The Murder of Jessica Dishon
Warning, this case involves discussion of sexual assault and crimes against children.
For this case, I watched an episode of On the Case with Paula Zahn. It’s season 14 episode 18, titled ‘A Betrayal Concealed.’
A 17 year old girl is abducted and killed, and it would take fifteen years for her case to be solved.
Background
Jessica Dishon
Jessica Dishon was born on May 2, 1982. She lived in the small southern town of Sheperdsville, Kentucky, a farming town twenty miles from Louisville. Jessica lived with her parents, Edna and Michael, and her two younger brothers.
Jessica was described as a very responsible girl, who wanted to go to college to become an accountant. She was very close with her family, so when she disappeared they were heartbroken.
Disappearance
On September 10, 1999, Jessica’s mom, Edna, came home around 1pm. Jessica’s car was in the driveway, and Edna thought that was strange because Jessica should have been at school until about 2:30pm.
Edna went inside to look for Jessica, and there was no sign of her. She called her husband, Michael, and he said he didn’t know why Jessica wouldn’t be at school. Edna was worried at this point, and went out to search her car. Inside her car was her cell phone, purse, backpack and one of her shoes.
Edna called the school, and found out that Jessica never arrived that day. The Dishon’s were very worried and they started calling everyone they knew. No one had seen her.
Jessica’s parents went to the police station that same day, and the police told them they needed to wait one more day and they could come back tomorrow to file a missing persons report. They did just that, and a search for Jessica began.
Investigation
At first the police believed Jessica could have just run away. Jessica’s family said there is no way, all of her belongings were in her car and she wouldn’t leave her family.
The police began their search by looking at her car. The police noticed there was a sign of a struggle near Jessica’s driver side door of her car. The police’s theory is that Jessica had been abducted. However, other than her car, they had no leads or suspects.
The Dishon’s put up missing persons flyers, and along with the FBI, they put out a $18,000 reward for any information.
A Discovery
Seventeen days after Jessica disappeared, a bus driver called 911. She said she saw a body in the ravine when she was driving her usual route. The police rushed to the scene.
A young woman’s body was in fact found, in a heavy wooded area along the Salt River. This location was seven miles away from Jessica’s house. The body was found sitting up against a tree. The pants were pulled halfway down, and a rope with traces of red, silver and gray paint was found around her leg.
The police believed that the body had just recently been moved because someone would have seen it days earlier. They also believed the rope had been used to move the body. Fifteen feet away, the police found hair and body fluids.
Jessica Dishon was identified by her class ring, necklace and a tattoo. When her body was brought in for an autopsy, her dental records also proved it was her.
The autopsy found that Jessica’s cause of death was strangulation. The police also believed she had been sexually assaulted, based on how her clothes were found. When Jessica’s clothes were tested, the forensics couldn’t find definitive proof that she had been sexually assaulted. The autopsy also found that Jessica was probably killed around three days after she was abducted.
A Suspect Emerges
When the police told Jessica’s family, they said they were hoping for better news, but that they also had to weigh both options. They were heartbroken.
The next step of the investigation was to canvass the area, and talk to anyone who knew or was acquainted with Jessica and her family.
The police were suspicious when they questioned David Brooks, who lived next door to the Dishon’s. David was a 40 year old farm worker, who had grown up living next door. David said he saw Jessica the day she disappeared, walking in the direction of her high school. He later changed his story and said he saw her by her car.
David ‘Bucky’ Brooks in a more recent photo
The police asked David where he was that day, and he said he was at work. When the police tried to confirm this, they couldn’t find anyone who was there at the time. There were several witnesses who also said they saw David’s van on the road that Jessica was eventually found on, days leading up to the discovery.
The police obtained a warrant for the Brooks’ property, and had a scent dog with them. The scent dog led them to a farming building, where the dog found a pair of work gloves under a cushion. The work gloves had a strange odor on them. The police also searched the work van that David drove, and rope was found. The rope looked like the rope found on Jessica.
