AZ AZ - Donna Jokumsen, 22, Chandler, 5 July 1987 *Arrest*

[Gardener1850]

[h=1]Arrest Made In 1987 Chandler Missing Mom Case[/h]

In July of 1987, 22-year-old Donna Mae Jokumsen was living in Chandler with her 23-year-old husband Kevin and their two young children. On July 3rd of that year, Donna Mae telephoned her father in Washington State and told him she was returning home to Washington with her children. But after nearly a week, Donna Mae never arrived at her parent’s residence. Donna Mae’s mother contacted the Chandler Police Department on July 11th, 1987 to report her missing. When officers arrived at the Jokumsen residence, they found Kevin and both children, but Donna Mae was gone. She has not been heard from since.
Donna Mae was last seen on July 5th, 1987.

https://arizonadailyindependent.com/2017/09/14/arrest-made-in-1987-missing-person-case/

A man has been arrested on suspicion of killing his wife in Chandler in 1987, officials said.

Auburn, Washington, police arrested Kevin Dale Jokumsen, 53, on Aug. 31.
He is being held in a county jail in Washington awaiting extradition to Arizona, according to a press release sent out by the Chandler Police Department on Wednesday.

He faces a charge of second-degree murder, officials said.
Jokumsen's wife, Donna Mae Jokumsen, 22, was last seen on July 5, 1987.
Her body has not been found, officials said.

http://www.azcentral.com/story/news...30-years-ago-while-living-chandler/663923001/

 

[OkieGranny]

NamUs: https://www.findthemissing.org/cases/show/1961

Charley: http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/j/jokumsen_donna.html

 

[lisette]

I wonder what happened to the two little boys. Maybe, since he moved back to Washington, her parents were part of their lives. I hope so. Does anybody know?

 

[lisette]

It has been reported Jokumsen is homeless and had built a lengthy criminal history. Jokumsen was arrested for being a fugitive from justice and was first taken to the SCORE jail in Des Moines before being transferred to the King County jail.

http://www.courierherald.com/news/arizona-cold-case-centers-on-former-enumclaw-couple/

I hope and pray those two little boys were able to grow up in a stable home...perhaps with her parents. This is really bothering me. Does anybody know what happened to them?

 

[lisette]

I did find this...It was 6 years after Donna went missing...I do hope his mother provided a good home for the boys. So sad that they grew up without their mother...

After failing a lie detector test about his wife's disappearance, Kevin Jokumsen eventually returned to Enumclaw, where he still lives with his mother and two sons.
"I see the boys once a year, and they think their mother just ran away," Douglas said.

"We don't tell them anything else, but some day, I hope they learn the real truth."

Copyright 1993, 1999 The Arizona Daily Star

 

[Gardener1850]

Donna Mae Jokumsen was 22 in July 1987, when she called her father in Washington state to ask if she and her two sons could seek refuge at his home. She was tired of the violent fights with her husband, she told him.

He said yes. But she never drove to Washington from Chandler, where she had moved months earlier.

Her family didn't hear from her again, so a little more than a week after she called her father, they reported her as missing to police on July 11, 1987.

Family and police presume she has been dead all this time. But her body never has been found.
They believe Kevin Jokumsen, her husband, killed her.
Jokumsen, now 54, denies it. He told police his wife abandoned him and their children to start a new life.

If the case goes to trial, it would be the oldest murder case without a body presented to a jury in Arizona, based on data compiled by Tad DiBiase, a former federal prosecutor, who tracks similar cases.

Since that July 1987 phone call, Chandler detectives have continued their search for clues leading to Jokumsen.

A 200-page report released by Chandler police in November includes statements from friends and family, tips received by the department and newspaper clippings.
It paints a picture of a young couple who had physically fought since their high-school years — a couple who, by all accounts, should not have stayed together.

Kevin and Donna met while in high school in Enumclaw, Washington, southeast of Seattle.

Even then, friends and family tried to break up the couple.

Kevin's older sister later told police that Donna being with her brother was like "gas on a fire." Fights between the two would sometimes escalate into physical violence, she told investigators. She recalled her horror as the two came to blows during a softball game.

His mother and Donna's sisters and parents all told police stories of abuse involving the two. Details, predictably, varied from family member to family member.

In a July 2016 interview with police, Donna's younger sister Deborah Howard said she was 13 when she witnessed violence between the couple. She was supposed to go to a concert with Donna and get the tickets from Kevin, the report said.

The couple was not together at the time. Kevin's mother told police the argument started because Kevin said he was taking another girl to the concert, but she didn't remember other details.

Howard said she didn’t catch the start of the argument, either, but she saw Kevin punch or slap her sister. And as Donna tried to flee, Howard said he grabbed Donna and clamped her into a chokehold. Her sister suffered a black eye, Howard recalled in the report.

Donna changed the details of what happened to downplay the incident when answering police questions, her sister told investigators.
In another early episode of violence, accounts differ over an incident involving a firearm thrown in a ditch. Kevin told police Donna threw his rifle in the ditch and he made her retrieve it. His mother, according to a police report, backed that version.
But Donna's mother, Mary Jane Leitzen, told police Kevin attempted to drown Donna in the ditch after her daughter told Kevin she was pregnant.

Much more at link: https://www.azcentral.com/story/new...umsen-murder-husband-kevin-charged/889142001/

 

[JerseyGirl]

Kevin Jokumsen is charged with second-degree murder in connection with the presumed death of 22-year-old Donna Mae Jokumsen, a mother of two when she went missing on July 5, 1987, from her Chandler home.

