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BROOKSVILLE, Fla. (WFLA) — A jury has convicted known-kidnapper Jeffrey Crum in the death of 12-year-old Jennifer Odom.
The jury read their verdict Thursday afternoon, convicting Crum for kidnapping, murdering, and raping Jennifer while she walked home from a bus stop on Feb. 19, 1993.
“He chose to drive her to a secluded location which he was familiar with where no one would hear her screams, her cries or pleas for help,” Richard Buxman, Chief of Homicide Prosecution for the 5th Judicial Circuit of Florida said.
Closing statements took place in the decades-old cold case throughout the morning on Thursday.
Prosecutors said the Pasco County student got off the bus near her home and was never heard from again. They described, “Jennifer had planned to meet with friends and family that night at the Pasco Fair.”
Jennifer Odom (Hernando County Sheriff’s Office)
Jennifer Odom (Hernando County Sheriff’s Office)
Investigators discovered her body in a wooded area of Hernando County, days later.
Thirty-three years later, attorneys for the state convinced jurors that Crum is responsible for the crime.
Opening arguments for the case were held at the Hernando County courthouse earlier in the week.
“You will see that the state has proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant, Jeffrey Crum, is guilty of kidnapping, sexually battering, and committing murder in the first degree,” prosecutors told jurors.