Formerly missing woman enters not guilty plea, remains suspect in separate woman’s disappearance
A Pennsylvania woman who had been missing for more than a decade has pleaded not guilty to charges in Nassau County, Florida, as she remains a suspect in the disappearance of another woman last month.
Jennifer Sybert, whose real name is Kimberly Kessler, had her attorney enter a written plea of not guilty to a charge of grand theft auto on Wednesday after authorities said she was seen on surveillance footage dropping off 34-year-old Joleen Cummings’ car hours after she was last seen.
Sybert, aka Kessler, worked with Cummings at a hair salon in Yulee, Florida, and is believed to be the last person to see Cummings before she disappeared nearly a month ago, authorities said.
Cummings’ mother, Ann Johnson, reported her missing on May 14 after she failed to pick up her kids on Mother’s Day.
Kessler has been charged in Nassau County under the name Sybert and has not yet been charged in connection with Cummings’ disappearance.
The Nassau County Sheriff’s Office said it's still working to gather more evidence. Sheriff Bill Leeper said last month investigators have reason to believe that Cummings is no longer alive.
Sheriff's deputies in St. Johns County, Florida, arrested Sybert on May 16, which was when authorities learned her real name was Kimberly Kessler -- the same Kimberly Kessler who had been reported missing from Butler County, Pennsylvania, in 2004. The Nassau County Sheriff’s Office said this month that since that time Kessler is believed to have used at least 18 different aliases and lived in more than a dozen states.
She's believed to have gotten her most recent alias, Jennifer Sybert, from the grave of a deceased teenager in Butler County, according to County District Attorney Richard Goldinger.
Sybert remains in jail on a $500,000 bond.
