On Friday, a jury found a Nebraska woman not guilty of all counts related to the June 2020 shooting death of her husband.
Kathleen Jourdan, 33, fatally shot Joshua Jourdan, 35, in front of their two children in a truck pulled over on the side of I-80 near Cozad. Kathleen Jordan, a doctor, claimed the shooting was self-defense following years of abuse from her husband, according to the Lexington Clipper Herald.
While the defense argued that the shooting was self-defense, the prosecution claimed Kathleen acted out of rage when she killed her husband, according to KNOP.
Investigators previously said the couple and their two children were in the pickup truck when Kathleen and Joshua got into an argument. Amid the dispute, Kathleen reportedly pulled over and Joshua called a friend in Georgia to mediate.
According to investigators, Kathleen said that during the call, her husband gave her “a look” while raising his hand. She reportedly claimed she was fearful for herself and her two children when she retrieved a handgun from the center console and fired two rounds into her husband’s chest, killing him.
According to the Clipper Herald, Kathleen testified on Thursday that she married her husband in March 2011, but he started to abuse alcohol — and her — two to three months into their marriage. She admitted to having an affair in 2017 with one of her husband’s friends, something she called a “stupid mistake.”
Kathleen said her husband demanded a paternity test when she became pregnant with their daughter, Amelia, who was born in 2018. Amelia was one year old when she died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, or SIDS, which Kathleen said caused her to start drinking.
During her testimony, Kathleen recounted an August 2015 incident in which she and her husband had a couple of drinks and her husband allegedly said she “deserved to be punished.” He allegedly then ordered her to undress before urinating on her head and dumping powder on her. He also told her to wash her hair in the toilet, Kathleen claimed.
Kathleen stated that she complied because she feared her husband, but he knocked her down and tried to strangle her in front of their two sons. She sought medical treatment, and medical documents indicated she suffered scratches on her neck and bruises on her legs, forearm, and chest, according to the Clipper Herald.
Kathleen claimed that before the shooting, her car failed after she had signed a lease for a home in Scottsbluff, where she had started a two-year hospital residency. She was with her children at the time, and she called her husband. He brought a pickup truck and a trailer, but the trailer could not load her car.
According to the Clipper Herald, Kathleen said they were driving back to Omaha when an argument occurred. Joshua reportedly called a friend and told him “how bad” Kathleen was when she tried to give her side of the story. Kathleen claimed he abruptly switched the call to his headset and hit the brakes so hard that it threw her against the seat belt.
Kathleen testified it was that moment her husband looked at her the same way he did when he strangled her in August 2015.
“No decision, I reacted,” she said. “I didn’t have time; I just thought to protect myself.”
Kathleen retrieved a gun from the center console and shot her husband — who seconds earlier told his friend on the phone, “She’s got the gun.”
“I thought he would kill me. I knew something was going to happen,” Kathleen testified.
The Clipper Herald also reported that the jury saw emails Joshua sent to his wife after she accepted a residency in Omaha. The messages apparently showed Joshua Jordan threatening to keep their sons in Washington, his native state, unless his wife relinquished 30 percent of her income while she was in school and 50 percent afterward.
In those emails, Joshua Jordan allegedly also demanded to have sex with Kathleen whenever he wanted. She testified that she agreed to the arrangement because she wanted to see their kids.
In addition to being acquitted of second-degree murder, the jury found Kathleen not guilty of use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony. Judge James Doyle formally acquitted her on both charges.
For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast. Listen to the latest episode:
Featured image: Kathleen Jourdan/Denton County Sheriff’s Office]
