Out in the Cold

Invisible Choir explores detailed depictions of violence and murder and is not appropriate for all audiences. Listener discretion is advised. He proceeded to dig in his pocket and... Take your time. He took out a gun. One moment can change your life forever. Or at least so said a man named Jesse Jones, after he was accused of a terrible crime. But is a murder ever really about just one singular moment in time? Or is it always the culmination of the moments and decisions that led there? And what of the dozens, if not hundreds of people, touched by a murder? From families of the victim to law enforcement to witnesses and bystanders, each possesses a window into that singular moment, even if they weren't there. And sometimes it's only by seeing the moment refracted through everyone else's eyes that we can finally begin to make sense of it. It was a cold autumn day at the Alpine apartment community in Anchorage, Alaska. The complex was home to 387 apartments in Anchorage's Campbell Park neighborhood. Bent was advertised as relaxed, elegant living. It appeared to live up to this promise. The units were clean and modern, and the grounds were surrounded by rolling green lawns and leafy trees. The complex featured a 24-hour fitness center and a courtyard with a dog park. There was also a leasing office on site. 33-year-old Rosemary Ortiz worked inside that leasing office. On October 23, 2023, she got to work at around 9 a.m. as usual. With less than a week to go before Halloween, the office was adorned with spooky decorations. a black cat, a witch's cauldron, among others. Rosemary herself had contributed to decorating the office and creating a festive atmosphere. At first, the day seemed to unfold like any other Monday. After Rosemary arrived and settled in, she and her co-worker, 34-year-old Josiah Gurker, began going through the weekend backlog. Work orders, tenant messages, renewal notices, and things of that nature. Before they knew it, it was afternoon. Josiah typically left at around 4 p.m. to pick up his daughter, but just before he was set to leave for the day at 3.35 p.m., a resident entered the leasing office. He was a heavyset man in his late 20s, and he wore a black vest with his hair tied up in a bun. Rosemarie recounts what happened next. It was the non-renewal notice. He asked for explanation of the notice. And at that time, Josiah saw that he was there and decided to explain to him exactly what that notice meant. So he took the notice from my hands and approached him around the dust. So I was behind the desk at that time, and he went around the desk to approach him and explain to him about the notice. The non-renewal notice meant that the property management company, a larger corporate entity that employed Rosemary and Josiah, had made a decision to not renew the resident's lease. In this case, the decision was mainly due to late and non-payment of rent. The resident was being given 30 days to vacate the apartment, and according to Rosemary, he was extremely upset. What I can remember is him saying that we were going to kick him and his pregnant girlfriend out in the cold, and that's what I can recall. Despite the resident's shock, this situation is sadly common. Housing affordability, increasingly an issue across the country, has become a pressing problem for Alaskans. In 2024, almost 30% of Alaskan households were cost-burdened, meaning they spent more than 30% of their monthly income on rent. But among low-income renters, the numbers grow even more troubling. Almost a quarter of Alaskan renters in recent years were considered extremely low income, with a household of four surviving on less than $40,000 per year. Among this group, up to 63% of households were also cost-burdened, spending upwards of 30% and sometimes much more of their monthly income on rent. As such, it's likely that Rosemary, as someone in the property management business, had seen her fair share of evictions and non-renewals during the course of her career. But what happened next was unprecedented. He proceeded to dig in his pocket and... Take your time. He took out a gun and pointed it towards Josiah. I'm still behind the desk at this time. I remember inching back once I saw him pull the weapon out. Josiah stepped in front of Rosemary and courageously attempted to grab the weapon out of the resident's hand. However, after a brief struggle, the resident was able to yank the gun from Josiah's grasp, and he aimed it directly at Josiah. Josiah then called out to Rosemary. At that time, I can see Josiah backing up still. And that's when he lets out five shots. On hearing the shots, Rosemarie ran for the cover of her desk, tucking herself in the relative safety beneath. My fear was that he's going to notice that I'm still here in the office and that he was going to come for me. Meanwhile, her co-worker Josiah fell to the ground, bleeding. Rosemary didn't know his fate, but it was apparent he needed help and fast. Still, the resident lingered, talking out loud to the now fallen man beneath him. Took a look at what he did and told him that that's what he deserves. and then proceeded to turn around and walk out the office. Born in 1989, 34-year-old Josiah Gerker had experienced a rough start to his life, as his father Michael would later explain. Josiah was not supposed to have