A Florida man learned his destiny after shooting and killing his father in the home they shared in a retirement community and spending $23,000 of his money, including the purchase of a big chest freezer discovered plugged in and running with the elder man’s body inside.
Jake Hemmert, 32, received a 30-year prison sentence on Monday for killing his father, Brian Hemmert, 60. The defendant pled no contest to charges of second-degree murder with a firearm, tampering with evidence, abuse of a human body, and fraudulent credit card use, according to a news release.
According to local Fox affiliate WFTX, a prosecutor read a victim impact statement from Jake Hemmert’s sister, Jessica Hemmert, who stated, “Every day for the last 354 days, I’ve had the same thought: I can’t forgive.” I’ve been tormented for the last 354 days, and after our father died, I arranged his funeral and intended to celebrate his life because he will never be able to participate in the years ahead.”
The case was brought to light when Brian Hemmert’s father reported him missing to police on August 28, 2023, after not speaking with him since June. According to a probable cause statement, he asked Lee County Sheriff’s deputies to visit him at home to check on his welfare.
Deputies arrived to find no one home and no vehicles in the driveway. But, while deputies were present, Jake Hemmert came in his father’s vehicle. He told deputies that his father was on a hunting trip in the western United States and that he had just spoken with him on the phone and that he was well, according to the statement. Jake Hemmert permitted deputies to search the residence but refused to unlock one bedroom, stating it was where his father kept his guns.
“During the interaction, deputies observed Jake to appear to be very nervous,” the report stated.
According to the statement, deputies located the victim’s smartphone inside the home after pinging it.
Florida Man Arrested After Allegedly SHOOTING ESTRANGED WIFE AND STEPDAUGHTER, Social Media Star
Deputies discovered Jake Hemmert had an outstanding warrant for larceny out of Maricopa County, Arizona, and arrested him while continuing to investigate his father’s disappearance.
A detective arrived and questioned Jake Hemmert. He told the investigator that he last saw his father when he sent him off at the Punta Gorda airport for a vacation to Utah, according to the affidavit. He informed the investigator he had recently spoken with him on his cellphone, but he declined to disclose or display his call logs to substantiate the information, according to the affidavit.
A search warrant was issued for the home, and the detective discovered Brian Hemmert’s smartphone and credit card in a drawer in Jake Hemmert’s bedroom. In the master bathroom, the detective discovered blood. Jake Hemmert told the detective in a follow-up interview that his father “fled the country to fight human trafficking,” according to the document.
The detective discovered that a huge chest freezer was delivered to the residence on June 22, 2023, but it was not found in the home at the time, according to the probable cause statement. According to the affidavit, the victim’s purchase of the freezer “coincided with an abrupt change in credit card usage as well as cellular activity”. WFTX reported that Jake Hemmert used his father’s credit card to buy the freezer.
According to the affidavit, Jake Hemmert began selling his father’s tools on Facebook Marketplace after his disappearance, which provided additional evidence linking the son to the crime.
According to the probable cause statement, during a second search of the property on September 7, 2023, police discovered a big chest freezer concealed from view and hidden beneath a large amount of goods. When the items were removed, officers discovered the freezer was running and had been duct-taped shut. According to court filings, authorities discovered Brian Hemmert’s body in the freezer, having been shot.
Jake Hemmert used his father’s credit card daily, piling up $23,560 in charges, and was captured on film using the card at ATMs in the months following his disappearance, according to the document. Jake Hemmert admitted to holding the card and claimed that his father had permitted him to use it to pay homeowners association fees, according to the affidavit.
Jake Hemmert confessed on September 13, 2023, according to the documents. He acknowledged shooting his father in bed, claiming that his father had begged him to do it as a suicide wish.
He also acknowledged to cleaning up the scene and destroying the mattress discovered in garbage bags in the attic, according to the probable cause statement. He reportedly informed investigators that he may have spent up to $30,000 on his father’s credit card, according to the paper.