The Murder Of Jesslyn Rich

[Miranda]

I write up on Unsolved True-Crime as a hobby. I enjoy a mystery.

The Murder of Jesslyn Rich

Jesslyn Rich, 35, was a divorced mother of two daughters working as a guard at Frontera Prison. Frontera Prison is 45 miles south of Los Angeles and one of the biggest women’s prisons in the state of California. Jesslyn was concerned about ongoing corruption at the prison and mysteriously disappeared on November 11, 1984. Her friend Marilyn Ault claims that on that evening she and Jesslyn were at a bar and she felt that Jesslyn had seen someone or something that frightened her.

Within moments Jesslyn had left their table and Ault remembers a man walking past as if he were following her, that would be the last time Rich was seen alive. Gary R. Munz, Rich’s brother went to her home and tried to find evidence or clues that police may have missed.

The authorities were telling the family that they felt Jesslyn had just abandoned her family and that it was nothing more than that. Jesslyn was going to night school and working on a degree in Criminology, carrying a 4.0 average consistently, her just leaving seemed an unbelievable and absurd notion.

As Munz sifted through bags of his sister’s trash he found many pieces of torn paper, he collected them , to sort them out later. What he would find would be the first actual piece of evidence that Jesslyn was a victim of foul play. He pieced together a letter in Jesslyn’s handwriting that was meant for another prison guard.

In the letter she claimed that she knew about the drugs being brought to Frontera but she also knew that she was in danger and would possibly “be taken care of”, she wrote this in the margin of the letter. In November of 1987, Terri Lucas, an inmate at Frontera was in the prison’s infirmary recovering from a Cancer biopsy.

It was then when officer Betty J. Thompson observed an unauthorized officer trying to gain entry into Lucas’ cell. She and the officer had words and he finally left the area but Lucas was visibly shaken up by this ordeal. Lucas told Thompson that the officer trying to speak with her was there to intimidate her into not telling anyone what she knew about the murder of Jesslyn Rich three years before. The following morning Betty Thompson went to Terri’s cell, only to find her lying in her bed cold and dead.

She went to the nurse’s station and reported the death and claims Lucas’ body was left in the infirmary for the days. An official from the coroner’s office went to the cell with Thompson and questioned her as to what had happened to this inmate.

She was with bruises, grass on her gown and it looked as if her arm was broken, he also felt she had been suffocated with the pillow she slept on. After the coroner spoke with high up prison officials, he changed his story. They were now going to say Terri Lucas had died from complications to Diabetes and that her body had only been in the infirmary cell for two hours not three days.

Thompson claims she was forced to sign a false report describing the incident not as it actually transpired, and was not allowed to leave until she did so. An officer told her that if she didn’t sign , the same thing that happened to Jesslyn Rich may happen to her.

This is when Betty now realized that what Lucas had told her that day in the infirmary was true, she had never told anyone about what Terri had said regarding Jesslyn. After six hours of intimidation, she gave in and signed the document but put that she was signing the document under duress. Apparently a new document was typed up and Thompsons’ name was forged.

Thompson was harassed for seven months and in 1988 she was shot at outside of her home. Betty called police and while they were at her home taking her report, a person called her and told her that next time, they would not miss. Jesslyn Rich’s family was told that four weeks after she had initially disappeared a dismembered body of a female was found in a remote area of San Bernardino county.

The body would not be identified until eight years later in 1992, they indeed were the partial remains of Jesslyn Rich. An official at Frontera said he didn’t deny there was corruption at the prison but that he needed proof to be able to do anything regarding the matter.

By Miranda

Edited March 4, 2008 by Miranda

[torn asunder]

wow - seriously, you really need to use some breakpoints in there somewhere - paragraphs, indents... something! i can't bring myself to read it...

[jadnifer]

I really enjoy reading your material. So you take true crime and write the stories out? You would be good at writing the narration for true crime shows.

[torn asunder]

YaY for paragraphs!!

[Tru2Him4E]

I write up on Unsolved True-Crime as a hobby. I enjoy a mystery.

