James Mervin Nibbe was killed in the early morning hours of an August 2010 day right in his own home. Based on his wife’s initial statements, police thought this was the result of a home invasion. But the more they investigated, the more surprising details they uncovered.
The Marriage to a Single Mother
James Mervin Nibbe, or Jim as many called him, was born and raised in Blue Earth County, Minnesota. After graduating from Minnesota West Community College in 2005, James landed a job as an apprentice electrician.
James enjoyed outdoor activities. He liked hunting, boating, and fishing, and was described as a very kindhearted person. James’ goal was to become a skilled electrician and have a happy family of his own.
At age 22, James met his future wife – Jennifer Nibbe. Although Jennifer was about 7 years older than James, the two fell madly in love. Jennifer was a single mother to a son named Brady from a previous relationship. They quickly moved in together and married in May 2008.
But then in the early morning of August 31, 2010, the 911 dispatch received an emergency call from Jennifer Nibbe. “Please help, someone is trying to kill us,” Jennifer said on the call.
Jennifer stated her husband had been shot and that her 16-year-old son Brady was also in the house at the time. Jennifer had rushed to wake Brady up after Jim was attacked. She told her son she had been assaulted and had lacerations on her thigh.
The Bizarre Crime Scene
When the first officers arrived on the scene, Jennifer was still on the phone with the dispatcher while down in the basement with her son.
Entering the home, police noticed some furniture had been moved out of place. A knife and rope lay on the living room floor. James was found lying on the bed, shot in the back of the head. His hands were up by his head as if sleeping face down. The victim was pronounced deceased.
Jennifer told investigators she was getting ready for work when she heard a loud noise. Looking through a door crack, Jennifer saw her husband had been shot. She described the shooter as wearing dark clothing with their face covered. The woman also showed officers lacerations on the inside of her thigh, saying the assailant had attacked her with a knife and rope.
According to Jennifer, their dog started barking loudly at this point, so the shooter fled. Jennifer said she had taken the rope from their garage, something the couple used for boating. The knife was also theirs. Even the gun used to kill James was a hunting rifle he had purchased for deer hunting.
Meanwhile, police noticed Brady seemed very shaken and distraught over what happened. He and his stepfather appeared to have a close relationship.
After calming down, Brady was interviewed by police.
The Early Morning Attack
Jennifer Nibbe – wife of the victim James Mervin Nibbe, told investigators that in the early morning of August 31, 2010, as she was getting ready for work, she heard a loud noise. Looking through a door crack, Jennifer saw her husband had been shot. The subsequent autopsy also concluded that 26-year-old James died from a gunshot wound.
While Jennifer was taken to the hospital to treat the injuries she said were inflicted by the killer, her son Brady was interviewed by police. The 16-year-old stated his mother woke him up just after 6 am to inform him about the shooting. Brady said he had been sound asleep and did not hear any gunshots.
Brady said he had a .22 caliber hunting rifle, so he grabbed it and loaded it for self-defense purposes. He then stood at the entrance holding the gun until police arrived.
Police later learned Brady had also called 911. Brady’s story closely matched his mother Jennifer’s. At the time, the dispatcher told him that his mother was also calling 911.
Jennifer stated she was in the bathroom when she heard the gunshot and ran out to confront the intruder. According to Jennifer, luckily the gun jammed so the attacker grabbed her by the hair and dragged her to the living room.
Jennifer showed officers bruising around her neck and lacerations on her thigh as evidence she struggled against the attacker after being bound with a rope. Additionally, before fleeing, the shooter told Jennifer: “You’re lucky you didn’t die.”
The Dubious Statements
However, investigators were skeptical of Jennifer’s story. They noticed several inconsistencies, such as the house showed no signs of a break-in or interior struggle, and nothing was taken. Police quickly ruled out the motive of a burglary.
Moreover, the detectives also doubted the lacerations on Jennifer. They believed they looked too clean-cut to have resulted from a scuffle.
Oddly, the investigators also found no new footprints or tire tracks leading to the home despite the muddy conditions from frequent rains around that time period. They found it hard to believe an intruder would know exactly where Jennifer kept her gun and ammunition and could escape so cleanly without leaving any trace evidence.
Even Jennifer’s own statements contained inconsistencies, such as initially telling officers she heard the gunshot while showering but later recounting she was brushing her teeth when the incident occurred.
At this point, investigators wanted to learn more about the relationships between James and mother-son Jennifer and Brady, as well as the background of this outwardly attractive and reportedly popular woman from her high school days.
The Beautiful Woman
Jennifer was born in 1977 and grew up in rural Minnesota. With her attractive looks, she was quite popular back in her high school days.
A high school romance resulted in Jennifer getting pregnant at age 16. With her family’s support and encouragement, the young girl decided to keep the baby. Determined to provide a bright future for her son Brady, Jennifer worked hard to complete her studies and enrolled in nursing school after giving birth.
Eventually, Jennifer landed a job at a local surgical center and became successful. She purchased a home and land in rural Blue Earth County, Minnesota. Relatives described Jennifer as having a very strong will, determined to accomplish whatever she set her mind to.
Despite rumors that Jennifer may have been involved in her 7-years-younger husband’s death, James’ family adored her and did not believe it. Moreover, James and Brady seemed to get along well, though they sometimes clashed, such as when James couldn’t make Brady do chores due to his wife’s interference.
