- Maybe there is karma.
You shouldn’t judge a book by its cover or a crime scene by first impressions. That’s certainly true in this case, where Alabama police found a couple dead in the woods.
What originally seemed like the result of some kind of tragic accident turned out to be something entirely different. It was murder.
The bodies of Jessica Folds, 47, and Daniel Robbins, 44, were discovered lying side by side on a forest trail. Initially, law enforcement authorities didn’t necessarily believe in foul play.
Later investigations, however, revealed a more gruesome reality. Folds had been strangled to death, and clues at the site indicated that Robbins had been dragging her corpse into the forest.
He, however, suffered a heart attack while attempting to dispose of the body. It proved fatal, leaving the suspected murderer dead next to his victim.
Investigators are still working to establish why Robbins might have killed Folds. But the details of the case seem to indicate that karmic justice may exist in the universe.
Found Together
At the heart of the case are Jessica Folds, from Lanett, Alabama, and Daniel Robbins, of Macon, Georgia. According to media reports, the couple had been dating for a while.
On June 10 around 12:20 p.m., the Chambers County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) received a distressing report. A running vehicle had been located on County Road 68 near Lanett, abandoned by the roadside.
A short way away, along a wooded path, the caller had discovered two dead bodies. The sheriff’s deputies arrived at the scene and confirmed that a woman and a man had indeed died.
“Upon arrival, deputies located a deceased white female and white male in a wooded area near the vehicle,” the CCSO said in a statement.
They were Folds and Robbins.
“Their bodies were right there together,” said district attorney Mike Segrest.
There didn’t seem to be anything immediately indicating what had killed the couple. However, the position of the bodies was strange; Folds’ arms were raised above her head while Robbins lay in a fetal position.
Was it a sad accident or had something shady gone down?
The bodies were taken to the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences for an autopsy. The resulting investigation showed that something shady had indeed happened.
One Murder, Two Bodies
The autopsy revealed that Folds had not died of natural causes. To put it bluntly, she had been strangled to death.
But who could’ve done it? According to the authorities, you may not have to look any further than her boyfriend.
Segrest stated that the scene where the bodies were found suggests that Robbins appears to have killed Folds. Many signs imply that he was attempting to dump her body in the remote, wooded area.
First, he had left his truck running, indicating that he had not planned to stay in the woods for long. The driver’s side door was open and the tailgate down, which suggested the driver had hopped out in a hurry and retrieved something from the truck bed.
Finally, there were drag marks on the trail dirt, leading straight from the truck to the spot where the bodies lay.
But what, then, killed Robbins? According to Segrest, he suffered a fatal heart attack as he was dragging Folds into the forest.
“The female victim was strangled, and it appears the male was attempting to dispose of the body in a remote location … He died of a heart attack while doing it,” summarized Segrest.
It wasn’t reported what caused Robbins’ heart attack, but he reportedly had a pre-existing heart condition.
‘Domestic Incident’
Investigation into Robbins’ possible motives for killing Folds is still ongoing. It’s also currently unclear where and when the murder happened.
Segrest stated that the killing is currently believed to have been a “domestic incident.” He added that the condition of the bodies, together with Robbins’ truck still having enough gas for idling, suggest that he may have killed her on the evening of June 9.
Folds left behind three adult sons. An obituary for Folds said she “touched the lives of many with her heart of gold, deep love for everyone, and smile that brightened the world.”
An obituary for Robbins was also published after the initial discovery, but it has been taken down following the later revelations.