Detective: Lexington woman committed deadly stabbing, hid body in closet for months
A year-long Lexington homicide investigation revealed that a deadly stabbing at an apartment occurred with kids inside the home, and the accused perpetrator hid the body in a closet for months, a Lexington detective testified Thursday.
Jennifer Kashuba, 35, was arrested on February 27 and charged with the murder of Jimmy Medlock. She is also charged with abuse of a corpse and evidence tampering.
During a preliminary hearing on Thursday morning, Detective Jeremy Adkins said the investigation, which started in February 2022 when police and the coroner found Medlock’s decomposed body wrapped in plastic near a dumpster, revealed how Medlock’s body had been concealed for so long.
Fayette Coroner Gary Ginn could not identify the victim at the time his body was found, nor determine how he died. He said at that time, Medlock would have been dead about six months.
It was not until an autopsy that officials were able to locate a single stab wound to the chest because of a cut in the shirt Medlock was found in. Last month, police were able to identify Medlock’s DNA through genealogical testing, according to Adkins’ testimony.
An aunt of Medlock’s confirmed her only living nephew would have been Medlock. Police discovered Medlock was transient and homeless, but took up residence in Lexington with Kashuba in August 2021.
Medlock and Kashuba had an apartment together which they’d rented through the Community Action Council, according to court records. In September 2021, Kashuba reportedly called the Community Action Council to notify them that Medlock had left and moved out of the state, Adkins testified.
When police searched the apartment they shared, they discovered remains of human decomposition in the closet inside the front door of the home, Adkins said. Testing also confirmed the presence of blood.
Kashuba admitted to stabbing Medlock with a kitchen knife after a verbal and physical altercation inside the home, according to police. Three kids were inside the home, and one witnessed the stabbing.
“She said (Medlock) made sounds (after the stabbing), fell to the ground and she thought he was playing, that he was having a reaction to narcotics,” Adkins said. “Then she realized he was deceased and took the body and put it in the front closet to hide from the children.”
Kashuba said she hid the body and did not call police because she was scared and didn’t know what to do, according to Adkins. Medlock’s body is estimated to have been in the closet for two months before Kashuba allegedly wrapped the body in plastic and moved it to the dumpster.
Stabbing was self-defense, attorney argues
Court testimony revealed that Medlock had been accused in several instances of domestic violence. Kashuba’s attorney, Marcel Bush Radomile, used those allegations to argue the stabbing was self-defense. She asked for Kashuba to have her bond lowered from $110,000.
Radomile also pushed for the murder charge to be lowered to manslaughter and said the act was not wanton or reckless.
The prosecution argued that in stabbing someone, Kashuba should have known that Medlock could have been killed. They noted she did not call police to report she acted in self-defense, but instead hid the body.
Fayette District Judge John Tackett denied both requests, keeping Kashuba’s bond the same and sending her current charges to a grand jury.
“There is nothing more serious than murder, it is a class A felony, and I don’t feel comfortable reducing her bond. Frankly, this is the lowest bond I have seen on a murder charge since I have been on the bench,” Tackett said. “It’s lenient.”
A grand jury will determine if there is enough evidence to indict Kashuba on the charges, or potentially change or add new charges. An indictment would send her case to Fayette Circuit Court, where a trial could be held.