The Murder of Jesslyn Rich

Jesslyn Rich, 35, was a divorced mother of two daughters working as a guard at Frontera Prison. Frontera Prison is 45 miles south of Los Angeles and one of the biggest women’s prisons in the state of California. Jesslyn was concerned about ongoing corruption at the prison and mysteriously disappeared on November 11, 1984. Her friend Marilyn Ault claims that on that evening she and Jesslyn were at a bar and she felt that Jesslyn had seen someone or something that frightened her.

Within moments Jesslyn had left their table and Ault remembers a man walking past as if he were following her, that would be the last time Rich was seen alive. Gary R. Munz, Rich’s brother went to her home and tried to find evidence or clues that police may have missed.

The authorities were telling the family that they felt Jesslyn had just abandoned her family and that it was nothing more than that. Jesslyn was going to night school and working on a degree in Criminology, carrying a 4.0 average consistently, her just leaving seemed an unbelievable and absurd notion.

As Munz sifted through bags of his sister’s trash he found many pieces of torn paper, he collected them , to sort them out later. What he would find would be the first actual piece of evidence that Jesslyn was a victim of foul play. He pieced together a letter in Jesslyn’s handwriting that was meant for another prison guard.

In the letter she claimed that she knew about the drugs being brought to Frontera but she also knew that she was in danger and would possibly “be taken care of”, she wrote this in the margin of the letter. In November of 1987, Terri Lucas, an inmate at Frontera was in the prison’s infirmary recovering from a Cancer biopsy.

It was then when officer Betty J. Thompson observed an unauthorized officer trying to gain entry into Lucas’ cell. She and the officer had words and he finally left the area but Lucas was visibly shaken up by this ordeal. Lucas told Thompson that the officer trying to speak with her was there to intimidate her into not telling anyone what she knew about the murder of Jesslyn Rich three years before. The following morning Betty Thompson went to Terri’s cell, only to find her lying in her bed cold and dead.

She went to the nurse’s station and reported the death and claims Lucas’ body was left in the infirmary for the days. An official from the coroner’s office went to the cell with Thompson and questioned her as to what had happened to this inmate.

She was with bruises, grass on her gown and it looked as if her arm was broken, he also felt she had been suffocated with the pillow she slept on. After the coroner spoke with high up prison officials, he changed his story. They were now going to say Terri Lucas had died from complications to Diabetes and that her body had only been in the infirmary cell for two hours not three days.

Thompson claims she was forced to sign a false report describing the incident not as it actually transpired, and was not allowed to leave until she did so. An officer told her that if she didn’t sign , the same thing that happened to Jesslyn Rich may happen to her.

This is when Betty now realized that what Lucas had told her that day in the infirmary was true, she had never told anyone about what Terri had said regarding Jesslyn. After six hours of intimidation, she gave in and signed the document but put that she was signing the document under duress. Apparently a new document was typed up and Thompsons’ name was forged.

Thompson was harassed for seven months and in 1988 she was shot at outside of her home. Betty called police and while they were at her home taking her report, a person called her and told her that next time, they would not miss. Jesslyn Rich’s family was told that four weeks after she had initially disappeared a dismembered body of a female was found in a remote area of San Bernardino county.

The body would not be identified until eight years later in 1992, they indeed were the partial remains of Jesslyn Rich. An official at Frontera said he didn’t deny there was corruption at the prison but that he needed proof to be able to do anything regarding the matter.

By Miranda

Dear Miranda,

My name is Leslie Grace. My maiden name is Rich. Jesslyn Rich is my Mother. I had to respond to your post because the ending is not true. The body parts found in San Bernardino, California were never identified. There were 3 or 4 body parts found. One of them was a forearm with the hand attached and another was the bottom part of someone's leg (cut off from the knee down) My Mother's shoe size was not the same as the size of whoever's foot that was and the fingerprints from the hand were not a match to my Mother's. The remains were never IDed. I have recently given my DNA to the police for an investigation involving these body parts. They are using my DNA to disprove that the parts belong to my Mother. Feel free to write to me if you like.