lived much beyond birth. an ultrasound said that he had a mass in his abdomen and no brain stem friends and family prayed for him from around the world we walked into the next ultrasound appointment with significant fear and trembling but the ultrasound revealed a baby boy that was wholly healed and completely healthy from the very beginning josiah was a miracle child The name Josiah means the Lord supports or the Lord heals or even the Lord saves. And the name carried with it a sense of divine responsibility and purpose. We chose the name because of what the Lord had done in him, but also because of King Josiah from the Old Testament. According to Michael, Josiah showed leadership from a young age, often acting as a third parent to his nine siblings. Confident and driven, he wasn't afraid to reach for his goals. And as a boy, many of Josiah's goals involved his favorite hobby, fishing. And this was to be a pattern of life for him. Striving, confronting, conquering any and all obstacles that came his way, particularly if it involved fishing. One time he and I were on a halibut fishing charter. was seasick but that did not matter I have this image burned into my memory of Josiah who was struggling with nausea as he had a halibut on the line so he would reel down pull up reel down puke pull up reel down and it was at that at that moment that I thought to myself, when I grow up, I want to be like him. Josiah was raised in a military family, so his childhood and teenage years saw him traveling all over the country, including Alaska. And in 2017, Josiah decided to return to the place he had fallen in love with as a teen. After moving to Anchorage, she began a career in property management and was also able to pursue his love of fishing in Alaska's crystalline mountains and streams. Then, soon after making the move, Josiah fell in love. Another dimension of his life opened with us on the day he introduced us to this gorgeous young lady named Carrie, and later to her amazing daughter, or as she's known. While dating Carrie, Josiah became a beloved father figure to her daughter. In May of 2021, he proposed to Carrie on the picturesque viewing deck at the Eagle River Nature Center. That August, the two were married. Si walked on air during those days and after. The thought of becoming both husband and father brought joy unspeakable. I had the privilege of officiating at their wedding, and I watched him promise to his bride to love her and care for her. And then he knelt on one knee and vowed to love them. The best father he could be for her. He vowed to love them, but this time the love was different. It was the kind of love that is exemplified by the word cherish. Josiah deeply cherished Carrie and ***, and he wholeheartedly committed himself to them. In 2023, Josiah's joy was amplified when Carrie announced she was pregnant. According to his brother Jamin, Josiah was already thrilled to be a stepfather to Carrie's daughter, and he was over the moon to add to their small, growing family. He was excited to be a father, and was looking forward to meet his youngest daughter in a few months. He would become teary-eyed at church when he saw little girls being baptized by their fathers. And he was excited for that moment when it would be his turn. He was excited to raise his girls as Alaskans and get out and enjoy all that Alaska had to offer. He was excited to grow old with Carrie, his wife, after a lifetime of loving each other well. His parents and siblings were deeply important to him, and he weaved his love for family in Alaska together seamlessly. 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And when you're ready to launch, use offer code choir to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. That's squarespace.com slash choir. But now Josiah was lying on the floor of that leasing office, bleeding from multiple gunshot wounds. His co-worker, Rose Marie, who was hiding under her desk just a few feet away, frantically dialed 911. Not knowing if Josiah was alive or dead, all Rosemary could do was wait anxiously for help to arrive. Officer Jane Clark was new to the job, and after completing six months of classroom training and four months of field training that involved doing ride-alongs with a senior officer, In August of 2023, she'd begun a solo patrol beat, the 3 p.m. to 1 a.m. shift specifically. Just two months into her new job as a solo officer, on October 23rd at around 3.45 p.m., she was radioed and told to respond immediately to the Alpine apartment complex on Mockingbird Drive. We received a call that a person had been shot inside of the leasing office there. I pulled in from the north end of the Mockingbird apartment complex. I wasn't super familiar with the area, but I saw a big red flag that said leasing, so I figured that was kind of the right area. I drove towards that building, and then I saw a female on the phone kind of waving me from the top of the steps of the front of that building. It was Rosemarie Ortiz. Rosemarie led Officer Clark into the leasing office. She starts pointing towards, if you look to the left, there's kind of a desk. If you look to the right, there's kind of a seating area. She pointed more towards the left, but farther back into the building where I saw an adult male laying on the ground. It was Rosemary's co-worker, Josiah