Body in will dispute case to be exhumed

Cause of death now in question

The body of Matthew Seth Jacobs, whose will was thrown into dispute, will be exhumed for a new autopsy after a judge ruled there was cause to believe there may have been more to Jacobs’ death.

Jacobs was a survivor of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion in 2010 and was awarded a multimillion dollar settlement. He died in an auto accident in 2015 and his will later came into dispute after Jacobs’ family members accused Donna Herring, a local real estate agent, of falsifying the will. According to ArkansasBusiness.com, Ouachita County Circuit Court Judge Edwin Keaton found that “reasonable cause exists to believe that Jacobs’ death occurred under circumstances contrary to that of the auto accident and bodily trauma.”

Keaton’s order authorized the Arkansas State Police to exhume Jacobs’ remains so that the state medical examiner can perform an autopsy.

Jacobs is buried at Bethesda Cemetery, said Ouachita County Sheriff David Norwood. The sheriff said county workers will be contacted about the date of the exhumation, but it will probably occur after rains expected to last through this week have passed through the area.

When contacted by the Camden News, Prosecuting Attorney for the 13th Judicial District John Thomas Shepherd said about Jacobs’ exhumation:

“There has been a petition and an order authorizing the Arkansas State Police to exhume his body and conduct an autopsy. Basically, there has been information that we’re wanting to confirm the cause of death as listed on the death certificate and the family (members) of Mr. Jacobs were in favor of doing that - also in order to have some closure and some of these unanswered questions answered.”

Herring pleaded guilty on Jan. 26 to one charge of wire fraud and faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Herring also agreed to forfeit a car she received from the proceeds of Jacobs’ estate. She had purchased other vehicles, property and real estate with funds from the estate, but was forced to forfeit those items per court order.

Herring’s daughter, Jordan Alexandra Peterson, pleaded guilty on Jan. 25 to knowingly lying to FBI agents. Peterson had dated Jacobs at one point, but Jacobs was dating someone else at the time of his death. The will that Herring falsified left the majority of Jacobs estate to Peterson instead of to his son. Court records show that at the time of his death, Jacobs’ estate had an estimated value of around $1.7 million.

Peterson faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Neither woman has been sentenced.

Jacobs met Herring when he decided to buy a house. Herring became his real estate agent and then introduced him to her daughter, Peterson.

Documents from the Ouachita

County Circuit Clerk’s office show that at on Jan. 19, 2015, Jacobs was believed to have been on his way to visit a girlfriend. At that time, he was no longer dating Peterson and was dating someone else.

Jacobs was driving along U.S. 79 North when he lost control of his 2005 Chrysler Crossfire, crossed the center line of the road without braking and slammed into a tree, according to a traffic report from the Arkansas State Police that was included in a probate filing.

Jacobs was not wearing a seatbelt and died at the scene.

Court documents also show that after Jacobs’ death, his son, Jordan Jacobs - along with his brother, Laurence Reed - searched Jacobs’ home for his last will and testament, but were unable to locate it. On Jan. 25, 2015, Herring claimed to have discovered a sealed envelope containing a duplicate of the will and testament. She reportedly refused to show the purported last will and testament to Jordan Jacobs and Reed. Herring instead persuaded Reed to give the sealed envelope to a local attorney who was subsequently engaged to represent Peterson in the probate case related to Jacobs’ estate.

Evidence also shows that the will Herring claimed to have found at Jacobs’ home had been created by Herring on Formswift. com six days after Jacobs’ death.

John Wayne Kinley Jr. and his wife, Marion Diane Kinley, are scheduled to head to trial on April 30 for signing the fraudulent

will as witnesses “when at the time all three knew that Jacobs was deceased,” a plea agreement states. They also face wire fraud and aggravated identity theft charges.

Marion Kinley is Herring’s sister.