The Affair with Her Husband’s Best Friend
After being released from the hospital, police spoke with Jennifer. The woman claimed her ex-boyfriend Paul Holberg could potentially be involved.
Paul was familiar to James’ family as the two had once been best friends. Previously, Jennifer had dated Paul before marrying James. Jennifer said Paul may have been jealous of her relationship with James.
Police talked to Paul. He matched Jennifer’s description of the shooter’s height and weight.
Paul said he heard media reports it was a home invasion murder. The man admitted he and Jennifer had been together for 2-3 years, seriously dating for 1 year before she married James, but it did not end well. Paul was familiar with Jennifer’s home and daily routines.
Paul revealed Jennifer had loaned his father money while asserting he only had issues with Jennifer, not James.
The man provided an alibi that he was in St. James, Minnesota around the time of the crime. However, when checking this, police found Paul arrived there around 7:30 am, while the murder occurred about 1.5 hours earlier. They felt he could have committed the crime and still made it to work on time.
Financial Disputes
Over a month after James Mervin Nibbe’s murder, police obtained phone records for his wife Jennifer Nibbe. From these, they learned Jennifer had been in contact with yet another ex-lover of hers. During this time, the two frequently exchanged text messages with content indicating an intimate relationship between them.
Police interviewed this man. He claimed he was home with his girlfriend and their newborn child at the time of the murder. He admitted reconnecting with Jennifer and that his current girlfriend was unaware.
With this information, police obtained a new search warrant for Jennifer’s home. Here, they found financial records showing the family was behind on the mortgage for a second home and had high credit card debt.
Further inquiries with family and friends of the couple revealed James and Jennifer had grown distant, and the marriage was strained. The couple was having significant financial difficulties.
In addition to her nursing job, Jennifer typically worked two other gigs to make ends meet. Meanwhile, Jim was an apprentice electrician earning just a fraction of his wife’s income. This may have frustrated Jennifer, who was accustomed to financial stability.
Jennifer’s family said their daughter felt let down at having to become the family’s breadwinner and other aspects of the marriage. Jennifer’s uncle even revealed she had sent inappropriate photos to her lover after growing disillusioned with her marriage.
However, James deeply loved Jennifer and tried to keep their marriage intact. In the summer of 2010, he purchased a hunting rifle specifically for his wife. Not long after gifting this to Jennifer, James was killed.
The Diary’s Secrets
Police also eventually found Jennifer’s diary. In one entry, she described James as a good man but said she no longer wanted to be with him. This woman also mentioned cheating with her ex despite knowing he had a newborn child with his current girlfriend. From surveillance footage, police could confirm Jennifer visited her lover’s apartment right after her husband’s death.
James’ parents wanted to bury him in a family plot near them, but Jennifer insisted on his having a separate plot. She also kept all of James’ possessions. Jennifer wanted to control the situation without regard for her in-laws or James’ siblings. According to funeral attendees, this woman did not shed a single tear.
Meanwhile, Jennifer’s family said in the months leading up to the tragic shooting, she had lost a considerable amount of weight. The normally slim blonde beauty grew even more frail, nearly anorexic.
Bedside Murder
Not long after, the police discovered another dark secret of Jennifer Nibbe – the wife of the victim James Mervin Nibbe. Accordingly, this nurse had been abusing prescription pills that she stole from patients. With her job, she could also easily steal prescription pads to forge prescriptions for addictive drugs. This was also a major reason for the breakdown of the couple’s marriage.
The police later found James Mervin Nibbe’s insurance policy. Accordingly, just a few months before James passed away, Jennifer insisted on buying a $250,000 life insurance policy for her husband. The investigators suspected that money could also be a motive for murder, especially when Jennifer called the insurance company to request payment just 1 day after her husband’s death.
In early September 2010, just a few days after James’s funeral, the police arrested Jennifer Nibbe. This woman admitted to being addicted to prescription drugs. The pressure to maintain the family’s finances caused her too much stress and led her to turn to drugs. Thanks to her job, Jennifer could easily forge prescriptions.
That was not all Jennifer confessed. She also said that there was no intruder at all, and that she had shot her husband in the head herself.
According to Jennifer’s confession, on the day of the murder, she woke up at 5:30 am in a panicked state of mind. This woman said she went to get a gun and loaded a bullet into it, then returned to the bedroom. Jennifer put the gun on James’ shoulder while he was still in bed and pulled the trigger.
The Crime Scene Was Staged
Jennifer admitted that the injuries on her body were self-inflicted, staging the crime scene to look like there had been an intruder in the house, misleading the police investigation.
She carried out the entire crime alone. Jennifer kept saying that James was a good man and did not deserve what had happened.
Jennifer was charged with murder, facing a life sentence without parole. She claimed to have heard a strange voice while committing the crime, so her lawyer requested a psychiatric evaluation.
The lawyer argued that due to prescription drug abuse, Jennifer had no memory of the time when her husband died. Therefore, Jennifer should not be held responsible for the crime.
However, after an assessment, mental health experts declared the woman to be mentally competent at the time of the crime. She was charged with first-degree murder.
In a trial in September 2012, Jennifer agreed to a plea deal for second-degree murder. This woman was sentenced to 25 years in prison, eligible for parole in August 2027 at the age of 50. Jennifer has never expressed remorse for her actions.