Gerker, and he appeared to be barely clinging to life. The adult male was on his stomach. His head was turned towards the left side of his body. His eyes were still open. He had some blood that was pulling out of his mouth. Officer Clark immediately began trying to render aid to Josiah. I knew I was the first there and that this had just occurred. I was pretty close by, so my main priority was on doing life-saving measures. I assessed for breathing and a pulse, and I found neither. So I flipped him onto his back and began rendering medical aid. It appeared he had a gunshot wound kind of in his upper thigh area. I applied a tourniquet to his left leg. Officer Clark moved quickly, relying on her training, although this was to be the first time that she'd applied a tourniquet in the field. You'd get trained to do it high and tight above the wound. So I went all the way up to the hip junction, which was above the wound. You pull the strapping tight, and then in Alaska they use a special type of tourniquet that works well in the cold that has like a ski ratchet system. So you pull the string all the way tight and then you ratchet it until it cuts off the blood flow to the area. Soon, more officers began to arrive on scene and provide assistance to Officer Clark. Officer Hyesung handed me trauma shears and I cut off his shirt so I could assess. I saw some blood, but I wanted to see what the actual injuries were there, and I observed two gunshot wounds, what appeared to be gunshot wounds to his chest. And then Officer Perry got there and handed me chest seals, and I applied chest seals to his chest. A chest seal is just a sticky piece of plastic that has a little tiny bit of opening for the air to escape from. And that's just what we're trained to apply when we have a gunshot wound to the chest. Then we did a secondary head-to-toe sweep, and we observed two more gunshot wounds, one to his neck and one to his shoulder. Despite first responders arriving on scene quickly and applying life-saving measures, Josiah Gerker succumbed to his injuries. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Meanwhile, the suspected shooter had fled and was nowhere to be found. Now with Josiah deceased on the floor of the leasing office, the incident had gone from an assault to a homicide. And for Officer Carson Hysong, another solo patrol officer who had arrived on scene just after Officer Clark, the priorities were clear. I had just been shocked. Obviously, the person that had just done the shooting, we don't know where he was, if he was still in the office, if there was still a threat to us. Witnesses, we need to lock down the area or other civilian biceps. The officers quickly set up a perimeter around the leasing office in hopes of stopping the perpetrator from completely escaping the complex. So a perimeter is kind of like we kind of lock down an area. So officers will kind of do a perimeter around, think of either like a circle or a square of like a targeted area, kind of do around kind of locking down a suspect to or a person of interest. That way, a search team or a canine, if they left on foot, they can do like a track. Soon, even more law enforcement officers began to arrive, including crisis negotiators and even the SWAT team. Officer Hysong was quickly directed towards interviewing the witnesses There he found Rosemary standing with another colleague from the leasing office They were both standing together kind of essentially to the south as you enter in the doors They were both crying hysterically and shaking visibly and obviously going through a traumatic event Rosemary explained to Officer Hysong that she knew the perpetrator. It was 27-year-old Jesse Jones, a resident of the apartment complex who lived there with his girlfriend. Allegedly, they had just exercised their rights to do a non-renewal of their lease, and they were supposed to be kicked out at the end of the month. According to Rosemary, the leasing office had been back and forth with Jesse for months over late and missed payments, along with other problems before finally resorting to a non-renewal. She explained that the eviction process started at the corporate level and proceeded in an orderly, by-the-book fashion from there. So the process before giving that notice to any resident, it has to get approved by the area director, which is the person hired than Josiah. We have to do it within the proper 30 days to give the resident enough time to find another place to live. So once we get the approval, we will basically go post it on the door. We tape all four corners. We face the notice facing the door, so it's privacy reasons, so other residents don't see what we post. Nonetheless, Rosemary went on to explain to Officer Hysong that Jesse had been extremely agitated and upset when he'd stormed into the leasing office and confronted Josiah. He kind of, as was said, was confronting him about kicking him and his girlfriend out of the apartment. Within hours of the shooting, a warrant was issued for Jesse Jones' arrest. But first, police would have to actually find him. As law enforcement searched the city for Jesse Jones, the other officers searched his apartment at the complex, looking for any clues or leads. but they found neither the murder weapon nor any clues on his potential whereabouts. Later that day, they