Naman Shrestha
In late 1998, Julie Jensen met her untimely demise at the hands of her husband, Mark Jensen. At the time, he was in the middle of an extramarital affair with one of his co-workers, Kelly LaBonte, who had little to no idea that she was in love with a killer. Years later, when he was charged with the murder of his wife, she became a key witness in both his trials. The episode titled ‘Secrets in Pleasant Prairie’ of NBC’s ‘Dateline’ chronicles the entire ordeal and the years-long investigation that ensued. It also features insightful interviews with Julie’s loved ones and the officials directly or indirectly connected to the case.
Kelly LaBonte Was Unaware of Mark Jensen’s Dark Side
Kelly LaBonte Grieman was a married woman when she first met Mark Jensen, the husband of Julie Jensen, at work. Several months before Julie’s death, the two got involved in an inappropriate affair, which was allegedly discussed by other employees at the office. What started as a professional relationship soon turned into an extramarital affair after they began exchanging flirtatious emails. As per Kelly’s accounts, she also used to secretly meet with him outside of work. Reports suggest that Mark used his wife’s affair with her co-worker, Perry Tarica, in 1991, to justify his affair with Kelly. On December 3, 1998, his relationship and desire to openly be with Kelly supposedly became one of the reasons he poisoned her with antifreeze and suffocated her to death.
Not realizing his involvement in Julie’s death in December 1998, Kelly continued seeing Mark and being there for him. Sooner rather than later, she severed ties from her husband and married Mark in 1999, making their relationship official. Later, she testified that she was the one who insisted on divorcing their respective spouses in order to start a new life together. She even treated his two sons, David and Douglas, as her own after Julie’s death. In the following months after their marriage, Kelly and Mark welcomed a baby boy named Andrew into the world. Her entire world turned upside down when Mark was arrested and charged with the murder of Julie Jensen on March 19, 2002.
Kelly LaBonte Gave Valuable Testimonies Against Her Ex-Husband in Both Trials
During Mark Jensen’s trial, which began in early 2008, Kelly LaBonte served as one of the key witnesses for the prosecution. She testified against the killer, opening up about all the flirtatious emails they exchanged during their affair and how they wanted to be with each other, despite their respective marriages. After Mark was found guilty and sentenced for his crime, she assumed custody of all three children. About a year later, she even filed for divorce from him.
In an unexpected turn of events, Mark’s conviction was overturned a few years later, and he was retried in January 2023. Once again, his former wife, Kelly, was called up to testify against him in the trial. The prosecution meticulously questioned her on various aspects of her relationship with the killer, be it the emails they shared or their married life. She claimed that he used to complain to her about Julie Jensen every once in a while. Elaborating on their plans of getting a divorce from their spouses, she testified that she was unaware that he had plans to murder his wife.
During her testimony in the 2023 trial of Mark Jensen, Kelly also gave a detailed account of how their marriage also started deteriorating after a point. She stated, “We would get into pretty good fights, and I would be at work when we would start. On messaging is when he would ask the questions, and I would balk and them and not want to answer them, and we’d get into it, and it would even last for days. I’d go home, and we’d fight about it, and eventually, I’d just cave and give the information.”
Kelly LaBonte Has Remarried and is Now Leading a Peaceful Life With Her Loved Ones
After parting ways with Mark Jensen, Kelly LaBonte moved on and focused on herself and her children. Later, in the 2010s, she found the man of her dreams in Kevin Brooks, with whom she eventually tied the knot and started going by the name Kelly Renee Brooks. Apart from being a loving wife, she is also a doting mother to her son, Andrew, and Mark’s sons, David and Douglas. Being a loving and caring presence in the lives of her loved ones, Kelly also loves spending time outside, close to nature. She also holds a special fascination for different flowers, including sunflowers and roses. She also regularly travels to exotic places with her husband and children. When it comes to her professional life, Kelly likes to keep the details under wraps.
Read More: David and Douglas Jensen: Where Are Julie and Mark Jensen’s Sons Now?
