Facts of the Crime:
On March 29, 2007, Jason Simpson was sentenced to death for the 1999 double ax-murders of Archie Crook, Sr., 38, and Kimberli Kimbler, 29. Simpson, then a confidential informant for Jacksonville police, was known to the couple through Crook, Sr. The two men had been previously involved in the sale of illegal drugs. Kimbler was seven months pregnant with the couple’s first child at the time of the murders.
The victim’s son, Archie Crook, Jr. and his friend Shawn Smallwood, were the last people to see the couple alive. The two men had visited the couple the night before in order to cash a check. Around 1:00 a.m. on July 16, 1999, Crook and Kimbler were attacked with an ax as they slept in their bed. The bodies of the two victims were found later that morning by Crook’s father, Clyde Crook, when he entered the home through an unlocked side door. Crook then called his friend, Christopher Howard, to meet him at the scene. The two men then called Jacksonville police. That morning, detectives located the ax used in the murders, containing DNA from both victims, in the victims’ backyard. The detectives also found, hidden behind an air-conditioning unit on the property of a church near the home, a sweatshirt, a pair of sweatpants, shoes, and a hat.
Crook, Sr. and Kimbler died as a result of chopping wounds to the head and neck. Several blows were inflicted upon Crook, Sr.’s face and neck, breaking his jawbone and severing his carotid artery. Kimbler received multiple blows on the head and neck, ultimately breaking two vertebrae in her neck. Defensive wounds found on both victims indicate that they attempted to fend off the intruder.
Around 8:00 a.m., Detective Hinson, a Jacksonville detective who had been using Simpson as a confidential source, heard about the murders and, recognizing the address, attempted to contact Simpson by pager. Simpson responded to Detective Hinson’s pages around noon. When Detective Hinson questioned Simpson, he told Hinson that Crook, Sr. and his son had been aware Simpson was informing for police and had been telling their mutual acquaintances. When confronted with photographs of the recovered clothes, he denied that they were his and denied being involved in the murders. At that time, there was no evidence to link him to the crimes.
In November 2001, Simpson was asked by Jacksonville Detective Bialokowski for his assistance with the then-unsolved Crook and Kimbler murders. In response to this request, Simpson denied knowing the couple. On August 14, 2002, Jacksonville Detective Gilbreath received DNA test results from the recovered articles of clothing, and on September 4, 2002, he interviewed Simpson. Kimbler’s DNA was found on the sweatpants, sweatshirt, and shoes. Crook, Sr.’s DNA was found on the sweatpants. Simpson’s DNA was found on the sweatshirt and sweatpants along with two of his hairs.
Apart from the forensic evidence linking Simpson to the murders, a witness came forth at time of trial to testify against Simpson. Michael Durrance, a seven-time convicted felon, testified that Simpson had confessed to the murders. According to Durrance, Simpson boasted about sneaking in through the laundry room window and striking the couple with an axe. Durrance had withheld this evidence from Jacksonville police until he thought he could use the information in exchange for leniency in his own case.
Simpson was sentenced to death in Duval County on March 29, 2007.
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