spoke with Jones' fiancée, who was shocked by the news. She said she had no idea Jesse was about to do something like this, or that he was even capable of doing it. According to her, the day had begun just like any other. Woke up, he started the coffee pot because can't live without coffee just yet. I turned on the shower so I could get a shower, and then I got ready for work. After going to work, his fiancée said she was text messaging with Jesse throughout the day, until around 1 p.m., when he said he was going to lay down for a nap. It wasn't until police spoke with her hours later that she learned what he had actually done. Officer Ashley Kosienda arrived at the scene shortly after the first responders. Once learning that the victim had died, she began mobilizing a response team. I went and we gathered up the negotiation team to our spot, a command post, and we tried to gather as much intel as possible because we thought possibly he was in the area. I had reached out to PeopleMover because there were thoughts that maybe he got onto a PeopleMover bus. So I contacted PeopleMover I described the suspect to them They thought they may have seen somebody who looked like that on one of the buses They sent me a snapshot It definitely was not the suspect And so they said they would continue to look through their footage. Law enforcement continued to look through the footage on their end, too, as the Alpine apartment complex was outfitted with multiple surveillance cameras, including one inside the leasing office, which showed the actual shooting. as well as one outside the office and one in a common area of the building near where Jesse lived. The camera outside the office showed Jesse fleeing immediately after he shot Josiah, but not where he went after that. The search continued into Tuesday and then into Wednesday. Roads were closed off and traffic halted while law enforcement hunted for their missing murder suspect. Meanwhile, officials contacted those closest to Jesse and learned he'd apparently acquired a 9mm handgun from a family member just a few months before the shooting. Still, by Wednesday night, neither the handgun nor the suspect had been located. But then, a little before 2am on October 26th, a man in the nearby town of Wasilla called police about a man and a woman yelling at each other. When State Trooper Jacob Barker responded to the domestic disturbance call, he stumbled on more than he expected. I arrived to the area, observed a pickup leaving the area. Dispatch had advised that the complainant thought someone had left in a vehicle. I turned around on that vehicle. The vehicle instantly stopped, and then a male got out of the passenger side. driver's side passenger door and got out and then instantly went to his knees and put his hands up. He said he had a warrant and we were looking for him. That man ultimately identified himself as the suspect in the shooting, Jesse Jones. I contacted APD. They advised that they wanted me to transport Mr. Jones to them, which then I transported him to the Kinnick River Bridge and then transferred Mr. Jones to them. Officers then brought Jesse Jones back to the police station, where Officer Quentin Fiscus, a nine-year law enforcement veteran, recounts his experience with the suspect during transport. Troopers had arrested Jesse Jones, who was a homicide suspect, and they requested that we meet him at the Palmer Alternate to speak up and transport him to our headquarters to be interviewed by detectives. As Officer Fiscus explained, his role was simply to transport the suspect, not to get him talking in any way, since the interview was meant to be conducted by homicide detectives back at police headquarters. Nonetheless, as soon as he stepped foot in the car, Jesse Jones began opening up. So, first off, he thanked us for being so cordial with him. I put him in the backseat of my car he stated that he was going to turn himself in the next day because his PTSD was getting to him and he also said that he was done running on the way to headquarters he also told me where he threw the gun and he asked if I knew anything about his case probably I knew quite a bit about it he also asked if I knew if he had shot the other guy in the back, and was wondering if that was a life sentence, shooting somebody in the back. And he also stated how five seconds can change somebody's entire life. After arriving at the station, Jesse Jones submitted to a breathalyzer test and a physical examination. Although the breathalyzer showed that Jones wasn't under the influence of alcohol, he quickly admitted to having recently used meth and fentanyl. When asked about the timeline of his drug use, he stated it started after the murder took place. In fact, he said he'd been on something of a bender in the three days it had taken police to hunt him down. But now that they finally had their man in custody, the man who apparently couldn't help himself from speaking, what would he actually say? The End This episode is proudly brought to you by Little Spoon. Hey, is it just me or does it seem like nowadays there's more healthy food options out there for dogs than there are for children? That's why I decided to try Little Spoon. Now, Little Spoon is one trusted place to shop meals and snacks for babies, toddlers, and big kids, all made with real ingredients without having to rethink every choice or lower your standards at each critical developmental milestone. My girls are four, so they're just entering into that big kid stage. They love Little Spoon Lunchers. It's like the nostalgic, better-for-you versions of the classics we all grew up with. And they're perfect for backpacks and busy days while still delivering real nutrition and all-day fuel with over 10 grams of protein per meal. 