Sincerely, Leslie Grace

[Miranda]

Dear Miranda,

My name is Leslie Grace. My maiden name is Rich. Jesslyn Rich is my Mother. I had to respond to your post because the ending is not true. The body parts found in San Bernardino, California were never identified. There were 3 or 4 body parts found. One of them was a forearm with the hand attached and another was the bottom part of someone's leg (cut off from the knee down) My Mother's shoe size was not the same as the size of whoever's foot that was and the fingerprints from the hand were not a match to my Mother's. The remains were never IDed. I have recently given my DNA to the police for an investigation involving these body parts. They are using my DNA to disprove that the parts belong to my Mother. Feel free to write to me if you like.

Sincerely, Leslie Grace

Leslie Grace,

I am glad that you clarified what was true versus what has been documented. Thank you very much for taking the time to respond to this. My heartfelt condolences go to you and your family. Thank You, Miranda

[Miranda]

I really enjoy reading your material. So you take true crime and write the stories out? You would be good at writing the narration for true crime shows.

Hi,

I didn't see you had responded to this Jadnifer, sorry. Yes, I read as much material on a case as I can and then I document the facts in my words and writing style .. then hopefully try to make an interesting story. Thanks for the compliment btw.

[Miranda]

YaY for paragraphs!!

Hehe yeah.. paragraphs are a good thing! I just copied and pasted these from my Word Perfect. Unfortunately, I didn't realize the paragraph won't be implemented when you cut n paste. I make sure to check now, doh!

Edited April 6, 2008 by Miranda

[robinmunz]

Dear Miranda,

My name is Leslie Grace. My maiden name is Rich. Jesslyn Rich is my Mother. I had to respond to your post because the ending is not true. The body parts found in San Bernardino, California were never identified. There were 3 or 4 body parts found. One of them was a forearm with the hand attached and another was the bottom part of someone's leg (cut off from the knee down) My Mother's shoe size was not the same as the size of whoever's foot that was and the fingerprints from the hand were not a match to my Mother's. The remains were never IDed. I have recently given my DNA to the police for an investigation involving these body parts. They are using my DNA to disprove that the parts belong to my Mother. Feel free to write to me if you like.

Sincerely, Leslie Grace

Hi Leslie,

My name is Robin Munz, your mother Jesslyn was my half sister. my dad's name was Richard E Munz. So you are my niece, how exciting to find you. I was looking to find out what was up with Gary, I haven't seen him since he stayed with me for a few days years ago. I try to keep up on new info about your Mom even though I was never fortunate enough to meet her. She must have been a very wonderful woman to stand up for what was right. Then to lose her life bacause of it.

I would love to get to know you and your family.... email me at robinmunz@hotmail.com

TAKE CARE LESLIE AND GOD BLESS Robin

[robinmunz]

Dear Miranda,

My name is Leslie Grace. My maiden name is Rich. Jesslyn Rich is my Mother. I had to respond to your post because the ending is not true. The body parts found in San Bernardino, California were never identified. There were 3 or 4 body parts found. One of them was a forearm with the hand attached and another was the bottom part of someone's leg (cut off from the knee down) My Mother's shoe size was not the same as the size of whoever's foot that was and the fingerprints from the hand were not a match to my Mother's. The remains were never IDed. I have recently given my DNA to the police for an investigation involving these body parts. They are using my DNA to disprove that the parts belong to my Mother. Feel free to write to me if you like.

Sincerely, Leslie Grace

[ThreeMuses]

Dear Miranda,

My name is Leslie Grace. My maiden name is Rich. Jesslyn Rich is my Mother. I had to respond to your post because the ending is not true. The body parts found in San Bernardino, California were never identified. There were 3 or 4 body parts found. One of them was a forearm with the hand attached and another was the bottom part of someone's leg (cut off from the knee down) My Mother's shoe size was not the same as the size of whoever's foot that was and the fingerprints from the hand were not a match to my Mother's. The remains were never IDed. I have recently given my DNA to the police for an investigation involving these body parts. They are using my DNA to disprove that the parts belong to my Mother. Feel free to write to me if you like.

Sincerely, Leslie Grace

Any updates. I was actually looking at old Unsolved Mysteries tv show stories and I remembered this one. (They brought back Unsolved Mysteries with a different host due to popular demand. RIP Robert Stacks!) but anyways I thought this was horrible and that there was still time to get to the truth. I used to volunteer for a civil rights organization and the stories that we would receive were very disheartening. Email me privately because I got some ideas that might jumpstart attention back in to this case along with Teri Lucas's.

