Evergreen attorney accused of plotting to kill her estranged husband’s new girlfriend

An attorney in Jefferson County tried to hire a former sniper and a ranch hand to kill her estranged husband’s new girlfriend and others as part of a year-long campaign of harassment, stalking and threats, authorities alleged in a 33page affidavit.

Evergreen resident Jennifer Emmi, 43, who is also known as Jennifer Edwards, was arrested in late January and charged with solicitation of first-degree murder, two counts of retaliating against a witness or victim and three counts of stalking, according to an affidavit filed Jan. 25 by the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.

The murder-for-hire arrest followed a six-month investigation by the sheriff’s office that involved undercover meetings, blackmail and extortion attempts, a 67-year-old man who was Emmi’s “financial backer” and numerous attempts by Emmi to manipulate her estranged husband and his girlfriend, who had been the family’s au pair.

Emmi is being held in the Jefferson County jail on a $3 million cash bond that she must post herself. The latest charges are in addition to 16 felonies and 16 misdemeanors that allege domestic violence, retaliation against witnesses and attempts to influence public servants over the last year.

In at least one of her previous cases, the bond was paid by the 67-year-old man who lives at a neighboring ranch in Evergreen. According to the affidavit, he cared for Emmi, had a “special interest” in her and provided significant financial help.

Attorney Colin Bresee, who has represented Emmi in the past and expects to do the same on the most recent charges, said Monday he hasn’t seen any evidence in the case but that the allegations are based largely on Emmi’s conversations.

“It’s not unusual for someone whose husband is having an affair with the au pair to be upset and mad,” he said. “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.”

Emmi, who according to the affidavit has been diagnosed with a mental health disorder, is accused of asking 28-year-old ranch hand Timothy Lindsey to help kill her husband’s girlfriend in November. In a series of recorded phone calls, Emmi asked Lindsey if he knew anyone who could “get rid of her,” and provided the girlfriend’s name and workplace, the affidavit states.

Lindsey said he “played along” and told Emmi such a job would cost between $50,000 and $100,000, which Emmi said was fine, according to the affidavit. They also discussed whether her husband should be killed and whether it should happen at his Evergreen ranch or somewhere else.

Emmi suggested that both people could be killed because, “if there was a car accident or something, no one would know,” according to the affidavit, then later said the plan was “on hold.”

After their first conversation, Lindsey alerted Emmi’s husband and police to the plot and worked with investigators. He also told a former ranch hand, Seth McCallum, a 29-year-old who served as a sniper in the U.S. military, about Emmi’s request, according to the affidavit. McCallum then tried to blackmail the 67-year-old man for $10,000, the affidavit said, though it is not clear whether McCallum was ever paid.

During a January interview with investigators, McCallum said he’d “thought he could make some money with the information he had knowledge of,” according to the affidavit. He also said that Emmi had asked him to kill people before, telling him he could do it because he had military experience. He told investigators he thought she was fantasizing and that he did not agree to her request. He denied that she named a specific target.

Neither ranch hand has been criminally charged, according to court records.

Bresee said the police investigation clearly shows Emmi did not want to go through with the plot, adding, “with all due respect, it sounds very much like a woman scorned who had three children with a man and he traded her in for some young girl.”

The affidavit alleges Emmi also researched witnesses, judges, prosecutors and investigators involved in her case, sometimes keeping handwritten notes with personal information on those people and their families. She also researched whether law enforcement could track her phone and bought devices meant to block tracking. Emmi’s estranged husband and his girlfriend told investigators that they have been living in constant fear due to domestic violence incidents. The family has at times left their home to go into hiding, and frequently sees vehicles passing by with people taking photos, according to the affidavit.

Emmi still holds a law license, and has not been publicly disciplined.