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You don't need a closet full of options. You need a few pieces that actually work. Right now, go to quince.com slash choir for free shipping and 365-day returns. That's a full year to build your wardrobe and love it. And you will. Now available in Canada too. Don't keep settling for clothes that don't last. Go to quince.com slash choir for free shipping and 365-day returns. quince.com slash choir. At around 3 o'clock in the morning of October 26th, Detective Troy Clark, a 27-year law enforcement veteran, received a phone call. He was told that the murder suspect had finally been apprehended, and that he was now patiently waiting for him in a small interrogation room for questioning. So I was at home at that time. It was 3 o'clock in the morning. and I got a call to come in and interview him. So I left home, came in and interviewed him. About two hours after I got the call, about 5 o'clock, we interviewed him. Jesse described to detectives that he'd found himself in a tough financial situation. And according to him, the rent kept increasing. Then his girlfriend got pregnant, and overnight, the situation became desperate. He explained that he didn't have any money coming in and no EBT support for food. He had no way to provide for their new baby, and on top of that, he claims, the last three months, the property management company incrementally raised his rent. He saw friends who were also living in the apartment complex suddenly and abruptly kicked out with little explanation. With the pressure now at full tilt, and a looming back-rent payment deadline and possible move-out date approaching, no car and no money, Jones was desperate. And though his plight is sympathetic, it's worth noting that he wasn't the only one caring for a pregnant partner. His victim, Josiah's wife, was also pregnant. But Jesse didn't seem aware of that fact as he recounted his rising frustrations with police. He also claimed during questioning that over the course of a week after receiving that first notice of non-payment for rent due, the property management company suddenly upped the ante by posting an eviction notice on their front door. An eviction notice that he claimed only gave him seven days to vacate the apartment. At first, he thought the entire ruse was a scam, until he confirmed with the leasing office that it wasn't. According to his recollection, he was never late paying rent, and the only discrepancy was his failure to pay the incremental increases over the last three months. Already, Jesse Jones' story diverged from what Rosemary had told police, that they'd given Jones multiple chances to correct late payments, and had actually provided him 30 days notice to vacate. Regardless of the differences, Jesse's story ultimately collided with Rose Marie's when he had finally had enough. The day he picked up his handgun and went to the leasing office to confront them once and for all. Jones then admitted that in a fit of rage and disbelief, he confronted the leasing office staff with that printed eviction notice. When Josiah came out of the back office to confirm that they were in fact being non-renewed and evicted from their apartment, Jones responded by saying, You don't kick my girlfriend out in the middle of fucking winter, bro. He then pulled out his handgun and, as Rosemary had already stated to authorities, it jammed when he aimed it at Josiah and pulled the trigger. After ejecting the magazine and re-racking a fresh round, he began firing. In his own words, he quote, Put the whole clip into him. After confessing to the brutal murder, Jesse Jones summed up his feelings to detectives. He explained that his anger had far exceeded any personal compassion for empathy or regret for what he had done, revealing that he felt he quote, Deserved anything that comes towards me. I have no regrets. I was just so angry. In February of 2025, Jesse Jones' case went to trial. In addition to various lesser charges, including an assault charge for threatening Rose Marie's life, Jesse was charged with first-degree murder. During opening statements, the district attorney explained the reasoning behind that murder charge. so for these crimes you have a number of charges that you're going to be considering the first and most significant charge is murder on the first degree murder in the first degree the judge will tell you is that the person intentionally caused the death of another person intentionally caused the death of another person and it's that mental state that's going to be really, really important for you. The intent, there's a longer definition, but it boils down to the conscious objective. Was it his conscious objective at the time that he shot Josiah Gecker to kill him? Although he had already confessed to the tragic crime while in police custody, during his trial, Jesse Jones pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder