Jennifer Rose Trent, Killer

By Ana Benson

A lovely elderly woman named Doris Johnston accepted Jennifer Rose Trent's offer to come around on a weekly basis and clean her home. The two struck a friendship very quickly, and Jennifer started spending more and more time with Doris. The woman liked Jennifer's young son, and she would often look after him while Jennifer was running errands. Doris didn't know that Jennifer had other plans that included getting her out of the picture and stealing her identity. Unaware of Jennifer's previous misdemeanors, Doris thought she could trust her. Tragically, she was very wrong, and Doris paid the ultimate price.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trellis Publishing
• Release date: Jul 13, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201537289

Book preview

JENNIFER ROSE TRENT, KILLER

ANA BENSON

TABLE OF CONTENTS

JENNIFER ROSE TRENT

MYRA HINDLEY

CHRISTA PIKE

LYNETTE FROMME

JUDY BUENOANO

KILLING FOR MONEY

RUTH JUDD

BLANCHE MOORE

CLARA SCHWARTZ

DEADLY INTERNET LOVE TRIANGLE

JENNIFER ROSE TRENT

Florida is known as a state where numerous elderly people go to retire. They enjoy the nice weather and easy-going lifestyle. Therefore, there are whole communities of retirees in the Sunshine State who stick together and help each other. Unfortunately, elderly people can be a bit naive and lonely because their families might live far away so they can often be prey to bad people who want to take their hard-earned money. They are usually threatened or blackmailed until they pay off their abusers. Unfortunately, some of them lose their lives, and they end up murdered if they refuse to give money to the criminals.

A similar thing occurred at the beginning of 2015 in a quiet town of Barefoot Bay, near Melbourne, Florida. A lovely elderly woman named Doris Johnston accepted Jennifer Rose Trent’s offer to come around on a weekly basis and clean her home. The two struck a friendship very quickly, and Jennifer started spending more and more time with Doris. The woman liked Jennifer’s young son, and she would often look after him while Jennifer was running errands. Doris didn’t know that Jennifer had other plans that included getting her out of the picture and stealing her identity. Unaware of Jennifer’s previous misdemeanors, Doris thought she could trust her. Tragically, she was very wrong, and Doris paid the ultimate price.

Early life

Jennifer Rose Trent was born in 1978 and she grew up in Melbourne, Florida. It is a small coastal community where nothing ever happens. After finishing high-school, Jennifer mostly worked low-paying jobs and still lived with her parents. She got into a serious relationship in her late twenties and had one son. Things quickly fell apart and Jennifer decided to end things as soon as possible. She was now a single mom, struggling every single day to provide for her boy. This led her to move from a suburb to a suburb in search of a job. Lacking proper education, Jennifer could only work jobs that didn’t pay much which left her struggling at the end of each month.

She ended up in Barefoot Bay, a famous retirement town which was just a few hours drive from Melbourne so she could continue living with her father and not worry about the rent. Jennifer was certain she could find proper work there because many elderly people needed care. The majority of them lived all alone in large homes so they might need a housekeeper who would keep everything clean and tidy. She could help around the house which could earn her a good salary. Her father stayed in Melbourne and supported this arrangement, hoping that his girl would finally start earning money which could give her more independence in the long run.

Meeting Doris

Jennifer started looking for jobs as soon as she got to Barefoot Bay. She met Doris Johnston almost instantly. Jennifer offered to clean her home and Doris accepted because she really needed some company as well. Doris was a pleasant elderly lady who was alone most of the days. Her whole family lived in the North of the United States, and Doris craved friendship, especially with someone much younger than her. She thought that Jennifer was a very pleasant young lady and she liked her boy as well. Jennifer would often bring him along when she was cleaning Doris’ house. The elderly lady would look after him, and they had plenty of fun together. She cooked and baked cookies for the two of them, and it seemed like the friendship with this small family was blossoming.