[Homicidalheathen]

I heard drug dealing in prisons is big buisness

I hope all guilty parties involved pay someday, bigtime.

My condolenses to Robin and Leslie

I always read these posts Miranda as I too find forensics and crime stories facinating

She must have been a smart lady, 4.0 in that field is not easy.

[Tru2Him4E]

Any updates. I was actually looking at old Unsolved Mysteries tv show stories and I remembered this one. (They brought back Unsolved Mysteries with a different host due to popular demand. RIP Robert Stacks!) but anyways I thought this was horrible and that there was still time to get to the truth. I used to volunteer for a civil rights organization and the stories that we would receive were very disheartening. Email me privately because I got some ideas that might jumpstart attention back in to this case along with Teri Lucas's.

I know this post was written over a month ago. I hardly go online to Detroit Gothic. My personal email address is Tru2Him4E@hotmail.com... feel free to write. Sincerely, Leslie Grace ;O)

[Tru2Him4E]

I write up on Unsolved True-Crime as a hobby. I enjoy a mystery.

The Murder of Jesslyn Rich

Jesslyn Rich, 35, was a divorced mother of two daughters working as a guard at Frontera Prison. Frontera Prison is 45 miles south of Los Angeles and one of the biggest women’s prisons in the state of California. Jesslyn was concerned about ongoing corruption at the prison and mysteriously disappeared on November 11, 1984. Her friend Marilyn Ault claims that on that evening she and Jesslyn were at a bar and she felt that Jesslyn had seen someone or something that frightened her.

Within moments Jesslyn had left their table and Ault remembers a man walking past as if he were following her, that would be the last time Rich was seen alive. Gary R. Munz, Rich’s brother went to her home and tried to find evidence or clues that police may have missed.

The authorities were telling the family that they felt Jesslyn had just abandoned her family and that it was nothing more than that. Jesslyn was going to night school and working on a degree in Criminology, carrying a 4.0 average consistently, her just leaving seemed an unbelievable and absurd notion.

As Munz sifted through bags of his sister’s trash he found many pieces of torn paper, he collected them , to sort them out later. What he would find would be the first actual piece of evidence that Jesslyn was a victim of foul play. He pieced together a letter in Jesslyn’s handwriting that was meant for another prison guard.

In the letter she claimed that she knew about the drugs being brought to Frontera but she also knew that she was in danger and would possibly “be taken care of”, she wrote this in the margin of the letter. In November of 1987, Terri Lucas, an inmate at Frontera was in the prison’s infirmary recovering from a Cancer biopsy.

It was then when officer Betty J. Thompson observed an unauthorized officer trying to gain entry into Lucas’ cell. She and the officer had words and he finally left the area but Lucas was visibly shaken up by this ordeal. Lucas told Thompson that the officer trying to speak with her was there to intimidate her into not telling anyone what she knew about the murder of Jesslyn Rich three years before. The following morning Betty Thompson went to Terri’s cell, only to find her lying in her bed cold and dead.

She went to the nurse’s station and reported the death and claims Lucas’ body was left in the infirmary for the days. An official from the coroner’s office went to the cell with Thompson and questioned her as to what had happened to this inmate.

She was with bruises, grass on her gown and it looked as if her arm was broken, he also felt she had been suffocated with the pillow she slept on. After the coroner spoke with high up prison officials, he changed his story. They were now going to say Terri Lucas had died from complications to Diabetes and that her body had only been in the infirmary cell for two hours not three days.

Thompson claims she was forced to sign a false report describing the incident not as it actually transpired, and was not allowed to leave until she did so. An officer told her that if she didn’t sign , the same thing that happened to Jesslyn Rich may happen to her.

This is when Betty now realized that what Lucas had told her that day in the infirmary was true, she had never told anyone about what Terri had said regarding Jesslyn. After six hours of intimidation, she gave in and signed the document but put that she was signing the document under duress. Apparently a new document was typed up and Thompsons’ name was forged.

Thompson was harassed for seven months and in 1988 she was shot at outside of her home. Betty called police and while they were at her home taking her report, a person called her and told her that next time, they would not miss. Jesslyn Rich’s family was told that four weeks after she had initially disappeared a dismembered body of a female was found in a remote area of San Bernardino county.

