An Alabama woman facing capital murder charges for abducting a woman and throwing her to her death of a cliff has submitted a character reference to the judge stating she is a 'child of God'.
Jessie Eden Kelly, 22, is accused of kidnapping Mary Elizabeth Isbell, 37, and shoving her off a cliff at the Little River Canyon nature preserve near Fort Payne.
Isbell's remains were found in June almost two years after she had been reported missing by her ex-husband.
Prosecutors say she was pushed to her death by Kelly with help from her mom Loretta Kay Carr, 45, who is also facing a capital murder charge. It is thought the three women were connected through a 'boyfriend'.
In a character reference submitted on Kelly's behalf to a Dekalb County judge, a former inmate locked up with her praised Kelly as a 'kind-hearted child of God', Decatur Daily reports.
Jessie Eden Kelly, 22, is accused of kidnapping Mary Elizabeth Isbell, 37, and throwing her to her death off a cliff
Isbell's remains were discovered almost two years after she was first reported missing by her ex-husband
Kelly's mom Loretta Kay Carr, 45, is also a facing capital murder charge for allegedly helping to kill Isbell
At the time of her mother's arrest in June, Kelly was incarcerated in Pennsylvania awaiting extradition to Missouri on a felony theft charge. She was extradited to Alabama in July.
Eight letters in support of her character from fellow jail mates were filed with Dekalb County District Court on Tuesday.
'She is really a bright, well-meaning and intelligent young woman who I feel could be easily taken advantage of due to her sweet nature and trusting spirit,' one cellmate wrote.
Others describe Kelly as 'naïve' and 'innocent', while one person said she doesn't believe Kelly, 'completely grasps how serious her situation is'.
Isbell's remains were discovered on what would have been her 39th birthday.
Immediately after receiving the report she had vanished, police obtained a warrant to search her home which showed signs of a struggle including a bloody hand print.
Investigators managed to link to the blood to Isbell using DNA from an old rape kit the victim had filed with Hartselle Police Department, WAAY31 reports.
The hand print was matched to Kelly based on previous arrests and fingerprinting.
The women were connected to each other through a 'boyfriend', prosecutors say who branded the accused's conduct as 'inhuman'. Kelly has since submitted character references to a judge in her case which claim she is a 'Child of God'
Isbell's remains were found at the bottom of a cliff at the Little River Canyon nature preserve near Fort Payne, Alabama
Court records state that Kelly and Carr showed up at Isbell's trailer in 2021 and fought with her. Carr is accused of repeatedly hitting the victim over the head with a pistol.
They then transported Isbell to Carr's home, forcing her to shower off the blood before taking her to the nature preserve, according to the filings.
Once there, Kelly watched her mother walk Isbell to the edge before shoving her off.
'It's very inhuman. Brutal what these ladies did to Mary,' Nick Brown, chief investigator with the DeKalb County Sheriff's Office said.
'They are all acquaintances, mainly to a boyfriend. They all do come back to one specific person.'
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