Questions Arise On Kimmel’s Release

From Staff Reports

Although not confirmed, it appears  that Jeffrey Kimmel was released from Missouri state prison Monday.

A former highway patrolman informed the Herald that he had noticed this on a limited-access website this Monday morning.

Calls to the Missouri Department of Corrections and to Ste. Genevieve County Prosecuting Attorney Wayne Williams could not confirm whether Kimmel was indeed released. Late in the day, Ste. Genevieve police chief Eric Bennett said it appeared that Kimmel had been released.

Kimmel, now 63, had been sentenced to 20 years in prison by Circuit Court Judge Sandy Martinez under the terms of a plea agreement in 2002 for the Aug. 7, 2001, death of his wife, Mary Kimmel, 31.

Kimmel claimed she was killed when she lost control of a pick up truck on Route O in western Ste. Genevieve County and crashed into a rock bluff.