like how you came to know Janine? They wanted every little detail and that's when the ball got rolling. I met Janine approximately nine years ago through church and I became friends with her husband Max. When 28-year-old Janine met 31-year-old Max Jones in 1991. She was a two-time divorcee raising a young son. I met Max and Jeanine when I started to attend a church in Inglewood
Starting point is 00:06:15 as a church called Sun Coast Worship Center. Max did a lot of building, a lot of remodeling for them. He was just a master craftsman and some of the stuff that he did for me was just I mean top-notch stuff. By October of 1991, their whirlwind romance led to wedding bells. It was a big wedding, the only thing at the church out there, they had the reception out there. He was in love with her and then he lived in Northport. Faith was definitely important to Max. It was his community. It was his circle. In 1992, Janine and Max welcomed a son. When I came in the picture, it was just me and my dad and my mom and my half brother.
Starting point is 00:07:06 Two years later, their daughter was born. They had a daughter with Alex. Alexandra. I'm a... Max had born. My dad's painting style was very laid back. Me and my brother and my dad, we kind of did a lot more relaxed activities. And, you know, I remember watching him just play his guitar.
Starting point is 00:07:28 He made sure his kids didn't go without, not for a minute. My mother and her sister were both raised in that military household. Growing up in a military family, they kind of put a lot of structure in my mother. She was very strict. a military family, a kind of put a lot of structure in my mother. She was very strict. With a growing family and bigger financial needs, Janine looked to build her own career and held several jobs along the way.
Starting point is 00:07:57 She was a nurse at one time. She tried selling stuff, house goods. Jan went to work for the Charlotte County jail as a corrections officer. She was doing notary work, and she was also practicing as a legal aid. Jan always had something going on where she was getting money. While Janine was bouncing around the job market, her marriage began to suffer.
Starting point is 00:08:26 Max had his job, but he was the only one bringing any steady income into the house. Financially, it was very hard. Living where we were, it was living paycheck to paycheck. And it was very stressful. When I was getting out of high school and kind of going to college, both my parents kind of seemed a little distance from each other. Things went from bad to worse in 2011.
Starting point is 00:09:00 When Max came down with an ailment, doctors couldn't accurately diagnose. Max, for a period of quite some time, well over a year, he seemed to be having stomach problems. He just went through hospitalization and he had lost like 30 pounds. He missed a lot of work because, I mean, the guy guy really sick. He had down to skin and bones, but they had put him in the hospital a couple times
Starting point is 00:09:29 and had to put stints in his intestine. And we never really got an answer of what was causing this. MUSIC Max's illness took a tragic turn in November of 2011. My mom's telling me my dad's not responding, not waking up. My mom's on the phone with the operator. You know, she's kind of like walking me through what I need to do. And when I started compressions,
Starting point is 00:10:00 it almost sounded like I took his last breath. And because after that there was nothing. November 27, 2011, I came home. And as soon as I came home, there was two police officers. And they told me that my father had passed away. I felt like everything had stopped. I didn't understand how all of this could be happening. We tried to do me a heart attack, but I don't think it was.
Starting point is 00:10:43 I saw them covering the body up, and my heart just kind of sunk, and I started thinking, OK, why all of a sudden did my dad die from a heart attack when he never really had heart issues to begin with. My mom's behavior that day was very unusual. There wasn't a single tear in her eye, which to me was very concerning. Yeah, you have, your husband of over 20 years, not responding, seeing her almost emotionless was,
Starting point is 00:11:23 it wasn't normal. It was only 52 years old. We were beside ourselves when that's fast away. We kind of felt like my world came, my world crashed. To this day, I feel like that I still have unanswered questions. to this day, I feel like that I still have unanswered questions. Following Max's sudden death, the Jones family struggled to get back on their feet. She had contacted me shortly after and said that they were planning on moving out of that house.