As time went by, Jennifer still struggled with her finances. She bonded with Doris and told her about the fact that she was almost penniless. Jennifer also confided in Doris that she can’t go back home to her father because he was abusive to her and her boy. Doris felt compassion and wanted to help Jennifer move away. The elderly lady was also grateful for all the hard work Jennifer did around the home. She offered to let Jennifer stay at her house without paying any rent. She truly wanted the company and felt like Jennifer was a part of her family. On the other hand, Doris was clueless about what was really happening in Jennifer’s life. Everything she said about her father was a lie because the man only wanted to help her.

Instead, Jennifer stole the money from him. He found it out because she failed to pay the bills for several months even though her father gave her the checks. He had no idea where and when she spent his money. It was too much for him and wanted Jennifer out of his place until she sorts things out. He expected that Jennifer would give him back the funds. Jennifer clearly knew she could use Doris because the elderly woman trusted her completely. When the holiday season rolled in, Doris, Jennifer, and her little boy celebrated Christmas together. Doris bought everyone gifts, and they had an amazing time together.

Doris planned to visit her family and son who lived out of state, and she left her home to Jennifer. She didn’t suspect that anything sketchy would happen while she was away. Meanwhile, Jennifer felt like the entire house was hers and she even invited her boyfriend Richard to move in while Doris was in Chicago. Richard was told that he will live with Jennifer in her house, unaware that Doris is actually coming back and that she knows nothing about him. Doris also left her credit cards in Florida because Jennifer needed to pay the bills while she was away. Instead, Jennifer started buying electronics and expensive gifts for her and her boyfriend. So instead of purchasing groceries only, she went through her entire wishlist and bought anything she wanted. She took Doris Johnston’s identity and introduced herself under that name. But Doris’ bank noticed that something was happening with her account. The amount of spending was quite alarming and out of the character for Doris herself. 

They were aware of numerous frauds that happen to the elderly citizens of Florida and that some people scam them for their money. The bank called Doris in Chicago and realized that the woman was completely unaware of what was going on in Florida. She told her son about the unusual withdrawals from her bank account, and he immediately told her she shouldn’t have trusted Jennifer because Doris doesn’t even know her well. Doris still believed that Jennifer was a good person and that she wouldn’t take the money from her. She was sure someone has stolen her credit card and that Jennifer had nothing to do with it. Doris also suggested that it might be a mistake in the bank itself. She then canceled her card and informed the bank that her account was compromised.

Doris’ son advised her to go back to Florida immediately even though she planned to stay in Chicago until spring of 2015. He was certain that Jennifer was stealing from his mother and that she will not stop any time soon. The son was worried she might take things from Doris’ home and sell them. Doris called the house, saying she will be coming back early which made Jennifer panic. She had to explain to Richard that he would need to pack all of his things and move out. However, she told him he could be back in three days because Doris will not be staying long.

The murder

Doris Johnston returned home on January 10th, 2015. Jennifer avoided talking about the credit card bills from the very moment Doris came into the house. The elderly woman spent the afternoon playing with Jennifer’s little boy and once the night rolled in, she confronted Jennifer about the money she stole from her. Jennifer expected this and she was on the edge for hours, fearing what would happen when Doris brings up the subject. Once she did so, Jennifer’s fear turned into pure rage. Something snapped inside her. She started screaming at the elderly woman, saying her accusations were lies and that she was ungrateful. After all, Jennifer took care of her household for months, and Doris had no proof she even used her credit cards to buy all the expensive things.

The argument quickly turned into a violent attack. Jennifer jumped on the helpless woman and started beating her uncontrollably. Jennifer was stronger than Doris, and she overpowered her by throwing her onto the ground. She then grabbed Doris’ head and hit her with the fists until the woman lost consciousness. Certain that she had murdered the elderly woman, Jennifer needed to hide her body. She didn’t panic and quickly found a solution – the laundry room. Jennifer dragged Doris there and covered her up with a blanket. She planned to dispose of her body later the next day. But something unexpected happened, and Doris woke up because she was cold. The laundry room was located outside, and the entire space was freezing.