Murder trial starts in the case of a Chandler mother missing more than 3 decades

 

[lisette]

He was acquitted! Not enough evidence.… No justice for Donna and her family. So sad.

Washington man acquitted in wife's Chandler cold-case killing 32 years later

 

[DDB Mom]

My grandfather was married to Kevin's mother, a second marriage for both. Having spoken to someone that was at the latest court proceedings, it is likely that Donna was killed by someone else. There were witnesses that testified that were not interviewed during the original case, that made it highly likely another person killed Donna. Unfortunately that person is dead.
I'm writing this years later because it's odd, having hade a vague awareness of Kevin growing up, as his mother used to babysit me and his sons, but having just a couple of hazy memories of him coming over to the grandparents house. I originally joined Websleuths because I wanted to see if something was posted about Donna. When I saw it, I was tempted to comment, but didn't feel comfortable. Now, I wanted to put out there what I knew if anyone wants to know.
Kevin's mother raised the boys for a good portion of their lives. Both boys are doing well. One worked for my mother for a number of years. They are both good people.
I do hope she is found one day, she and her family deserve it.

 

[YaYa_521]

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)
NamUs #MP1961
Donna Mae Jokumsen
Circumstances of Disappearance - Last seen July 5, 1987 by her husband.

 

[John/Jane Doe]

Donna Mae Jokumsen – The Charley Project

 

[Pennysmom1]

Donna is still missing

Missing Person / NamUs #MP1961

View NamUs missing person case MP1961 for Donna Mae Jokumsen missing from Chandler, Arizona. Date of last contact: Jul 05, 1987. NCMEC case number: --.

namus.nij.ojp.gov

Donna Mae Jokumsen – The Charley Project

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Donna, circa 1987; Kevin Jokumsen in 2017

• Missing Since 07/05/1987
• Missing From Chandler, Arizona
• Classification Endangered Missing
• Sex Female
• Race White
• Date of Birth 02/15/1965 (59)
• Age 22 years old
• Height and Weight 5'11 - 6'0, 180 - 190 pounds
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• Clothing/Jewelry Description A dark-colored t-shirt, green surgical scrubs and flip-flops.
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• Associated Vehicle(s) Blue Chevrolet Chevelle (accounted for)
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• Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian female. Brown hair, brown eyes. Donna has a scar on her abdomen and a tattoo on her shoulder. Her maiden name is Douglas.

Details of Disappearance​

Donna was last seen in Chandler, Arizona on July 5, 1987. This was the same day she planned to separate from her husband, Kevin Dale Jokumsen. They lived in the 900 block of west Gary Drive, near Alma School Road and Ray Road.

A friend met up with Donna on July 3, two days prior to her disappearance, and noticed Donna had a split lip and bruises. Donna said the injuries were caused by Kevin, and said that she was going to leave him and take their two toddler sons and drive to her parents' home in Enumclaw, Washington, where she and Kevin also used to live. She called her father and asked if she could move back in with him, because she was tired of her violent arguments with Kevin and his physical abuse. Donna's father said she could come.

On July 5 she went to a friend's barbecue. She planned to return home in her blue Chevrolet Chevelle, pack clothes for herself and her children, then go back to the barbecue with her children and spend the night with her friend before heading back to Washington. She never returned to her friend's house, however, and was never seen again.

The Jokumsens had met in high school, and their loved ones stated their relationship had been toxic from the beginning and arguments often escalated into violence. Donna's sister witnessed Kevin hit and choke her, and Donna's mother once told the police that Kevin had tried to drown Donna in a ditch after Donna told him she was pregnant.

In spite of this, they married in 1985, a year after the birth of their oldest son. They had another child in January 1986 and moved to Arizona after Christmas that year. Kevin's abuse had continued after the move, and Donna told a friend he had raped her and threatened her life. Within months, she decided to move back to Washington.

Kevin stated his wife packed all her belongings before her disappearance and he gave her all their cash, about $1,100, to pay for her move. He said he last saw her when she went to visit a friend in Mesa, Arizona that evening. When he woke up the next morning, Donna wasn't home, but her Chevelle had been cleaned and returned to its spot under the carport. Kevin said she had left him several times in the past but was never gone for longer than a few days.

Authorities subsequently discovered that Donna had left behind all her possessions and her children as well as the car. Kevin pawned her jewelry after her disappearance. When she had not arrived in Washington within five days, her father reported her missing.

Kevin never notified the police about Donna's disappearance, and he also failed a lie detector test about her case. He had said she wanted to leave because she didn't like the weather in Arizona and couldn't find a job in her chosen field, banking, but Donna told told others she was leaving because of Kevin's violence.

When police checked Donna's Chevrolet Chevelle, it had been cleaned out and washed. Donna had gone out with a friend and her family for the Fourth of July weekend and they'd gone to the river, and the car had been dirty by the time they returned. When the police asked Kevin who had cleaned the car and why, he said he didn't know.

Police stated they believed Donna had been murdered and that the Chevelle had possibly been used to transport the body, but the prosecutor's office initially refused to bring charges. Kevin subsequently moved back to Washington state with his and Donna's children. He never contacted Arizona police to ask about the status of his wife's case.

In September 2017, Kevin was charged with second-degree murder in Donna's case. A photo of him is posted with this case summary. After the prosecution rested its case, Kevin's attorneys asked the judge for a directed verdict for acquittal. The defense argued the police didn't investigate any other explanations for Donna's disappearance besides the theory that Kevin had murdered her, and argued there was insufficient evidence to prove Kevin's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The judge directed the acquittal; Kevin cannot be tried again.

Foul play is suspected in Donna's disappearance due to the circumstances involved.