Lee County Woman Found Not Guilty of Murder Due to Insanity
On Tuesday, a judge in Lee County, Texas, ruled a woman not guilty by reasons of insanity in a murder case dating back to March 2021.
A Murder in Blue, Texas
Three and a half years ago, police discovered the body of 35-year-old Christopher Michael Gonzales near County Road 306 in Blue, Texas. The accused, 44-year-old Jennifer Redden Kramer, was charged with his murder.
According to relatives, Christopher and Jennifer’s relationship began in Austin where she offered him work in lieu of the $200 or $300 she initially offered. A supposed business venture in landscaping brought them together and eventually led to a detrimental argument resulting in Christopher’s death.
The Day of the Murder
Christopher decided to sever ties with Kramer the morning of his death, spiraling into an argument. As they drove back to Lee County later that night, Christopher fell asleep. That’s when Kramer, gripped by a fit of insanity, attacked Christopher using a machete and abandoned his body by the side of the road.
Kramer was quoted saying she had foreseen Christopher’s death and had learned where to lethally stab someone from a movie.
Aftermath and Legal Proceedings
Following the lengthy process of hearings and psychiatric evaluations over the past three years, the presiding judge finally declared Jennifer Redden Kramer not guilty due to reasons of insanity on Tuesday.
The ruling was met with a wave of disappointment and outrage from Christopher’s family. They desired Kramer to be incarcerated for life without the possibility of parole. Christopher’s mother, Diana Arnold, grievingly highlighted how the ruling had robbed her youngest granddaughter of a father.
Treatment at North Texas State Hospital
As per the court proceedings, Kramer would undergo evaluation for treatment at the North Texas State Hospital. In consultations, three forensic psychiatrists ─ two appointed by the state and one by the defense ─ shared a belief in Kramer’s insanity at the time of the act.
Kramer’s longtime attorney, Paul Goeke, termed Kramer’s case among the severest in his three-decade experience. According to Goeke, “Kramer didn’t know her conduct was wrong since she didn’t consider Christopher a human being. She believed he was shifting between Satan and Jesus, and she was convinced she would die by his hand when he switched to Satan mode.”
The Victim’s Memory
Amid the calamity, Christopher’s family wished to memorialize him as a good and ambitious man taken too soon. His sister, Elizabeth Anguiano, expressed her grief, saying, “It hurts all of us deeply… It is so unfair to have his life cut short at 35. He deserved to enjoy birthdays and holidays… I just don’t think it’s right she can lead a normal life, and my brother’s gone.”
Christopher’s story has touched hearts far and wide ─ a positive character, an ambitious entrepreneur, a loving father, and a good brother, who had a tragic demise as a result of a tangled business relationship. His family seeks justice and prays that no other families should undergo the anguish they have experienced.