Starting point is 00:12:01 She got rid of Max's truck. They started selling us tools. Started selling, you know, is base equipment. There was a quit cremation at Janine's insistence and Janine receives the $1 million life insurance proceeds. With the insurance payout, the family had financial security. She definitely told me that she was getting a lump sum of money and that she was going to be speaking with an attorney to try and create some kind of business, fund it with that money so that it would take care of her and the kids. business, fund it with that money so that it would take care of her and the kids. Now, John Chamberlain tells police this second chance is built on fraud.
Starting point is 00:13:02 He says Janine has been stealing for closed houses and renting them to unsuspecting tenants. Hi, I said, Jan, I said, I said, you're going to go to jail for that. You know, I said, that's illegal. I said, that house does not belong to you. As John gives details about Janine's scam, the detective realizes the name Janine Jones is not new to him. Janine Jones was already on the radar
Starting point is 00:13:25 of Northport Police Department. They had heard the whispers of Jeanine possibly killing Max. So when her name comes up in this fraud investigation, their interest was peaked. fraud investigation, their interest was peaked. Coming up, sorted new details come to light. She was fired because she had some affair going on in there. And the alleged real estate scam leads to a murder investigation. He said, listen, this is a very important case.
Starting point is 00:14:04 It's gonna probably be one of the biggest cases that you do in your career. On January 25, 2013, Florida police are speaking with John Chamberlain about a real estate scam involving his longtime friend and current employer. The police are trying to make sure that they're not going to be able to make a living. In 2013, Florida police are speaking with John Chamberlain about a real estate scam involving his longtime friend and current employer, Janine Jones.
Starting point is 00:14:32 Police wonder if this new case against Janine might provide insights into the mysterious death of her husband two years earlier. What did she do for work? Did she tell me she used to be a guard at the prison a long time ago? And I guess she was fired because she had some affair going with an inmate. The affair. That tour max off. He was really shaken by that. The situation with my mom as a corrections officer, I believe, happened right around. The time I was born.
Starting point is 00:15:16 Over the next several years, the marriage only got worse. That almost led to them getting divorced. Max said he was in a pretty bad way. I really thought that they were going to get a divorce. And I remember just sitting on the floor screaming and crying, you know, telling them not to separate. The last minute, that's when they decided to take their problems back to church and work it out. I think he took her back for the kids.
Starting point is 00:15:46 It takes a lot of toleration to being a religious like he was, which he got, you know, for guilt. John tells the detective that Max and Janine eventually reconciled, and everything seemed fine with the couple until 2011 when Max became ill. He was 53 years old and yeah he had had some health problems and test no problems. John says Max's death came as a complete shock to his friends and family. Max, shortly before his death, had complained of some stomach problems but nothing that would really sound the alarm that anything was Max, shortly before his death, had complained of some stomach problems,
Starting point is 00:16:25 but nothing that would really sound the alarm that anything was significantly wrong with him. Then he died suddenly. I just remember like, man, bro, I can't believe you're gone, man. I was so bad that I wrote a check for $500 to help with the burial. I come to find out he had a million dollar insurance policy. I mean, right away after her husband died, I can't judge, but she was like out there immediately with a new boyfriend. This man, you Smith, he actually came about.
Starting point is 00:16:58 He was our table guy. He says Jenine's new man, Matt Smith, quickly became a fixture at the Jones household. Alex specifically said, Mom, Dad's barely like been in the ground. And she's like, yeah, you're Dad's Dad. I'm not. And that really hit me quite heavy as well. Like, who says that to their child? When I found out my mom was seeing someone else,
Starting point is 00:17:33 it kind of threw me for a loop. I just lost my thought. And I wasn't going to have someone come in so quickly and kind of push their way into my life. My mom kind of just sprung him on us. I came home one weekend and Matt was staying there at the house. And my mom told me, oh, this is Matt. He's going to stay with us for a little while. I didn't particularly care for him trying
Starting point is 00:18:05 to become my new dad. That she knew him for a few months before they went to Vegas and got married. Raywin, her and Matt first got together. It was brought to my attention that she was being investigated for allegedly killing her ex-husband Max. I had come to find out that these people, I guess, had gone to the Northport Police Department.
