Disclaimer: This article contains mentions of murder and abuse. Reader discretion is advised.
Kill or Be Killed upcoming episode titled “A Fatal Fork in the Road” will air on Oxygen on Saturday, March 16, 2024, at 8 p.m. ET. The episode will delve into the events that led to the death of Omaha physician Kathleen Jourdan’s husband. Kathleen killed her 35-year-old husband and was found not guilty after the court found that she acted in self-defense.
The physician was charged with the second-degree murder of her husband, Joshua Jourdan, on June 17, 2020, after she shot him with a handgun in the car. She pleaded not guilty and said that she acted in self-defense because she feared the safety of herself and her children.
Kathleen was 31 years old when she shot her husband after he pulled off Interstate 80 near Cozad. The couple’s two sons, aged 7 and 5, were in the backseat of the car when a heated argument began and ended in the shooting of their father, Omaha World-Herald reported.
Several testimonies that were made in court after Joshua’s death revealed significant details about the marriage that Kathleen and Joshua shared. According to Kathleen Jourdan’s mother, Kathleen was pregnant when she married Joshua. He allegedly asked her to marry him or give the baby up for adoption. KNOP News reported that he also had a problem with Kathleen staying in touch with her mother and demanded that she go through him first.
Her mother also spoke of an incident when Joshua slapped her after she gave her grandson some milk from the fridge. Kathleen was reportedly unaware of this incident. Kathleen’s daughter, Amelia, died from SIDS, following which she began to cope with loss by consuming alcohol.
When was Kathleen Jourdan acquitted of her husband’s death?
Kathleen Jourdan was found not guilty of second-degree murder in March 2022. She was also found not guilty of committing a felony with a deadly weapon that she was charged with. The court found that she acted in self-defense. KNOP News reported that her actions were motivated by fear of what would happen to her and her children.
After she was arrested, Kathleen Jourdan’s attorney requested that her $1 million bail be reduced as she could not put down that amount. Omaha World-Herald reported that the defense team argued that there were three reasons why the accused wouldn’t flee. First, she didn’t have a record of any kind of criminal activity before this. She expressed her willingness to remain in Lexington if freed. Her children were in foster care at the moment, which would keep her in the vicinity. However, the court declined the request.
Kathleen testified that Joshua had begun verbally abusing her only three months into the relationship. She also said that Joshua had three children from his previous marriages. He had been taking money from Kathleen’s account to pay for their child support.
She recalled an incident in 2015 when Joshua violently attempted to strangle her. It happened in their Grenada home while their children were watching. Moreover, Joshua mentioned to her the idea of giving the kids up for adoption. He reportedly didn’t want the responsibility. He further made her sign a contract that promised him free intercourse at any time. The contract also included that he would move from Omaha to Washington with the kids.
The Kill or Be Killed episode on Kathleen Jourdan’s case will air on Oxygen on Saturday, March 16, 2024, at 8 p.m. ET.
