JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. — An Evergreen lawyer who operated a prominent local animal rights law firm is facing charges of conspiring to kill her estranged husband's girlfriend, according to the affidavit in the case.
Jennifer Emmi, 43, of The Animal Law Center, was arrested Jan. 25 on suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder, retaliation against a victim or witness, stalking, domestic violence, violation of bail bond conditions and violation of a mandatory protection order.
Since January 2020, Emmi, also known as Jennifer Edwards, has been charged with 16 felonies and 16 misdemeanors in five felony cases, the affidavit says. She was being held in the Jefferson County Jail and was next due in court on the most recent case on Feb. 26.
Emmi was accused of soliciting multiple people to murder, harass, surveil and retaliate against her estranged husband, her husband's girlfriend, and other witnesses and victims in her criminal and civil cases, the affidavit says.
The affidavit describes a pattern of harassment and stalking dating back to January 2019, when Emmi's husband said he caught her cheating and stated his intention to divorce. He backed off on a divorce when Emmi claimed multiple medical issues, none of which could be verified. They still separated and shared custody of their children, the affidavit says.
In September 2019, Emmi threatened to kill one of the children. She made threats again in December of that year. In early January 2020, she strangled one of the children when the child tried to call her father for help out of concern for how Emmi was behaving. Also that month, she held a knife to her husband's throat at a family birthday celebration, according to the affidavit.
Emmi filed for divorce on Feb. 7, 2020, in an attempt to see her children again. When that didn't work, she tried to dismiss the case; however, the dissolution of marriage case continued through this year and was closed on Feb. 3, according to the affidavit and court records.
Over the next several months, Emmi contacted numerous individuals and alleged that her estranged husband and his girlfriend had kidnapped, brainwashed and abused the children as part of a plot to frame her. She also researched means to evade law enforcement detection, according to the affidavit.
Incidents escalated until Emmi's husband informed police on Nov. 2 that he had been told of a recording of a phone call in which Emmi asked for help in finding someone to kill her husband's girlfriend, according to the affidavit.
The informant said Emmi had contacted him about committing the murder and offered several thousand dollars as start-up money. When the informant warned her that her husband might be killed, she said, "I'm inclined to kill two birds with one stone, so to speak," according to the affidavit.
The informant then contacted Emmi's husband about the conversation, saying he played along and was concerned for the safety of the husband and his girlfriend, the affidavit says.
Investigators found that Emmi had also approached another man who had been a military sniper about him killing people for her, the affidavit says.
Emmi also repeatedly texted and emailed her husband and his girlfriend, conducted internet searches on how to get rid of "the other woman," and made a failed attempt to persuade the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement to deport the girlfriend, who was from Brazil, according to the affidavit.
Jefferson County Sheriff's Office (JCSO) investigators also gathered evidence dating from around July 23, 2020, through January 2021 that showed Emmi had researched and targeted numerous people involved in her cases, including a JCSO investigator, a deputy district attorney in the 1st Judicial District, and judges and magistrates, the affidavit says.
Emmi was arrested Nov. 19 in Laguna Beach, California, where she was renting a residence, posted bail the next day and was released. On Dec. 18, the Orange County court revoked the bond and issued a contempt of court warrant with a no-bond hold, according to the affidavit.
Emmi's husband told investigators that he was fearful of Emmi killing him, their children and himself, and his girlfriend told investigators that she didn't feel safe and suffers from anxiety, according to the affidavit. They said they had gone into hiding with the children, the affidavit says.
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