A popular Colorado animal rights attorney accused of setting up a hit on her husband’s new girlfriend apparently said she was the one that was set up.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Jennifer Emmi, the founder of The Animal Law Center in Evergreen, is accused of trying to get at least two informants to kill her estranged husband’s girlfriend, who was an au pair who at one point, took care of the couple’s children.
Emmi and her husband are now separated and going through a divorce.
A 33-page affidavit filed in the case said Emmi spoke with a man late last year who worked at her ranch in Evergreen and asked him “if he knew anyone who could help get rid of [the girlfriend].”
“Nobody will miss her,” Emmi allegedly said.
The ranch hand contacted law enforcement and told them about the phone call, which he recorded. He said the two discussed payment, and he told her it might cost as much as $100,000.
“Jennifer responded that the money would not be a problem,” he told detectives.
Another informant, who worked previously as a military sniper, told police that Emmi had approached him about killing people, the affidavit read.
Since January 2020, Emmi has faced 16 felonies and misdemeanors, including stalking, and soliciting people to murder, harass, spy on, and retaliate against her estranged husband, her husband’s girlfriend, and additional victims and witnesses.
During a jailhouse interview, Emmi told Fox 31 that the facts of the case are not being presented and that she never had any intentions of having her husband or his girlfriend killed.
“I was set up, and I have been repeatedly set up. All I can say is I want the truth to come out. The whole thing is crazy. I don’t want to hurt anyone…Things happened, but not anything that’s in the report…I don’t want anyone injured.”
Emmi’s lawyer, Colin Bresee, told the station that his client had been rightfully upset after her husband cheated on her. However, that doesn’t mean she wanted anyone dead. Bresee added that Emmi told one of the informants that they weren’t going to go through with anything.
“This is a very serious allegation against Jennifer Emmi. It looked like the model family and all of a sudden her husband trades her in for a younger girl. She was irate,” Bresee said.
Emmi told Fox 31 that her marriage began breaking down after she was hospitalized with a brain bleed.
“I was struggling with the autoimmune and I said and did things that I can’t believe came out of my mouth, because of the steroids,” Emmi said.
Emmi’s husband said the marriage started unraveling in 2019 after he caught Emmi cheating and told her he wanted a divorce. He said he paused the divorce proceedings when Emmi told him about numerous medical problems, none of which could be verified, the arrest affidavit read.
Emmi then allegedly made threats to kill one of their children in both September 2019 and December 2019, the affidavit stated. In January 2020, Emmi allegedly strangled one of the children who wanted to call the father about Emmi’s behavior. She later held a knife to her husband’s throat at a birthday party, according to authorities.
Emmi reportedly filed for divorce in February 2020, in an attempt to get back into her children’s life. When she failed to get what she wanted, she allegedly tried unsuccessfully to drop the case.
Emmi’s husband said that her behavior continued to escalate. Then, on November 9, 2020, the husband was informed that Emmi tried to hire a hitman to kill his girlfriend.
According to court documents, the informant warned Emmi that her husband could get hurt in the process, to which Emmi reportedly replied, “I’m inclined to kill two birds with one stone, so to speak.”
Emmi is also accused of trying to push U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement to deport her husband’s girlfriend, who is reportedly from Brazil.
Emmi remains at the Jefferson County jail on a $3 million cash bond. The latest charges are in addition to 16 felonies and 16 misdemeanors.
Check back for updates.
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[Feature Photo: Jennifer Emmi/Police Handout]
