The sexton of the Foster Chapel Cemetery in West Jefferson, Ohio, was in for a shock when he arrived for work on the morning of March 17, 1991. The body of a young girl lay on, as opposed to in, the cemetery grounds.

A headstone had been pulled from the ground: upon examination, it was found covered in blood and appeared to have been used as a weapon to kill the girl, identified as fifteen-year-old Jessica Keen of Weinland Park, a neighborhood of north Columbus, twenty miles east of West Jefferson. An autopsy showed she had been raped before being beaten to death.

Jessica Keen was a typical teen, but one whose life was brutally cut short by a crime of opportunity.

Jessica Keen

Much to her mother Rebecca’s chagrin, Jessica had recently begun dating eighteen-year-old Shawn Thompson. In addition to his age, Rebecca was uncomfortable because Shawn was a high school dropout who had had several brushes, albeit minor, with the law.

Jessica had been an honor student in junior high, but as her relationship with Shawn progressed, her grades during her high school freshman year regressed. She also quit cheerleading, her favorite activity in junior high.

Rebecca soon forbade Jessica from seeing Shawn. Jessica rebelled by cutting school several times to see him.

When Rebecca learned of the truancy, arguments between mother and daughter escalated. Both ultimately agreed they needed some time away from each other.

On March 4, 1991, Rebecca arranged a two-week stay for Jessica at the Huckleberry House, a live-in counseling center for troubled teens in Columbus. On March 15, three days before she was to be released, other residents heard Jessica on the telephone arguing with Shawn. She angrily left the house, saying she was going to the mall.

Because she was too young to drive without an adult with her, Jessica waited at the bus stop, where she was last seen at approximately 6:00 p.m.

Trouble With Shawn

Two days later, Jessica was found raped and bludgeoned to death near the fence of the Foster Chapel Cemetery, twenty miles from the Huckleberry House. Duct tape was on both of her hands as well as her mouth. She was clothed only in her bra and one sock.

Raped And Beaten To Death

Police believed Jessica’s killer had encountered her at the bus stop and coaxed her into his vehicle under the pretense of offering her a ride to the mall. Authorities surmised that once inside the vehicle, she was held captive and raped.

The coroner’s finding that Jessica had been killed shortly before midnight on March 16, meant she would have been held captive for nearly six hours before being killed. Police theorized the scantily-clad Jessica then escaped and fled, probably not knowing she was running into a cemetery. As her killer gave chase, Jessica likely tried to hide behind several graves; her second sock and knee print were found behind one.

Tried To Flee

While frantically running through the cemetery, Jessica is believed to have seen the light from a farmhouse approximately a half-mile away. Investigators believe she began a desperate run toward the home. In the darkness of the unlit cemetery, she ran straight into a fence post which likely knocked her unconscious.

The killer then dug up a seventy-pound gravestone from the cemetery and used it to beat the incapacitated Jessica to death. The force of the blows were so intense that the stone split in two.

Hope Dashed By Darkness

As Jessica was heard arguing with her boyfriend, Shawn Thompson, shortly before she was last seen, he was the prime suspect in her murder. He voluntarily submitted a DNA sample to police; it did not match.

Both Shawn and Jessica’s friends and acquaintances also submitted samples for testing; the DNA cleared all of them of involvement.

It took seventeen years before the DNA produced a match.

Boyfriend Cleared

In April 2008, DNA found on the murdered Jessica Keen was matched to Marvin Smith. The fifty-one-year-old was living in North Carolina but had been residing in Columbus, Ohio, at the time of Jessica’s murder. He had no connection to her and was never considered a suspect.

Shortly before Jessica’s murder, Smith had been charged with assaults against two Columbus women. He was free on bond when Jessica was killed. After he was convicted of the assaults, Smith was required to submit a DNA sample.

Seventeen years later, after advances in technology were made, a random running of his DNA through the national database yielded the match.

Marvin Smith

1991 Photo

Marvin Smith confessed to the murder of Jessica Keen. His account matched the awful manner in which police believed the young girl lost her life.

After seeing Jessica at the bus stop, Smith said he offered her a ride to the mall. After some initial reluctance, he persuaded her. Once she was inside the car, Smith says he drove to the countryside and proceeded to rape her for several hours. He also confirmed that Jessica escaped, ran into the cemetery and collided with the fence post, and that he used the gravestone to beat her to death.

Smith said he acted alone in the murder of Jessica Keen.

The Killer Of Jessica Keen Comes Clean

To avoid any chance of receiving the death penalty, Marvin Smith pled guilty to aggravated murder, rape, and kidnapping.  He was sentenced to life in prison, with the possibility of parole after serving thirty years.

Smith Pleads Guilty

Marvin Smith, now sixty-seven -years-old, is serving his sentence at the Correctional Reception Center in Orient, Ohio.

He will become eligible for parole in March 2038, when he will be eighty-one-years-old.

Serving His Sentence

A cross marks the spot at the Foster Chapel Cemetery in West Jefferson, Ohio, where Jessica Keen’s body was found.

The date inscribed is March 17, the day her body was found, but she is believed to have been killed in the late evening hours of March 16.

Where Jessica Keen’s Life Ended  

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6664952/jessica-lyn-keen#

SOURCES:

Channel 10, Columbus, Ohio

• Columbus Dispatch
• The Criminal Journal
• Murderpedia
• Unsolved Mysteries
• Xenia Gazette News
• WBNS CBS Affiliate Channel 10, Columbus, Ohio