Jerry McDonald
An Erlanger Lifeforce special operations manager has been charged in an alleged murder plot.
Jerry McDonald, 49, was charged with solicitation of murder.
Police were initially advised that an off-duty officer was at 328 Cherokee Blvd. with someone who said their life was in danger. McDonald gave his address as 328 Cherokee Blvd.
The off-duty officer said she had viewed several text messages that led her to believe her life was in danger.
She said she had found McDonald passed out drunk that morning and she was using his cellphone to call in to his work to say he would not be there that afternoon. That is when she saw the text messages that police said were to another female, Vanessa Nelson, 39.
Police gave this transcript:
Vanessa: "Do I need to kill her?"
Jerry: "Please kill her, babe, please. I'm begging you."
Vanessa: "Tell me what she is doing."
Jerry: "I need you."
Vanessa: "I need you more."
Segment 2
Jerry: "This b---- is worth a million. I'm saying we kill her and I collect a million and we live like the kings and queens we are.
Vanessa: I do BC it bothers me.
Vanessa: "So she has a million in life insurance."
Jerry: "Then let's kill her."
Segment 3
Jerry: "There's over a million in her dad's safe. I'm saying I won't get caught."
Vanessa: "Stealing it/"
Jerry: "Whatever babe."
Vanessa: "We aren't criminals."
Jerry: "OK babe."
Vanessa: And we don't care about money. At least I don't."
Jerry: "I don't either but I'm saying we have a way if we choose to. I'm not even joking. All I want is you babe. That's all I care about."
The woman who found the text messages told police she had been married to McDonald for the past two years but had known him for 20 years.
She said in all the time she had known him she had never heard him even joke about the type of material that was in the text messages.
She said she feared for her life and was unsure what McDonald was capable of.
A detective said, "Upon looking at the messages I found Mr. McDonald's requests to Ms. Nelson to kill Victim 1. I further found that Mr. McDonald states what financial benefits the two of them would get if Victim 1 was killed."
Erlanger Lifeforce has removed information about McDonald from its website.