Jennifer noticed that Doris was still alive but didn’t worry too much about it because she expected that the elderly woman would die from cold soon. She left her laying in the laundry room and continued to get ready for bed. Jennifer checked in on Doris the next day, and she even washed her son’s clothes while the elderly woman laid there on the floor. Doris was stronger than Jennifer thought initially and the days quickly went by. She was still alive, and Jennifer was starting to feel uneasy about the fact that Doris wouldn’t die on her own. It was time to come up with a new plan, and Jennifer knew what she had to do in order to get rid of Doris. This meant Jennifer could take her home, as well as the money on the credit cards.

Knowing that Doris promised to go back to Chicago as soon as she sorts out the credit card situation in Florida, she went online and purchased a plane ticket in her name. This would provide Jennifer with a perfect alibi if the police start suspecting something. She would simply say that Doris went to see her son and his family and that she didn’t know what happened once Doris boarded the plane. It would also come in handy if the authorities searched the browser history because the proof was there. Thinking it was a done deal and that she would have a bright future with all of Doris’ money, Jennifer proposed to her boyfriend Richard and bought him an expensive plane ticket as a gift. Richard was still in the dark about Doris and her whereabouts. It seemed like he really believed that the elderly woman simply packed her bags and moved away from Florida for good.

Doris was still alive in the laundry room, and Jennifer couldn’t take it anymore. It was like an unfinished business that was constantly on her mind. She needed her dead, and it was time to speed up the process. Jennifer placed a plastic bag over Doris’ head, knowing that she would suffocate over time. Doris was unable to take it off her head because the woman was unconscious due to the injuries, the pain, and the cold. Now Jennifer only had to wait until all the breathable air gets out of the bag, leaving poor Doris to suffocate on her own. Soon enough Doris was out of the air, and she died on the floor with Jennifer standing above her. Thinking that she had covered her tracks well with the plane ticket purchase, Jennifer didn’t panic at all. She didn’t have the slightest idea what she should do with Doris’ lifeless body. Instead, Jennifer decided to leave it all for later because she was certain nobody would knock on her door asking to see the elderly woman. Doris didn’t have many friends in the Barefoot Bay area which made the concealment easier. After all, all of her family was outside of Florida, and she had come up with a believable lie she would tell them if anyone called on the phone.

The discovery of Doris Johnston’s body

The relatives who lived out of the state tried contacting Doris Johnston for a couple of days, but they never heard back from the elderly woman. Growing more and more concerned as the time went by, they contacted Doris’ son who also lived in another state. Doris’ son did expect his mother to be back in Chicago by now, but he assumed she was still sorting out the credit card situation down in Florida. He called his mother's house, and Jennifer Rose Trent answered the phone. Unaware of who the caller was, she told Doris’ son that the elderly woman is currently in Chicago. She went to great lengths to provide the exact date she bought the plane ticket which immediately raised the alarm with Doris’ son.

Knowing that was an obvious lie, Doris’ son suspected that something happened to his mother. He knew that Jennifer robbed his mother and that the young woman shouldn’t be trusted. Also, his mother never arrived in Chicago even though she apparently bought the ticket a couple of days prior to his call. He rang Brevard County Sheriff’s Department, saying that something might be wrong with Doris Johnston. He told them about Jennifer Trent and everything that happened over the winter holidays. Doris’ son suspected that she might have hurt his mother because the elderly woman confronted her about stealing her money. The Sheriff’s Department took these calls seriously, and a patrol car drove to 736 Gladiolus Drive, Barefoot Bay where Doris lived with her tenant, Jennifer Rose Trent. They planned to enter the house by saying they were doing the welfare check.

Jennifer Trent was the one who opened the door when the police rang the bell, and she told them that the elderly woman wasn’t at home. Instead, Trent repeated the story about her trip