A well-known animal rights attorney in Colorado is being held on a $3 million cash bond after prosecutors say she attempted to hire ranch hands in a murder-for-hire plot to kill her estranged husband and his new girlfriend, formerly an au pair who cared for their three children.
One of the ranch hands allegedly tipped off the husband and authorities, before working with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office to record phone conversations during a six-month investigation that eventually lead to the arrest of 44-year-old Jennifer Emmi, also known as Jennifer Edwards, of Evergreen, Colo.
Emmi was arrested in late January and is charged with solicitation of first-degree murder, two counts of retaliating against a witness or victim, and three counts of stalking, the Denver Post reported. She is being held in the Jefferson County jail and is scheduled to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on Feb. 26, KCNC-TV reported, citing court records.
According to a 33-page affidavit filed Jan. 25, Emmi first asked 28-year-old ranch hand Timothy Lindsey to help her kill her estranged husband’s girlfriend in November 2020. After the conversation, Lindsey went to authorities and became an informant, recording several phone calls during which Emmi allegedly asked if he knew anyone to “get rid of her,” and provided the girlfriend’s name and workplace, court records show.
Lindsey “played along,” according to the affidavit, and told Emmi the job would cost between $50,000 and $100,000.
(Jefferson County Sheriff)
“Jennifer responded that the money would not be a problem,” the affidavit says.
Emmi also allegedly discussed whether her husband should also be killed and whether it should happen at his ranch in Evergreen or elsewhere, suggesting in one conversation that maybe both he and the girlfriend be taken out because “if there was a car accident or something, no one would know,” the affidavit says. But Emmi then decided to “hold off.”
“We are not going to do anything,” she later told Lindsey, according to the affidavit.
Chris Bresee, the attorney representing Emmi, pointed out to media outlets that the case relies primarily on phone conversations, telling KDVR Fox 31 that “the allegations, at least the way the warrant reads, is she’s understandably upset. She finds out that after sacrificing her body and had three beautiful kids that her husband literally traded her in for a much younger girl.”
“It’s not unusual for someone whose husband is having an affair with the au pair to be upset and mad,” Bresee added in comments to the Denver Post. “The line of saying how mad you are and how enraged you are and saying it to other people — it seems odd one of them was then a confidential informant who was working with police.”
In addition to the husband and authorities, Lindsey also told another person about the murder-for-hire plot; Seth McCallum, a 29-year-old former ranch hand who served as a sniper in the U.S. military, according to the report.
Before her recent arrest — but amid her crumbling marriage — Emmi had been embroiled in legal trouble over the past year and was facing 16 felonies and 16 misdemeanors alleging domestic violence, retaliation against witnesses and attempts to influence public servants.
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An unidentified 67-year-old man, described in court documents as Emmi’s “financial backer” who had taken a “special interest” in her, had paid her bond in at least one of her previous cases. McCallum allegedly used knowledge of the murder-for-hire plot to attempt to blackmail the 67-year-old man for $10,000, but it’s unclear if he ever received payment, the affidavit says.
In an interview with investigators in January, McCallum stated that he “thought he could make some money with the information he had knowledge of,” the affidavit says. He also allegedly admitted that Emmi, knowing his military background, asked him to kill people before. McCallum told investigators he believed Emmi was fantasizing and declined her request. He would not specify who she targeted.
Neither Lindsey nor McCallum have been criminally charged in the case, the Denver Post reported, citing court records.
Emmi is the founder of The Animal Law Center, a law firm that provides an array of legal services for animal owners and guardians, according to its LinkedIn page. She also opened a nonprofit organization at a ranch in Evergreen that aims to “accentuate the bond between humans and animals,” KCNC-TV reported. She was frequently interviewed by local media outlets about animal rights cases and hosted a regular show on Facebook discussing animals.
According to the affidavit, Emmi also conducted research into witnesses, judges, prosecutors and investigators working on her previous cases, sometimes taking handwritten notes about those individual’s personal lives and family members. She also allegedly looked into whether law enforcement had the ability to track her phone and purchased devices meant to block tracking.
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The affidavit also says that Emmi’s estranged husband and his girlfriend have spoken to investigators, claiming they lived in constant fear amid the domestic violence incidents and often left their home to go into hiding after seeing vehicles passing by with people taking photos.
Reached by KCNC-TV, Emmi’s estranged husband, who was not named by the outlet, said, “it’s a very sensitive topic, and I ask for people to respect the privacy of the family and the children.”