Starting point is 00:18:31 It said that Jan Head, come to them, wanting to obtain some drugs. They think we're used to kill Max. Well, she said Max had a heart attack and they ruled it as a heart attack. Never had an autopsy done on him and he was cremated. He actually brought Max's ashes over to my house and asked me to hold onto them for her. Shortly after his death, Northport did try to investigate whether they could determine based on the cremated remains if his
Starting point is 00:19:06 death was the result of a homicide, but there was no task that they could do on the cremains of Macs that would be able to definitively say that his death was not natural. She said that it was, you know, it was being dismissed for a inconclusive evidence. Despite their strong suspicions, investigators already know there is little hope of bringing forth new evidence more than two years after Max's death.
Starting point is 00:19:42 In the state of Florida, if a doctor signs off on the death certificate and indicates its natural causes, there is no mechanism to trigger an autopsy. They wouldn't have been able to build a thorough case at that point because so much time it passed between his death. much time it passed between his death. Having already exhausted all avenues in the death of Janine's husband, investigators focus
Starting point is 00:20:12 on the case they do have against her. Okay. And when did you kind of have a business relationship, sir? I went up to New York for a few months and I returned last year in December right as her husband had passed away. I guess she received quite a bit of money from the life insurance. I never asked her how much she started to get into this business where she said she was buying up for closures and wanting me to do the pulling renovations to them. And that's when it really started taking off. I've seen them just like, you know, up to the window, drill the lock, change the locks
Starting point is 00:20:53 out, and they keep all these properties into the same lock, right? I don't go in there anymore, but this is the key for it. I mean, you can have it if you want. I don't want anything to do with it. Well, that Janine and Matt both are just Janine or just Matt or... No, that was both of them. And I've heard it out of Matt's mouth that none of these houses are legal and that he was trying to get Jan set up where she'd be like making 10 to 15 thousand months.
Starting point is 00:21:23 So this is the brainchild of this. Jam. Jam? Absolutely. I just can't believe what she has turned into. Coming up, as the investigation heats up, detectives realize they have only scratched the surface. I received a phone call from one of the informants that I was working on, and she said, it's pretty serious. And an innocent man lands in the crosshairs of a killer.
Starting point is 00:21:54 She's just having lunch and drawing a diagram of a house of a guy that she wants to have killed. Two years after the death of Max Jones, Florida police are investigating new allegations involving his widow, Janine. The Sarasota Police Department and the Northport Police Department had the white collar case going on with the real estate fraud, as well as the information about Max Jones and the suspicion around his death. With an investigation into her housing scheme officially underway, Detective Stuartson contacts John Chamberlain for a follow-up interview.
Starting point is 00:22:41 They were forming a case against Jan that this was, there were a lot of looph against Jan that this was, there were a lot of loopholes and that this was a tricky case. They wondered if I know everything that I knew, which I gladly told them. John tells the investigator things came to a head when homeowners started to discover the scam. The homeowners returned to find someone sitting
Starting point is 00:23:05 living in this house, whom they told them. They said, we rent this house from Jan Jones. Why I was over there working one time, they told me that they were trying to contact Jan. And so I gave him the cell number. And probably about a half hour later, I got a phone call from Jan. She was living.
Starting point is 00:23:25 John says right then and there, he knew something wasn't right. He began talking to the other tenants and just the mere fact that he was questioning them, caused Jeanine to go into a tailspin. She was mad because she didn't want anybody to be able to trace anything back to her. That's what it was, so she had a little burner phone that she would give the number to her rental people. And I said to myself, I'm thinking,
Starting point is 00:24:01 well, if everything's on the up and up, it's like, why would you need to do something like that? John says tensions only escalated after Janine's outburst. And she decided to reneg on her offer to provide John's living arrangements. She said, OK, well, you need to get the hell out of my house. Within three days after, you know, of us getting this little tiff, she sent Matt over to my house to put a certified eviction notice on my door.