The body would not be identified until eight years later in 1992, they indeed were the partial remains of Jesslyn Rich. An official at Frontera said he didn’t deny there was corruption at the prison but that he needed proof to be able to do anything regarding the matter.

By Miranda

Hey, this is Leslie Grace. I just wanted to let you know the body parts from San Bernardino have never been identified. A sheriff came to my house a few months ago to collect my DNA to disprove the report that those parts were from my Mother, Jesslyn Rich. I want to thank you for your interest in this case. My Mom was never found, but they have closed the case. It's been 25 years and we just recently had a memorial service for her. I was very blessed to have a group of my church members donate the money for the headstone. An agency affiliated with the sheriff's dept paid for the work to be done. I thank God for the blessings of my life!

Edited February 14, 2009 by Tru2Him4E

[imbless30]

<!--quoteo(post=421338:date=Apr 6 2008, 02:12 AM:name=Tru2Him4E)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tru2Him4E @ Apr 6 2008, 02:12 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=421338"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Dear Miranda,

My name is Leslie Grace. My maiden name is Rich. Jesslyn Rich is my Mother. I had to respond to your post because the ending is not true. The body parts found in San Bernardino, California were never identified. There were 3 or 4 body parts found. One of them was a forearm with the hand attached and another was the bottom part of someone's leg (cut off from the knee down) My Mother's shoe size was not the same as the size of whoever's foot that was and the fingerprints from the hand were not a match to my Mother's. The remains were never IDed. I have recently given my DNA to the police for an investigation involving these body parts. They are using my DNA to disprove that the parts belong to my Mother. Feel free to write to me if you like.

Sincerely, Leslie Grace<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Leslie Grace,

I am glad that you clarified what was true versus what has been documented. Thank you very much for taking the time to respond to this. My heartfelt condolences go to you and your family. Thank You, Miranda

[imbless30]

Hello Leslie Grace,

I rather keep name private but, I send my deepest condolence to you and your family. Terry Lucas is my mother so believe me with all honesty I understand all the pain and suffering. The way I see this investigation my mother meant nothing but, NO disrespect to you and your family... only the state because they have yet to inform my family on this case and I feel we have the right to know also! Should you have anything to speak with me about please feel free to do so..

Regards,

Hurt and Pain

Edited July 9, 2010 by imbless30

[imbless30]

Hello Miranda,

Just wanted to actknowledge your support on this unsolved true crime, I appreciate the fact the any one would take the time out to present reality to the world.. It seem as when these true crimes are unsolve and time passes the state seem to just forget about them but the family doesn't, I thank you so much for the clarification on this true crime!

please forgive any mistake I've made this was very hard for me to do....

Regards,

Hurt and Pain

Edited July 9, 2010 by imbless30

[imbless30]

Hello Miranda,

Just wanted to actknowledge your support on this unsolved true crime, I appreciate the fact the any one would take the time out to present reality to the world.. It seem as when these true crimes are unsolve and time passes the state seem to just forget about them but the family doesn't, I thank you so much for the clarification on this true crime!

please forgive any mistake I've made this was very hard for me to do....

Regards,

Hurt and Pain

Edited July 9, 2010 by imbless30

[robinmunz]

Hello Leslie Grace,

I rather keep name private but, I send my deepest condolence to you and your family. Terry Lucas is my mother so believe me with all honesty I understand all the pain and suffering. The way I see this investigation my mother meant nothing but, NO disrespect to you and your family... only the state because they have yet to inform my family on this case and I feel we have the right to know also! Should you have anything to speak with me about please feel free to do so..

Regards,

Hurt and Pain

[robinmunz]

Hello imbless30. This is Robin Munz, Jesslyn Rich was my half sister. Just wanted to tell you that you are wrong... Your mother did mean something and dont ever let those murderers at the prison or police station tell you anything different. I am so sorry for the loss of your Mother. My Mother died 25 years ago and I still miss her. I pray that someday, someone will have the courage to right the horrible injustice that has occured here. If you find out any info at all please let Leslie or I know and we will do the same for. Take Care, Robin

Hello Leslie Grace,

I rather keep name private but, I send my deepest condolence to you and your family. Terry Lucas is my mother so believe me with all honesty I understand all the pain and suffering. The way I see this investigation my mother meant nothing but, NO disrespect to you and your family... only the state because they have yet to inform my family on this case and I feel we have the right to know also! Should you have anything to speak with me about please feel free to do so..

