A Homicidal Sex Criminal Eludes Justice in Jacksonville
(“Cold Feet,” Forensic Files)
By chance, 17-year-old James “Jimmy” Elmen Jr. escaped prosecution for a homicide in Florida in 1984. But as viewers of Forensic Files know, some criminals who get away with murder once just can’t stop pushing their luck (Barbara Stager, Bart Corbin).
Instead of reforming after his acquittal, Elmen went on to terrorize three women and kill one of them, a 21-year-old newlywed named Julie Estes.
Very bad hombre. Elmen’s crimes and his Charles Manson-like mannerisms make him especially disturbing. He’s among Forensic Files’ most frightening subjects.
“I would say that James Elmen was an outlier,” former Jacksonville detective Frank Mackesy, who helped investigate Elmen, told ForensicFilesNow.com. “Fortunately, most law officers don’t deal with such offenders regularly.”
Nonetheless, as true crimes fan know well, even especially cruel murderers sometimes win release despite life sentences. (Wood-chipper killer Richard Crafts recently got out).
Sunshine State child. For this week’s post, I checked on James Elmen’s incarceration status in hopes that he’s securely locked away for good.
So let’s get going on the recap of “Cold Feet” along with extra information drawn from phone interviews and internet research:
Julie Stoverink came into the world on Dec. 12, 1963, and grew up in St. Petersburg, Florida, as the eldest of four kids born to Kathleen and John Stoverink.
Night shift. As a teen, she enjoyed playing video games and working at Burger King along with her best girlfriend, according to a St. Louis Post-Dispatch story. She graduated from Fort Zumwalt High School in 1982.
Julie married a truck driver named Rod Estes in April 1985 and took a job as a late-shift cashier at a Jacksonville convenience store.
Unfortunately, she didn’t get much time to enjoy adulthood or married life.
Missing person and money. On Oct. 22, 1985, a passerby called police after noticing that the Lil’ Champ store at 6892 Old Kings Road South, where Julie worked, was dark at 10:30 p.m. It normally didn’t close until 11 p.m.
The next morning, an employee arrived to find the store had been robbed of $500.
And Julie had never returned home on the night of the theft.
Shrimpy driver. A police helicopter spotted Julie’s blue Camaro stuck in some mud in woods about four miles from the store.
Her body, with her hands tied with her own sneaker shoelaces, lay under some cardboard and other debris nearby. She’d been raped and killed via a blow to the head.
Investigators believed someone shorter than Julie had driven her car that night; the seat had been moved forward. Inside the vehicle, they found Julie’s purse and the store’s empty cash bag.
Early focus on spouse. The trunk had traces of Julie’s blood. Investigators believed someone had tied her hands first, then put her in the trunk.
The No. 1 suspect, husband Rod Estes, told detectives that he spent the night of the murder home alone and didn’t report Julia as missing because they had a fight that day.
Police don’t particularly like unverifiable alibis like Rod’s, but they found him cooperative and ultimately cleared him.
Case revived. Investigators began to suspect that Jacksonville had a serial killer on the loose.
Months before Julie’s homicide, police had discovered a 15-year-old girl named Christina Casey murdered just a few miles away from Julie’s crime scene. And Dana Loomis, a missing 10-year-old, had turned up dead and hanging from a tree in the area.
Still, Julie’s homicide went unsolved until 2003, when Frank Mackesy, who had been promoted from patrolman to chief of detectives in the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, suggested a cold case squad reopen the investigation.
“Her family came and thanked me because they thought she had become forgotten,” Mackesy recalled.
Rescued by cop. Detectives discovered that shortly before Julie’s murder, a woman Forensic Files calls Carla Nobles (probably a pseudonym) had been abducted from a different convenience store, about 30 miles away in Callahan, but survived. Carla, 19, had given a ride to a man she met in the parking lot, none other than the impish-looking James Elmen.
After raping Carla, Elmen forced her at knifepoint to get behind the wheel and drive. Along the way, she managed to stop the car and get the attention of a law officer, who arrested Elmen.