Starting point is 00:24:34 John and Matt came to blows in the front yard. I pushed him and he went on his ass and rolled down the driveway. He came up there screaming and hollering at me that he was going to kick by rear end and throw me out of here and all this other stuff. After the follow-up interview with John, Detective Sturtson begins digging deeper into Janine's
Starting point is 00:25:01 schemes. Detective Sturtson located the actual owners of these homes. He did title searches, he examined the signatures and interviewed the owners to determine whether those signatures were in fact theirs or forged. Detective Stewardson discovers that Janine's fraud is quite extensive. We found that for several of those homes, she fraudulently forged the deeds. Some of the names that were reflected on the titles weren't the signatures of those prospective owners. She was going down to the tax assessor's office,
Starting point is 00:25:49 and she was providing them with a click claim deed to the property, but forging the person that was in foreclosure. She was dumping money into these houses. So who wouldn't think she owned them? As detectives continue to compile evidence to implicate Janine in the real estate fraud case, they get an unexpected phone call that turns the investigation on its head. I received a phone call from one of the informants that I was working with.
Starting point is 00:26:20 This informant gave me some information that they knew somebody wanting to report something very serious and I want to put this person, a known as Becky, in touch with you. Is it okay if I have her call you? And I said yes. Within 10 minutes my phone rang and it was Becky. She was nervous, but she explained to me that she had a friend in Northport that made a comment to her. She wanted to have somebody murder. Becky says the conspirator's name is Janine Jones.
Starting point is 00:26:58 I remember the phone call vividly. Of course, I was thinking no way. No, I can't. I'm going to have to look into this. So the police department, their surveillance unit, was set up. Our surveillance really consisted of what we would call rolling dry buys, where we're gonna use undercover vehicles and just kind of go by their houses. What our department is going to act so Becky is to try to use her to set up control calls and pretty much be a CI confidential informant to see just how real this claim is. On February 20, 2013, the police set up an undercover sting.
Starting point is 00:27:50 We did give Becky audio and video equipment, small, covert type items, and it was a video recorded meeting. Becky would meet up with Janine at the Sweet Tomatoes in Sarasota to go over the plan. And the alleged hitman would call them and have a conversation with Jean. At this time, Jeanine tells Becky the intended target is John Cheney. I think you said 25. I think you said you're running. Three shots of the games on the list. The list of games for that is the best I've ever been. Janine took out a napkin and drew out some details about the intended victim, John Chamberlain.
Starting point is 00:28:40 Put some information on the napkin through the diagram of the house. She had a deadline. She wanted this done when she was on a cruise. And she also had the deadline of the eviction here, which was February 27th. You need a wingspan. You have to go. You need an wingspan. During the meet, Janine was happy. She was laughing.
Starting point is 00:29:14 There were some joking in the beginning. She's just having lunch and drawing a diagram of a house of a guy that she wants to have killed and sort of acting like it's not that big of a deal. MUSIC of a guy that she wants to have killed and sort of acting like it's not that big of a deal. Coming up, investigators spring a trap. The exchange of money was important because we weren't sure how deep that Janine would commit to the deal.
Starting point is 00:29:38 And the stakes couldn't be higher. And I was really concerned about was if I mess up, this might cause somebody their life. Though Janine Jones is already on tape hiring a hitman to kill her former friend, John Chamberlain, detectives said another meeting to catch her in a cash exchange. Becky and Janine had decided to meet in a shopping center parking lot on the 25th, and this particular parking lot was near John Chamberlain's house. I talk with Detective Armstrong, and I remember he said, listen, this is a very important case. It's going to probably be one of the biggest cases that you do in your career
Starting point is 00:30:28 and you have the opportunity to do it if you want. And if you handle these five things that I tell you to handle, we can bring this case home. On February 25, 2013, Petrolman Harris is given very specific instructions as he and Becky assumed their position. The five things that I needed to do to make this case be successful is one, I needed to get a picture of John Chamberlain from Janine.