because, as his defense attorney argued, the crime was supposedly done, quote, in the heat of passion. He was under the heat of passion, enraged at that time. But when he got apprehended, he admitted he was a lot of offenders doing drugs. He was contrite, remorseful. He even said he hated himself. A tragedy? Yes. Did he commit a crime? Yeah. But it wasn't statutory homicide. The law as we know tends to punish a person more severely for premeditated murder than it does for one committed in the so heat of passion The distinction here is deeply rooted in legal, historical, and philosophical traditions, but is it just? From a legal standpoint, a murder committed, quote, in the heat of passion typically corresponds to a lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter. But certain conditions must be met before mounting a heat-of-passion defense. The defendant must have acted suddenly, in response to provocation and without time to cool off. The provocation must also be considered severe enough to warrant an emotional reaction, and the crime ultimately cannot have been pre-planned. Philosophically, the distinction between premeditated and heat-of-passion crimes is a way of acknowledging the instability of the human condition. Emotions grip us, and sometimes in response to an unexpected or shocking circumstance, an otherwise reasonable person might overreact. In the West, this practice goes back to early English law, when judges began to recognize that bar fights and sudden quarrels shouldn't be treated identically to organized or pre-planned murders. The logic in this distinction is undeniable. There's clearly an ethical and moral difference between losing your cool and calmly and casually plotting to kill. But outside of any moral distinction, the other important factor at play is community safety. Arguably, when it comes to community safety, someone who takes another person's life, whether premeditated or in the so-called heat of passion, could be considered equally dangerous. But regardless, from a legal standpoint at Jesse Jones' murder trial, the central tenet or question was whether or not he had premeditated the crime. To support their case for premeditation, prosecutors pointed to the fact that Jesse Jones had openly admitted to feeling ill will and hatred for his victim prior to the shooting. Ill will and ill intentions to kill. Those are the defendant's own words when he confessed to killing Josiah Gerker. The murder occurred because of one of the most tragic reasons. It's really a tragic case all around. But Josiah had put a notice of intent not to renew his lease on his door that morning, that they were going to non-renew the lease for a number of reasons. They'd had nuisance complaints. They weren't exactly up to date. They were up to date on their payments, but had been routinely late on their payments. And most importantly, they had people staying in the apartment that weren't residents, that weren't on the lease. So Alpine departments is going to exercise their ability to non-renew the lease. So that is the framework by which you should be listening to evidence, listening for evidence of intent, listening for evidence of what his mindset was. And when it comes down to it, you're going to find that he had this specific intent to kill. You're going to hear evidence that he had a moment. He had this notice of non-renewal and specifically tells Detective Clark, I went in with ill will and ill intentions to kill whoever gave me that notice. The prosecutor also pointed to the number of gunshots as evidence to support premeditation, arguing that if the crime had truly been done in the heat of passion, Jesse would have shot his victim once before immediately coming to his senses. You're going to hear evidence about the number of shots. This wasn't a one-off, like a one-shot scare him kind of thing. He shot him six times. However, the defense argued that the evidence clearly showed Jesse had intended to talk to Josiah and work things out, but had instead shot him in the heat of passion. He was enraged. He went downstairs. It wasn't a good idea that he took his gun, that he was intending to kill. He would have just gone there and started shooting. But he wanted to speak with the person who was responsible for putting that notice on his door. And that's what he did. Over a nearly two-week-long murder trial, the jury heard from dozens of people, including witnesses and law enforcement, all of whom had been personally touched by the case. Although the murder weapon in this case was never found, the rest of the evidence was fairly cut and dry. Once in police custody, Jones had openly confessed to the crime. But what would the jury ultimately make of this heat of passion defense? Everyone would have their answer soon enough. On February 13th, the jury returned with a verdict. Jesse Jones was guilty of first-degree murder. But the judge still had a lot of leeway with sentencing. Jesse faced a potential sentence of anywhere between 30 and 99 years for that murder-in-the-first-degree conviction. On July 11th, with Jesse Jones' sentencing now hanging in the balance, Josiah's family read victim impact statements aloud to the court. Josiah's wife Carrie explained that he was the sort of person devoted to helping others, making it even more