Naman Shrestha
Based on David Dominé’s non-fiction book ‘A Dark Room in Glitter Ball City,’ HBO’s ‘Murder in Glitterball City’ is a two-part documentary series that chronicles the crimes of Jeffrey “Jase” Mundt and his boyfriend, Joseph “Joey” Banis, in the city of Louisville, Kentucky, in 2009 and 2010. Their quarrel in the summer of 2010 led the police to the discovery of James “Jamie” Carroll’s remains in Jase’s residence. While Joey blamed Jase for the murder, Jase told the detectives an entirely opposite story. What made the case more favorable for Jase is the fact that he didn’t have a criminal record prior to the incident. The separate trials of the two criminals resulted in different sentences.
Jeffrey “Jase” Mundt Had Buried Human Remains in His Basement
Jeffrey Steven Mundt, often referred to as Jase or Jeff, attended Atherton High School before graduating with a degree in Computer Science from Indiana University. He also used to swim at Lakeside Swim Club in his teenage years. Jase then went to Northwestern University, where he earned his master’s degree. In May 2009, he returned to Louisville, Kentucky, and began working as a technology consultant at the University of Louisville’s information technology department. Described as a hardworking and friendly individual by his coworkers, Jase lived in the residence at 1435 South Fourth Street in Louisville. He had planned to turn the property into a Bed and Breakfast.
In October 2009, he met Joseph “Joey” Richard Banis at a site called Adam4Adam, and the two began dating. A few weeks later, Joey moved into Jase’s home. The former soon introduced him to James “Jamie” Carroll, with whom the couple was spending a night on December 14, 2009. As per reports, during the weekend binge of sex and drugs, Joey killed Jamie and threatened to kill Jase if he didn’t help him get rid of the remains. The couple then placed the remains inside a large container and buried them in the basement. A few months later, in April 2010, Jase and Joey found themselves arrested for dealing with counterfeit money in Chicago, as the police found about $55,000 in fake money along with guns, handcuffs, meth pipes, and drugs.
They soon bonded out of the Cook County Jail and returned to Louisville, Kentucky. Not long after, on the night of June 17, 2010, Jase called the authorities from his home and claimed that Joey was attacking him, something that Joey denied doing. After the authorities arrived at the house, they took Joey into custody and interviewed him. During the interview, he told them about the human remains they had kept buried in the basement, claiming that Jase had committed the killing. A few hours later, Jase was questioned and confronted about the same. He shifted the blame to Joey and claimed that he had threatened to frame him for murder. After the detectives found Jamie’s buried remains in the basement, they arrested both Joey and Jase. The latter was charged with murder, robbery, and tampering with physical evidence.
Related
Jeffrey “Jase” Mundt Leads a Private Life Today
Jeffrey “Jase” Mundt agreed to a plea deal, which allowed him to avoid the death penalty in exchange for his testimony against Joseph “Joey” Banis. During Joey’s trial in February 2013, Jase testified against him and blamed him for killing Jamie Carroll. He stated, “There was blood that was literally everywhere. I mean, you could actually smell the blood.” Claiming that the three of them were naked in bed and watching pornographic content, he added, “Joey had a knife in his hand and was slashing at Jamie’s throat. They were struggling.” As a result, Joey was convicted of the murder.
Soon after his trial, Joey gave up the right to appeal and agreed to testify against Jase in order to avoid the death penalty. Thus, he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. A few months later, on May 13, 2013, Jase’s trial got underway. Joey took the stand and testified against him. However, the defense painted a positive picture of the defendant in the minds of the jury. The defense stated, “Jeff Mundt, for his entire life, had been a law-abiding, very successful person. He meets Joey Banis one night. And nine weeks later he’s got a body in his basement….He was targeted by Joey Banis, Joey was just a psychopath. He was truly a dangerous individual. He threatens to kill his family, he threatens to kill him, everybody he knows, truly just tortured him.”
Finally, on May 29, 2013, after deliberating for nearly eight hours, the jury found him not guilty of the murder charge. However, they convicted him of the lesser charges of facilitation to robbery and tampering with evidence. Ultimately, he was sentenced to a total of eight years in prison — three years for the robbery conviction and five years for the tampering of evidence conviction. About a year after his trial, he was released on parole after serving four years of his eight-year sentence. Upon his release, he disappeared and stayed out of the limelight. As per reports, he was staying in Baltimore a few years ago.