Regards,

Hurt and Pain

[torn asunder]

hey, gang, this is the kind of personal communication that should be taken to private messages, ok?

thanks!

[jesslynsfriend]

I write up on Unsolved True-Crime as a hobby. I enjoy a mystery.

The Murder of Jesslyn Rich

Jesslyn Rich, 35, was a divorced mother of two daughters working as a guard at Frontera Prison. Frontera Prison is 45 miles south of Los Angeles and one of the biggest women’s prisons in the state of California. Jesslyn was concerned about ongoing corruption at the prison and mysteriously disappeared on November 11, 1984. Her friend Marilyn Ault claims that on that evening she and Jesslyn were at a bar and she felt that Jesslyn had seen someone or something that frightened her.

Within moments Jesslyn had left their table and Ault remembers a man walking past as if he were following her, that would be the last time Rich was seen alive. Gary R. Munz, Rich’s brother went to her home and tried to find evidence or clues that police may have missed.

The authorities were telling the family that they felt Jesslyn had just abandoned her family and that it was nothing more than that. Jesslyn was going to night school and working on a degree in Criminology, carrying a 4.0 average consistently, her just leaving seemed an unbelievable and absurd notion.

As Munz sifted through bags of his sister’s trash he found many pieces of torn paper, he collected them , to sort them out later. What he would find would be the first actual piece of evidence that Jesslyn was a victim of foul play. He pieced together a letter in Jesslyn’s handwriting that was meant for another prison guard.

In the letter she claimed that she knew about the drugs being brought to Frontera but she also knew that she was in danger and would possibly “be taken care of”, she wrote this in the margin of the letter. In November of 1987, Terri Lucas, an inmate at Frontera was in the prison’s infirmary recovering from a Cancer biopsy.

It was then when officer Betty J. Thompson observed an unauthorized officer trying to gain entry into Lucas’ cell. She and the officer had words and he finally left the area but Lucas was visibly shaken up by this ordeal. Lucas told Thompson that the officer trying to speak with her was there to intimidate her into not telling anyone what she knew about the murder of Jesslyn Rich three years before. The following morning Betty Thompson went to Terri’s cell, only to find her lying in her bed cold and dead.

She went to the nurse’s station and reported the death and claims Lucas’ body was left in the infirmary for the days. An official from the coroner’s office went to the cell with Thompson and questioned her as to what had happened to this inmate.

She was with bruises, grass on her gown and it looked as if her arm was broken, he also felt she had been suffocated with the pillow she slept on. After the coroner spoke with high up prison officials, he changed his story. They were now going to say Terri Lucas had died from complications to Diabetes and that her body had only been in the infirmary cell for two hours not three days.

Thompson claims she was forced to sign a false report describing the incident not as it actually transpired, and was not allowed to leave until she did so. An officer told her that if she didn’t sign , the same thing that happened to Jesslyn Rich may happen to her.

This is when Betty now realized that what Lucas had told her that day in the infirmary was true, she had never told anyone about what Terri had said regarding Jesslyn. After six hours of intimidation, she gave in and signed the document but put that she was signing the document under duress. Apparently a new document was typed up and Thompsons’ name was forged.

Thompson was harassed for seven months and in 1988 she was shot at outside of her home. Betty called police and while they were at her home taking her report, a person called her and told her that next time, they would not miss. Jesslyn Rich’s family was told that four weeks after she had initially disappeared a dismembered body of a female was found in a remote area of San Bernardino county.

The body would not be identified until eight years later in 1992, they indeed were the partial remains of Jesslyn Rich. An official at Frontera said he didn’t deny there was corruption at the prison but that he needed proof to be able to do anything regarding the matter.

By Miranda

[jesslynsfriend]

The partial remains found were legs and a foot. They were never compaired with DNA as the coroners office in San Bernardino stated,(to the press) that they destroyed the remains as they were not a repository for all the remains found in the desert! Her case is still listed with the DOJ as a missing person.