David was arrested and held in custody.
David Brooks’ Trial
Sixteen months after Jessica disappeared, David Brooks was charged with capital murder.
His trial started in January 2003, and the prosecution was seeking the death penalty. Jessica’s family was very happy, and believed that the police had found the right guy. They even exchanged some words with the Brooks’ family before when David was under suspicion.
However, the case fell apart. The lead investigator had said David became a suspect when he failed a polygraph test, which we all know that polygraphs are inadmissible in court. David had actually taken six polygraph tests, two were inconclusive and four showed signs that he was being dishonest.
The case against David Brooks was dismissed, was declared as a mistrial.
Jessica’s case would go cold for fifteen years, and a new suspect would emerge.
A New Investigation
Detective Lynn Hunt was the new investigator. She decided to reopen the case, when she received a call from her old colleague Gary Huffman.
Gary Huffman was a detective with the Louisville Metro PD. Gary often worked with convicted felons, and would question them if they had ever heard anyone admit to a crime. He said they usually said no, but one inmate said he knew who killed Jessica Dishon.
The inmate said the killer was Stanley Dishon, Jessica’s uncle. He said that Stanley killed Jessica because she told him she was no longer going to keep his secret. His secret was that he had been molesting Jessica, while he was living in their home.
Stanley Dishon
The police believed this inmate, because Stanley Dishon was already in prison for assaulting other minors. The inmate said that Stanley hit Jessica as she was leaving for school, and took her to an abandoned barn. He said Stanley kept her for three days and tortured her and eventually strangled her. He then moved her body because he felt bad and wanted her to be found.
Detectives Lynn Hunt and Gary Huffman believed this inmate because he knew too much information and all the evidence matched Jessica’s autopsy report. There was also another inmate that came forward who had the same story.
Arrest, Trial and Conviction
Michael Ferguson, the new prosecutor, told the inmates that they would not get a deal of any kind if they were to testify.
To further prove that Stanley killed Jessica, Det. Lynn Hunt and Jessica’s brother went to the area where Jessica was found. They walked into the woods and they found the abandoned barn. When they went inside, they found a bed sheet buried in the dirt. It came back to be a match to Jessica’s room, which was the exact same from when she disappeared.
When the police interviewed Stanley Dishon, he refused to confess. However, the police said he appeared nervous and was shaking.
The police wanted more to convict him. They found that Stanley had abused more young girls, who were the children of his relatives. He would abuse them when he was living with the families. These girls, now women, agreed to testify if they needed to.
At trial, Stanley Dishon took an Alford plea for manslaughter and other sex crimes. He was not saying he admitted it, but that there was enough evidence to convict him. At the trial, Michael, Jessica’s dad, confronted his brother. Stanley stared right back at him, while Michael broke down. He said he let him into his home and that’s how he repaid them.
In March 2015, Stanley Dishon was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Michael Dishon said Stanley contacts them constantly saying he didn’t do it. Michael said he knows he’s lying, because why else would he take the plea deal.
Stanley in 2015 at trial and Jessica
Michael and Edna confronting Stanley
Other
There is now a memorial for Jessica Dishon, at the place where she was found.
David Brooks said he forgave the police and that everyone makes mistakes.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Stanley Dishon is the worst kind of monster. He abused multiple minors who were his own family, and killed Jessica because she finally stood up to him. He was let into his families’ homes and violated so many people and their trust. I hope he gets beat up in prison everyday, and I hope he never sees the light of day again.
I also feel bad for David Brooks. The police didn’t even look at any other suspects because they were convinced he did it. Stanley was out on the street and was able to abuse more girls, because the old investigators didn’t look into him. The new investigators did an amazing job, they never gave up and finally were able to get justice for Jessica, and so many other victims.
Sources
https://people.com/crime/cold-case-files-features-jessica-dishon-murder/