Starting point is 00:31:01 Two, I needed to have Jeanine show me where John Chamberlain lives. Three, I needed to have Jeanine tell me how she wanted the murder to permit it. The fourth thing was I needed to negotiate a price for this hit, and the fifth thing was to collect money for it. Anything can happen during an undercover transaction. I was really concerned about if I mess up,
Starting point is 00:31:34 this might cause somebody their life. With the trap set, Becky initiates the meeting with Janine. Hello. How are you doing? How are you? She eats the meeting with Jeanine. She blows the hitman a kiss that tells you a lot about who Janine Jones is. After the brief pleasantries, Janine gets right to business. This is the best I had. Okay, so I got a picture. Janine hand me a picture of John Chamberlain, which that was one of the things that I needed to check off the list.
Starting point is 00:32:23 The trio immediately heads towards John's house. So now we have undercover dominant carers driving the vehicle, Janine Jones in the passenger seat, and we have Becky now in the back seat sitting behind Janine. Okay, that's our house. That's the one house, where I am flying. I'm not sure. I'm not sure. I'm not sure. I'm not sure. I'm not sure. I'm not sure. I'm not sure.
Starting point is 00:32:47 I'm not sure. I'm not sure. I'm not sure. I'm not sure. I'm not sure. I'm not sure. I'm not sure. I'm not sure.
Starting point is 00:32:55 I'm not sure. I'm not sure. I'm not sure. I'm not sure. I'm not sure. I'm not sure. I'm not sure. I'm not sure.
Starting point is 00:33:03 I'm not sure. I'm not sure. I'm not sure. I'm not sure. I'm not sure. I'm not sure. drawing almost like a floor plan of the home where John sleeps and lay out of the home, the back door, front door, and different places where I could end in the home to murder John. Janine is pretty open about wanting to have this murder of John Chamberlain Dunn. He just needs too much knowledge of my life. That can come back and bite me out. And then I say, well, do anybody else live in the home with him?
Starting point is 00:33:34 Listen to his family's up in New York. OK. He's not a daughter, which I don't care about. She said if she gets in the way, kill her too. And at that time, I knew, man, this lady is evil. She gives him the green light to kill a child if he needs to. And I think that was one moment that shows how dark Janine Jones' heart is.
Starting point is 00:34:10 Once we make it back to the grocery store, I expect you to step out of the vehicle so me and Janine can negotiate more. All right, so exactly how do you all it done? If you think just snapping his neck and put him to sleep that way. Is that what you prefer? Well, obviously at least let's better. Okay.
Starting point is 00:34:35 For both of us. Okay. So, I'll show you what? Snap of neck. Okay. Yeah. Okay. And it's two.
Starting point is 00:34:44 It's wet. Oh, she doesn't. Okay. Okay. And then two is what? Um, I hate it. Despite capturing Janine's desired murder method on tape for the sting to work, police need evidence of payment. That's when we negotiated price and a toller with removal and we'd be doing a job that would be $4,000. I can give you what I have on me. Okay, what you got all you got?
Starting point is 00:35:12 $1,000. Just $1,000. She had $1,000 of cash on her at the time and she wrote out a check for cash to go to her bank. Before going to the bank for more cash, shockingly, Janine adds to the hit list. That is when she brought up, I mean, someone else killed, but she wanted to have that one done later.
Starting point is 00:35:37 She added her husband Matt Smith to that list. And she asked for a tofer. How would you want that one? That's going to be a little more trickier because like I said, he carries, we have cameras at the house. So you know, it could be something long line of a car-jacking. She was getting tired of Matt and she knew, with Max, she could make some money off
Starting point is 00:36:08 of him. So on January 3rd, when the $1 million life insurance policy on Matt's life became effective, she had every reason in the world to add him to her hit list. At that time, I had to make a decision on, do I give the signal to take down signal or do I allow her to go to Chase Bay? Deal, deal, deal. When Janine steps out of the vehicle, Officer Harris gives what's called the good deal sign. And she was taken down as she exited the vehicle.
Starting point is 00:36:50 Jeanine had a shock look on her face. She was definitely surprised that, oh my gosh, now there's the police here. And that shock turned anger. And she had a very angry face. She was not happy that she was getting arrested. She scuffed her knee when she was taking on the ground. She urinated in her shorts.
