LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — A woman was indicted Wednesday on charges relating to a man's death in 2022 in Lexington.
35-year-old Jennifer Kashuba was indicted on charges of manslaughter, abuse of a corpse, and tampering with physical evidence.
On February 17, 2022, police and LFD responded to the 2000 block of Cambridge Drive for reports of a dead body located near a dumpster.
The coroner identified the victim as 40-year-old Jimmy Lawrence Medlock. During the investigation, the death was ruled a homicide and the cause of death was a laceration/stab wound to the chest.
After Medlock was identified as the victim, he was linked to Kashuba through public assistance housing records.
Testimony heard during a court appearance confirmed Kashuba and Medlock had been living together at a Cambridge Drive apartment.
Detectives acquired a warrant to search the Cambridge Drive apartment and found a distinct odor of decomposition in a front living room closet. They also found what looked to be human decomposition on the floor of the closet.
This evidence was tested and the DNA matched Medlock. A warrant for arrest was issued and Kashuba was arrested in February for abuse of a corpse and tampering with physical evidence.
She was taken into custody by Lexington Police and during questioning she admitted to stabbing Medlock and hiding his body in the closet. She also admitted to wrapping it up and disposing it at the apartment complex.
Kashuba claimed self-defense. A detective testified that Kashuba described being in a physical altercation with Medlock and she grabbed a kitchen knife and stabbed him in self-defense.
Advanced decomposition made identification difficult. The coroner's office collaborated with Othram DNA Laboratory to use advanced forensic DNA testing to identify Medlock.
Kashuba will be arraigned Thursday, May 18 at 9 a.m.
