Jeremy Lind Tortured to Death by Three People
- Posted:
- January 6, 2022
- 6:24 pm
On September 27, 2020, Jeremy Lind, 35, and his girlfriend were kidnapped from their home and tortured.
Kidnapping
Around 1am on September 27, 2020, Jeremy was lured out of his house by a man named James Branham, 37. Branham told Jeremey they were going to “hit a wick”; a reference meaning they were going to rob someone/something. Jeremey and the unidentified female victim went willingly with Branham. He drove them to a home on the 1400 block of Clara Avenue. Once they arrived, a women named Samantha Johnson forced the couple out of the car and into the house at gunpoint.
Attack
Once inside, Jeremy and his girlfriend were pistol-whipped and forced to strip naked. The assailants then forced Jeremy and his girlfriend to eat dog food.
News outlets reported Jeremey was beaten while his girlfriend was whipped. Detectives stated the attackers used their fists and a broomstick to beat the victims. During the attack, Jeremey lost consciousness and his girlfriend was forced to clean up his blood.
During the torture, a man, Daniel Rosselot, knocked on the door. Johnson invited him to join in, which he did. Branham would also take part in beating Jeremy.
Jeremey’s tongue was removed from his mouth, placed in tinfoil, which was crumpled up and forced down Jeremy’s throat.
Johnson and her conspirators moved Jeremy into the shower hoping to wash the blood off him. She then ordered Rosselot and Branham to “take out the trash”, meaning Jeremy’s body.
Rosselot and Branham then bound his hands and feet, and a “ligature cord” was placed around his neck. He was then wrapped in a tarp and placed in a shed. Jeremy was not dead yet. According to his girlfriend, he was “withering in pain” and at one point, he called for help. One man went into the shed and placed a bag over his head. The last time she saw Jeremy, she told policed he had a bag on his head; she believed he was deceased.
Jeremy’s body was kept in a shed for about two days before they dumped it in an alley in the 3600 block of Lentz Avenue, Louisville. Police officers responding to an unrelated call discovered the remains. Jeremy’s body was beaten so badly, his face was unrecognizable. According to news outlets, “The beating sustained to the male victim was so extreme that it rearranged his mouth structure,” court documents state. Detectives stated, “his mouth was shattered, eyes closed shut and unrecognizable.”; “His eyes were pretty much falling out of his skull.” The detective explained, during the autopsy, the tinfoil containing Jeremy’s tongue was stuffed so far down his throat, “it inflated certain physical features” making it hard for them to identify the body. The damage Jeremey endure was described as “catastrophic”; The torture lasted more than 12 hours. It was determined the cause of death was asphyxiation and the manner of death was homicide.
Escape
The female victim was able to escape her captors, who were planning on trafficking her. A man, who was referred to as “CJ” was called over to help move the body. The man, unaware of what had been going on, looked in the shed, and stated, “I don’t want any part of this”. As he is leaving, he offered the female victim a cigarette from his car. She followed him out and escaped.
When interviewed by police, she told police that she and Jeremy had stolen items from a car a few days before the kidnapping, murder, and assault. The car had belonged to Johnson’s boyfriend. According to detectives, all the individuals involved had known each other and lived in the same neighborhood. They believe the attack was retaliation for the theft.
The victim also told police once she “realized the less she begged for mercy or scream, she was not beaten as much”.
Arrests & Court Appearances
While investigators were figuring out what exactly occurred, a man, described to be Jeremy’s childhood friend, was arrested in connection with his murder. Investigators later discovered that this man had not been involved in the crimes and was released from prison.
Johnson, Samantha
Johnson was arrested four months later on January 28, 2021, around 1 am. She faces the following charges*
Johnson is due in court on October 19, 2022 for a supression hearing.
Branham, James
Branham was arrested on November 1, 2020. Branham told police he had been paid to help kidnap and torture the two victims. He has been charged with the following crimes*
Branham is due in court on on October 19, 2022, for a suppression hearing.
Rosselot, Daniel
Rosselot was arrested on June 1, 2021. He has been charged with:
Rosselot is due in court on October 31, 2022 for a pretrial conference.
3 Comments
Successfully Unsuccessful
The term is actually “Hit a LICK”, not “hit a wick”.
Successfully Unsuccessful
Also do you all update this for every court appearance? Im very intrigued by this case, as it is only 5 miles down the street
Ashley Rose
I haven’t, but I am planning on updating all cases within a week or so. I will look and see if there has been any updates tonight for Jeremy Lind And I know the term “lick” but the documents said “wick” and I wasn’t sure if it was a typo or some slang I didn’t know from the area, so I didn’t assume.