Starting point is 00:37:17 She had a criminal defense attorney already lined up. And she knew that if ever she was in trouble, that she would use this attorney. So she was savvy enough to know not to speak at all. Coming up, details of Janine's crimes go on display. I just remember the look on his face, complete and utter shock. Every feeling I had to talk to my mom was kind of gone when I found out all the evidence.
Starting point is 00:37:49 -♪ -♪ -♪ After a successful sting operation by Sarasota Police on February 25, 2013, 51-year-old Janine Jones sits in custody for soliciting a hitman to kill her friend John Chamberlain and her husband, Matt Smith. A day after Janine's arrest, investigators notify Matt of his wife's plot. We told Matt about the murder case
Starting point is 00:38:34 and that he was a victim, and that Janine wanted to have him killed. I just remember the look on his face was like it would be, I think, for anybody just complete an utter shock. Though Matt was almost the victim of a murder, investigators have reason to believe he was in on Janine's real estate scheme. When police questioned him about the fraud allegations,
Starting point is 00:38:58 his demeanor quickly shifts. Matt's reaction was to clam out. He told Bonn-Fource Mint he did not want to speak with them, and he just shut down. So that made me suspicious about his involvement. Police leave Matt for the time being and work to solidify their case against him. We took a while for the real estate charges to come forward because there was a lot of investigation that had to be done.
Starting point is 00:39:32 After a few weeks of digging, police have enough information to arrest Matt Smith for real estate fraud. Matt Smith was arrested on March 15th of 2013. He faces charges of multiple counts of burglary and scheming to defraud. Despite the charges against him, Matt Smith doesn't admit to anything. He played dumb, but we had evidence that Matt himself did the forgery. Matt was usually the person that was having contact with the tenants and collecting the rents. With his back against the wall, he asks prosecutors for a plea deal. Eventually, Matt Smith communicated through his attorney
Starting point is 00:40:27 that he would be willing to engage in a plea deal, in which he would testify against Jeanine in the solicitation of commit murder trial in exchange for a more lenient sentence for him. That offer was immediately rejected. Furthermore, I did not feel it was appropriate to call him as witness. On May 19th, 2014, Janine's case goes to trial.
Starting point is 00:41:02 Janine's defense attorney announces that she's going to be entering what's called an open plea to solicitation to commit murder. By doing an open plea, you open it up to the judge's decision on what happens to you. I was worried because the judge that presided over her, she was so nice and polite and respectful of Jan and giving her time to speak. And I was like, wow, I said, what is she gonna give her a slap on the wrist?
Starting point is 00:41:32 Ultimately, the video of the police sting played a vital role in Janine's fate. The video was very powerful. I think it eliminated any doubt of what her true intentions were. The judge did give her two life sentences in Florida State Prison. The fact that Janine Jones would allow or even encourage an 11-year-old child to be killed in the mix in order for her goal to be accomplished was a significant factor, I believe, in the judge's life sentence.
Starting point is 00:42:16 In addition to the two life sentences for the murder plot, Janine is also convicted of occupational license fraud for the real estate scheme. It just was pretty much smiling at her as she gave her that sentence, too. So I was like, wait a go. If I were to pinpoint anything why Jan would have snapped, I guess it would have to be just her love of money.
Starting point is 00:42:46 Janine was never charged in the death of her late husband, Max Jones. But in the end, his friends and family still feel a sense of vindication for what they believe happened to him. At Jan's sentencing, I actually sat next to Max's father while they were reading the sentencing off to Jan. And when they were reading the sentencing, his father turned to my side and grabbed my arm and said, thank you for getting justice for my boy.
Starting point is 00:43:15 She deserved what she got. We all said, we all said somehow Max got justice. Every feeling I had to talk to my mom was kind of gone. When I found out all the evidence, I had no respect left for her, and it just kind of went away. I think the most thing I miss about my dad being around is for him to tell me he's proud of me. Janine Jones is serving two life sentences at Florida Women's Reception Center.
Starting point is 00:44:00 Matt Smith pled guilty to one count of scheming to defraud. In 2014, he was sentenced to four years of probation in order to pay $17,500 in restitution. He has been released. For more information on snapped, go to oxygen.com.

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