Elmen ultimately pleaded guilty to aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, armed kidnapping, and four counts of unarmed sexual battery. (Some of the charges stemmed from an incident a few days before the rape — Elmen grabbed a woman and threatened her with a knife, but she escaped.)
Suspect connection. For those crimes, Elmen got a sentence of 42 years, with parole eligibility after 22 years.
Meanwhile, cold case investigators found another tantalizing piece of circumstantial evidence: The 10-year-old murder victim found in the tree circa 1985 was a half-sister to James Elmen.
So who was this button-nosed psychopath? A few biographical details on Elmen came up.
Troubled youth. He was born on Sept. 12, 1966, and reportedly dropped out of school after ninth grade.
Although he had parents who gave him moral support during at least one of his court dates — his mother, Pamela Loomis, “kissed him and handed him a pack of cigarettes as he was led back to jail,” according to a Florida Today story — at some point he moved in with his aunt and uncle in Titusville.
Wanda and Randall Gurr hoped the “small-town atmosphere” would “straighten him up” — and were shocked when their tousle-haired nephew was arrested in connection with the murder of 18-year-old Steven Linthicum in 1984.
Buddies turn. Prosecutors had a strong case that the then-teenage Elmen stabbed Linthicum to death after he and an accomplice stole Linthicum’s Walkman, jewelry, and decorative swords.
Elmen associate Tom Pack, 22, told the court that he and Elmen committed the burglary and later took the stolen goods to Glen Stroman, also a friend of Elmen’s. Stroman admitted to selling some of the stolen jewelry and got immunity for testifying against Elmen.
Plus, Elmen had been seen wearing bloody clothes around the time of the murder, according to an Orlando Sentinel story.
Menace to society. Despite the strong case against Elmen, an oddball factor unexpectedly kneecapped the prosecution. A tracking-dog handler named John Preston, who had provided some evidence for the trial, was discredited as a phony. That was enough to tip the jury’s verdict to not guilty.
By the time cold case investigators took up Julie Estes’ murder, however, Elmen was in prison for the 1985 attack on Carla Nobles, but he was eligible for parole. The cold case squad wanted to ensure he’d never get out. He was way too dangerous. Police, doctors, medical workers, and public defenders were all afraid of Elmen, detective James A. Parker said during his Forensic Files appearance.
“I was so worried he would reoffend that we made a case to put him on 24-7 surveillance,” Mackesy recalled.
Planned attack. Fortunately, authorities were able to hold Elmen in prison thanks to the Jimmy Ryce Act, which allows extended incarceration for convicted violent sexual offenders because they’re a threat to society. The court classified Elmen as a “mentally disordered sexual offender.”
Elmen probably had no intention of ending his attacks on women. “I think Julie Estes’ murder was definitely premeditated,” Mackesy said. “She matched all the physical traits of all his victims. They had the same body style, hair color, and hair style.”
After reopening the case, detectives hit some forensic pay dirt when a lab identified Elmen’s DNA on Julie’s socks.
Sudden confession. Investigators believe that on the night of Julie’s murder, Elmen noticed there were no customers inside the Lil’ Champ store, entered and turned off the electricity, and forced Julie to empty the safe. He made her drive to a lot, then raped and killed her and ditched her car.
Just as Julie’s family was preparing to attend Elmen’s trial at the Duval County Courthouse in 2008, Elmen surprised them by pleading no contest to Julie’s rape and murder. He got life without the possibility of parole.
“This was probably the better of the two options,” Julie’s dad, John Stoverink, said in a TV news interview. “You never know what a jury is going to do. This way, he doesn’t have a chance to get out.”
Throw away the key. Despite the guilty plea, Elmen’s defense lawyer Frank Tassone thought the judge made some wrong decisions.
“People picked and chose the facts they considered,” Tassone told ForensicFilesNow.com. “There were some mitigating things the judge didn’t allow.”
