Dateline NBC will revisit Julie Jensen’s antifreeze murder, for which her husband, Mark Jensen, was found guilty twice. The episode, titled “Secrets in Pleasant Prairie,” will air on the network this Thursday, October 12, 2023, at 10 p.m. ET.
Police found incriminating evidence against Mark, including a letter Julie wrote shortly before her death. The 40-year-old mother died of antifreeze poisoning in December 1998. The accused, i.e., her husband, first stood trial a decade later in 2008 when a jury found him guilty of murder. At the time, he received a life sentence.
However, in 2011, an appallete court vacated Mark’s conviction and later ordered a re-trial. A jury then convicted him a second time in early 2023, following which a judge handed him life in prison with no parole. The convicted murderer is currently serving his sentence at the Oshkosh Correctional Institution, according to the Wisconsin Department of Corrections.
Mark Jensen retrial: Was he found guilty of wife Julie Jensen’s murder and where is he now?
Earlier this year, on February 1, a jury convicted Mark of first-degree intentional homicide in Julie’s antifreeze murder during a retrial. After this, he was sentenced to life in prison without parole a second time.
Despite being a suspect in the 1998 case from beginning, the accused first stood trial a decade later. Prosecutors attempted to secure a conviction using key evidence. This also included a letter his wife wrote to the Prairie Police Department and gave it to her neighbors. He was then found guilty of murder and sentenced to life.
However, in 2011, an appellate court overturned Mark’s conviction on grounds that Julie’s letter was inadmissible in court. The court also granted him a retrial that played out in 2023. The second time, prosecutors focused on other evidence.
ABC News reported that one of the defendant’s former co-worker, Ed Klug, testified at the retrial earlier this year, mentioning that the accused once spoke of hating his wife. He had also mentioned poisons and websites to kill a spouse. A jury convicted him after a day of deliberations.
According to the Wisconsin Department of Corrections, Mark Jensen is currently serving this sentence at Oshkosh Correctional Institution.
