Jayson and Kellisue Ackernecht

A reader has asked me to review a story coming out of Johnstown, New York. Back on September 30, 2008, Kellisue Ackernecht, 36, left work as a shift supervisor at 9:45PM, and has never been seen again.

Photo from Find Kellisue.WordPress.com

Shortly before 2:00 a.m., police found Kellisue’s car, engulfed in flames, on a road that her husband, Jayson Ackernecht, says was not her normal way home. Kellisue was nowhere to be found.

Read moreNeighbors in that area say they heard what they believed to be gunshots that night.

[WTEN] According to some neighbors, they heard noises about 90 minutes earlier. Two loud noises that to them sounded like gunshots.

“I heard the gunshot, I jumped out of bed, looked out my window and I looked up and down,” Stewart told NEWS10.

The The Leader Herald reported that Kellisue was reported missing by her husband:

“[Ackernecht] was reported missing about the same time the 1998 Saturn sedan she was driving was found engulfed in flames at West Montgomery and Chestnut streets, also known as Frog Hollow.”

What do the police think? As of October 8, 2008, WNYT reports:

“It could be a missing person. It could be foul play,” said Johnstown Police Lt. Mark Gifford. “We are not ruling out anything at this point. The person could be voluntarily missing also.”

As of January 23, 2009, police are still saying this case can’t be labeled a “criminal matter.” Due to the car burning up completely, they are unable to conclusively determine if the car fire was due to arson, or if the car malfunctioned. They have also previously said the husband, Jayson Ackernecht, has cooperated and is not a suspect.

A week after the disappearance, Dennis Ackernecht, Jayson Ackernecht’s uncle, said the following to WTEN:

“It was Tuesday afternoon. [Jayson] stopped by and he was distraught […] He thinks that somebody kidnapped [Kellisue]. That could very well be,” Dennis Ackernecht said.

Jayson Akernecht did his first interview approximately two months after his wife disappeared. I think it is very interesting.

Ackernecht: I… cry… day after day…night after night.. I worry about her. My daughter worries about her….wondering where she is.

The reporter talks about the case–about how many in the city have formed their own opinions, and says “now for the first time ever, Jayson is speaking out…”

Ackernecht: I.Would. Never. Harm. My. Wife. I. Had. Nothing. To. Do. With this. At all. I. had. to. have. the. police department… come to my house…personally… and wake me up….. to… tell me. that my. car. was. on fire.

The reporter says Jayson has his own theory that his wife is very much alive.

Ackernecht: We think… she just took off… and left…….with somebody else….. Who? We don’t know yet.

The reporter has a message for his wife, “a plea for both him, and their 9-year-old daughter.”

Ackernecht: If you are out there someplace, wherever you are, please come home.

This interview is littered with hot spots, if you want my opinion. Jayson is completely void of emotions. That’s a huge red flag. He talks very controlled, and I noticed he moves his head (very slightly) in a yes motion at times, as if he is confirming what he said, to himself. This is very strange behavior for someone who is being honest. It’s almost as if he is thinking to himself, “Yeah, that’s right.” Most people don’t do this.

I find it odd how Jayson says he “worries about her”, yet shortly thereafter tells us he believes she “left with somebody else”. Aren’t these two somewhat contradictory? If he believed his wife left, you would expect him to mad and upset, but not so much worried.

Can you hear the pauses between nearly every word? It is indicative that he is thinking about what he says before he says it. This is not a good sign at all.

Don’t you find it fascinating that he says the police had to “wake him up” to tell him that “his car” was on fire? Why doesn’t he mention that it was his wife’s car? Is this a form of distancing? People who harm others are often known to do this. He also never uses her name, Kellisue. It’s notable.

I also have to wonder did Jayson report his wife missing, or not? If he did report her missing, did he just go right back to sleep? That would be odd. But it would also be odd if he didn’t report his wife missing. Either way, what Jayson says here is odd.

Did Jayson ever go and look for his wife that night? Does anyone know? I’d be curious.

I am troubled by this statement as well. Jayson says, “We think… she just took off… and left…….with somebody else….. Who? We don’t know yet.”

Jayson is clearly, without any doubt, thinking on his feet here. The pauses are very indicative of this, in how they lay out in the sentence.

Notice, also, he first said he thought she was kidnapped. Now, strangely, like Drew Peterson, he wants to suggest that he believes she “left with somebody else”. Why the change of beliefs? Did he get some evidence to point him in one direction over another? A caring husband who loved his wife wouldn’t jump to these conclusions without some sort of proof, and from what I have read, there is no indication that she left with anyone else.

Normal caring and compassionate spouses would also be notably worried about foul play, since the car burned into nothing recognizable, but we don’t ever hear that Jayson worried about that–not even the week after her disappearance. That’s a mambo red flag. Overwhelmingly huge! Why do all of Jayson’s theories involve his wife being just fine, when the rest of her family worries about foul play? Everyone else thinks it is strange she has never reached out to her daughter, and I agree.

I also find a huge problem when Jayson pleads for his wife to come home. He says, ” If you are out there someplace…”

If?

Doesn’t he supposedly believe she is with “somebody else”? This shows us that he doesn’t truly believe this, or he wouldn’t say “if”. It’s a strong indication he doesn’t believe she is out there.

This is very sad. Jayson Ackernecht, if you want my opinion, knows much more than he wants to admit, and I think the reason for this is very ominous. I don’t trust Ackernecht’s story here whatsoever. It’s all too classic, and that is painful to write.