Nonetheless, it looks as though James Elmen has zero chance of leaving prison on two feet. “His plea deal was contingent on him not being able to appeal or get out,” Mackesy said. “Part of that deal was our prosecutor didn’t go after the death penalty.”
Grief relief. Today, Elmen lives in Graceville Correctional and Rehabilitation Facility in Florida and is on the sex offender registry. The Florida Department of Corrections lists his status as life without the possibility of parole, and he’s in close custody, meaning maximum supervision.
The sentence relieves Julie Estes’ family of having to attend parole board hearings for the killer of their eldest child.
According to Florida Times-Union account, as a tribute Julie, her brother Tom Stoverink “named his daughter Samantha Julie after his big sister, whom he followed everywhere when she was living at home.”
That’s all for this post. Until next time, cheers. – RR
Watch the Forensic Files episode on YouTube
Thanks, Rebecca. A case that should attract no disagreement from commenters about the subject’s guilt nor the aptness of his sentence. What a monster; and who would want to share a cell or anywhere with him? The term ‘psycho’ seems to’ve been coined for him. Surely an advert for the death penalty (and an illustration of the wholesale inconsistency – hence outrageous unfairness – in its application, for perps have been executed for rather less egregiousness in that state…)
Another Howdy Doody lookalike (forensicfilesnow.com/index.php/2019/11/28/jason-massey-cherub-faced-killer/)?
Lol, Marcus, the guy really does look like he belongs on Saturday morning TV.
White people are crazy and dumb!
Excellent research as always. I cannot fathom what mitigating circumstances the defense attorney believes are relevant when compared with the heinous crimes of his client.
Thanks, Robyn! Same here, can’t imagine anything that could change my mind about J.E.
I agree; if by ‘mitigating things’ is meant the usual forms of mitigation offered I cannot imagine what they could be (mental defectiveness compromising culpability?; other perp involvement reducing culpability?; abused as child (the almost inevitable claim)?) Tassone’s implying these ‘things’ shouldn’t have been excluded by a judge – who disagreed…
Or does he mean the likes of this – matters of law and procedure:
Although he had completed his rape sentence, Elmen was in the state’s civil commitment center for sex offenders in Arcadia when police charged him in 2003 with Estes’ murder. Even then the case took five more years to get a trial date because of the complicated DNA evidence.
Elmen’s lawyers challenged the competence of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement tester and the role of a military lab in determining the results. Tassone said under federal law military investigators aren’t supposed to be involved in civilian cases unless the crime occurs on a base or the victim or perp is in the military.
Judge Cooper denied the defense arguments before trial and granted a prosecution request to limit testimony about the Department of Law Enforcement examiner’s competence. Cooper’s rulings went a long way toward coaxing Elmen’s plea, Tassone said.
“He felt that … it kind of cut most of our case out from under us,” Tassone said.
—
Law aside and morality considered, who could argue that Elmen got the very least of what he properly (morally) deserves as a potential serial murderer-rapist? I doubt Tassone could argue that (not that I’m suggesting he wasn’t doing anything but his job in mining any and every weakness in the prosecution’s case, however tentative, even hopeless).
Thanks for the update. Florida definitely has some of the scariest psychos, both native-born and transplanted.Fortunately, it also has some of the toughest sentencing laws.
Amen!
I am guessing as many people came to this update as any other FF case. This guy’s bio is in the definition of sociopathy. I’m twice his size and he gives me the creeps. Does anyone even doubt that the fifteen and ten year old (hung from a tree) were Elman? OR that he sexually assaulted them? Some heads are just full of bad wiring and this guy is one of them. The cops recognized this and made sure he went away for good. Sometimes the system works…
Robert: FL: third highest number of homicides in US, but about average per 100,000 (5.0), at 5.2. For safety move to Maine (1.5) – and avoid Louisiana (11.7)!
Interestingly, most of the states with above average homicides per capita have the death penalty (28 states have it). For supporters, that could be interpreted such that the rates in those states would be even higher without it; for opposers, that it’s not an obvious deterrent. In fact, nothing can be read into its deterrence effect, if any, statistically, so the argument from deterrence can only be an unverifiable claim.