tragic that he was ruthlessly gunned down by someone he might actually have been able to help, if only Jesse hadn't resorted to violence. The choices the defendant made on October 23rd altered my brain chemistry forever. It was evident by the people that showed up and the people that wept with us what an incredible impact Josiah had on this world and on his community. He was loyal and kind. He was a fierce protector of those he loved and even those he didn't know. I know that if that man had walked in there that day and asked Josiah for help paying his rent or assistance in understanding the lease non-renewal, Josiah would have dropped everything to help him and his girlfriend. He cared deeply and loved like Jesus. Instead, this man, whose name I will never say, walked into my husband's office and cowardly shot him six times before he even had a chance to offer help. Perhaps most poignantly of all, Carrie described the personal impact the crime had on her and her family. I want the court to know that because of the actions of this man, my youngest daughter will never have the chance to meet her father. My two daughters will not get to have their dad walk them down the aisle at their weddings. He won't be able to take them camping, hiking, and support them as they grow. Josiah's life and our future were stolen from us. On October 23, 2023, I kissed my husband Josiah goodbye and left for a 12-hour shift at the hospital. He always insisted that I wake him up and kiss him goodbye before I left for work. Of course, I had no idea that at the end of that workday, I would receive the most devastating news of my life. I was approached by a hospital chaplain and a police officer and told that Josiah had been shot and killed. The only response I could muster was, but I'm pregnant. I was 23 weeks pregnant with our daughter, whom I later named after her dad. I couldn't believe that someone could do this to Josiah. Pure shock and despair. I then had to make the most difficult call of all. I had to call Josiah's parents and tell them that their oldest son had been shot and killed. Afterwards, Josiah's father, Michael, spoke on the impact of losing his son. There is not a moment that is not filled with sorrow and longing for his presence. There is a vacancy and emptiness that permeates every family gathering, large or small. Josiah is gone, and we are all very, very aware of it. Josiah was the consummate eldest son. Yes, he had two older sisters who are leaders in their own right, but his leadership amongst our children was different. His voice mattered to them because he was mature beyond his years. Michael then spoke directly to the court, urging them to put Jesse Jones away for the rest of his life, purely on the basis of community safety. Josiah Michael Gerker was an upstanding member of society who was mercilessly gunned down while he was merely doing his job. Our family and our community has lost much and has suffered great harm because of the reckless, murderous actions of Mr. Jones. As for sentencing recommendations, I am very concerned for the safety of our community and for justice for Josiah and Josiah's family and friends. Mr. Jones murdered him in cold blood. My son will never see his daughters grow up, never give boyfriends a hard time, never give his daughters away at their weddings, never even hold his own daughter, nor any future children or grandchildren. And therein lies an injustice that can never be reconciled, by the justice system. But let us consider the potential volatility of Mr. Jones. He is presented with a simple non-renewal notice, and he murders. If he acts with extreme violence to a minor business interaction, how could he possibly respond to somebody cutting him off in traffic or some other incident? Mr. Jones is a dangerous to any community, and the only safe place for Mr. Jones in relationship to our community is behind bars forever. I asked the court to separate Mr. Jones from society for the longest possible time in order to prevent Mr. Jones from doing any more harm to anyone else ever again. After hearing all of the family statements, the judge was ready to impose his sentence and he addressed the court directly. There's going to be a composite sentence of 77 years to serve, no time suspended. With Jesse Jones now serving out the rest of his natural life in prison, both his child and Josiah's will grow up without their fathers. As Jesse Jones stated, one moment or even five minutes can change the rest of your life. If only he had considered the fact that this one moment, this final decision, would also irrevocably change the lives of everyone around him. Invisible Choir Invisible Choir is a completely independently recorded and produced podcast hosted by me, Michael Ojibwe, and brought to life by a dedicated team of creatives. This episode was written and produced by Jess Thomas, with editing and engineering by Scott Ecklein. To learn more about our work or explore additional premium episodes, visit invisiblechoir.com and connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, and Acts. Your continued support, whether by listening, sharing, or leaving us a five-star review, helps us keep uncovering the stories that need to be told. Thank you for being a part of the Invisible Choir community, and remember to never whistle at night. Thank you.