Thanks, that’s some interesting info. I suppose Florida seems to be worse than it really is because it has some of the more spectacular murders and murderers. And I agree on the death penalty – no meaningful conclusion can be drawn from the data, but people interpret it according to their personal views.
Robert: You’re welcome. And this puts things in perspective for me as a Brit on my small island: Florida’s $1.0 trillion economy is the fourth largest of any US state, and if it were a country, Florida would be the 16th largest economy in the world (UK, sixth; US, first, of course).
A prominent state in so many respects, FL’s violent crime is bound to be notable too – with that contributing to perception of more than average violent crime. That said, while the state as a whole isn’t especially dangerous, parts of it are. In Florida City the violent crime rate is a staggering 3,053 incidents per 100,000 people, *eight* times the national violent crime rate. Other cities in Florida such as Opa Locka and Lake City also rank among the most dangerous in the US, with violent crime rates of 2,346.5 and 1,215 per 100,000, respectively.
Yep, the idea the death penalty is a deterrence has been so thoroughly debunked at this point, that I can’t believe people still espouse that belief with a straight face.
Love the Columbo-like deduction: The front seat had been moved forward, which told investigators that the killer was shorter than the victim.
You’d be surprised (or maybe not) how often male perps driving females’ cars (and vice versa) involved in their homicide fail to return the seat. It’s a standard police forensic metric in such situations.
That sawed-off psychopath is in just the right place. A death sentence is too often meaningless and frequently ends up with a life sentence anyway. “Without parole” is the key modifier here.
Sawed off psychopath! That is awesome and so extremely accurate! Thanks for the laugh!
Thank you for this article. I’m am one of Steven Linthicum’s sisters who was murdered in 1984. It’s unfortunate we were not able to secure justice in his case. I’m glad to know that J. E. will never be allowed out of prison alive.
So sorry for your loss! James Elman is right where he belongs, forever!
I’m so sorry for your loss. If he hadn’t gotten off on those charges, a lot of others would possibly still be alive.
So sorry for your loss Jessica !
Just watched forensic files about James Elmen. Would love for him to have been executed. Deterrent or not, it’s a guarantee the schmuck will never harm another !
Police, doctors and district attorneys were scared of this midget? He’s barely tall enough to get on amusement park rides.
Human scum is what he is. I am glad he didn’t get the death penalty because getting a needle and going to sleep is not really harsh. Life in prison with no chance of parole is the key. That is why I hope Elman lives to be 100. They should install a stainless mirror in his cell so he can see himself aging year by year, knowing the only way will get out will be in body bag. Perhaps sending him a birthday card every year would also remind him of his demise.
I wish they would reopen the murder case of his half-sister, as it’s still considered “unsolved.” Everyone knew back in 1985 that he did it. They lived across the street from her school (about a block from the Lil Champ in one direction and about a block in the other direction from the wooded area where his earlier victim’s skeleton was found).
His half-sister was absolutely petrified of him and was asking classmates to spend the night at her house the night she was murdered because her parents weren’t going to be home and she would be alone with this POS. She was hanging around school late that afternoon because she didn’t want to go home.
Sometime after midnight, her half dressed body was found behind our school. We didn’t have grief counselors in those days. We were forced to go to school like nothing was odd about police tape we had to walk around and the knowledge that the friend we’d seen the day before was dead right past a few trees. We played with her in that large wooded area behind the school at recess every day. No officers ever asked any of us if we knew anything.
This was one day before Mrs. Estes’ murder.
What a harrowing story! Thank you for writing in with this. It sounds as though he’s 99.9 percent guilty of his half-sister’s murder. I also remember the days before grief counselors. There were guidance counselors but they were mostly for scheduling your classes.
He looks exactly like his birth father now, and a lot like all of Jim’s sons. Just be happy you didn’t have to grow up around this family…