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“Devious” Daughter Strangles Her Mother to Avoid Eviction: “Textbook Pathological”
Kathy Kraynik's brother said on Snapped his sister had always been troubled, but he never believed she'd murder their mother.
When a friend reported 46-year-old Kathy Kraynik missing on Dec. 14, 2000, it was a shock to Kraynik’s son — but not her 25-year-old daughter, Jennifer Blake. Blake told Chesapeake, Virginia police her mother had gotten into a red vehicle with a stranger the day before, and that was all she knew. But police quickly discovered there was much more to the story.
“Inside what would normally look like a pleasant, peaceful little suburban home, there was some turmoil going on,” said John Hopkins, former journalist with the Virginian Pilot, on Snapped, airing Sundays at 6/5c on Oxygen.
Twelve days later, and nearly 100 miles away in Northampton, North Carolina, a woman’s body was discovered covered with a sheet in a wooded area. The body had marks around the neck, indicating strangulation. A sock had been stuffed in her mouth. There had also been attempts to burn the body — erasing the fingerprints. It was eventually identified as belonging to Kathy Kraynik.
“All of this is unfolding around Christmastime,” Hopkins said. “And it just makes a horrible, unthinkable story.”
What evidence did police find in the Kraynik home, indicating Jennifer Blake killed her mother?
Jennifer Blake and her children were living with her mother at the time of her disappearance. Kathy Kraynik’s vehicle was still parked in the driveway of her home, and police noticed the car and wheels were muddy. When they searched the home, they found signs of a fire in a trash can in the garage. But one of the most important pieces of evidence was found in a linen closet.
“There was a distinctive pattern on one particular set of pillowcases or a cover that was there,” said Jeff Slone, former Chesapeake Police Captain, on Snapped. “And it clicked. I was like, ‘I’ve seen those before.’ So, it connects back. Here’s our victim. Missing from that house. And it appears whoever had dumped her at that location had used items from the house.”
Police also found a notepad belonging to Kathy Kraynik that indicated her daughter may have had a motive for her murder. One entry was dated Dec. 7, just says before she disappeared.
“There was multiple attempts to start the writing of an eviction letter to Jennifer,” Slone said.
How was Jennifer Blake's relationship with her mother, Kathy Kraynik?
Kathy Kraynik’s attorney told police her relationship with her daughter, Jennifer Blake, was problematic and chaotic.
“He told us Kathy and Jennifer had conflicts back and forth. Different fights and arguments,” Slone said. “Kathy had told the attorney, Paul, Jennifer was devious. She was deceptive. She told lies when she didn’t need to tell lies. So, it was definitely textbook pathological.”
Blake’s brother, Michael Kraynik, agreed his sister was troubled.
“My sister’s always been like just a little off. We always knew something was up with her,” he said on Snapped. “I can’t explain it. But she never really had any friends. She was always really smart, like booksmart, but she just wasn’t good with like social skills.”
Kraynik admitted to police fights between his mother and sister frequently turned physical.
“When I was younger, my sister would put her hands on my mom,” Kraynik said. “When I got old enough, I intervened. But there was a lot of altercations.”
Kraynik said things came to a breaking point when his sister began dating Corey Jackson.
“She was telling me that my sister wasn’t going to work,” Kraynik said. “Wasn’t doing anything for the kids. The kids would get off the bus and she would be sleeping … she was smoking weed at the time. My mom didn’t like that.”
When Kraynik came home early and found Jackson in the home, breaking one of her house rules, she decided to kick her daughter out.
“It got to the point that enough was enough and Jennifer needed to start fending for herself and taking care of herself,” Slone said.
But impending eviction wasn’t the only motive Blake had to kill her mother. Her mother was also set to be a witness in a custody dispute over one of Blake’s children.
“I think Kathy was willing to testify in court that she was probably not the best person to have custody of the children,” Slone said.
How was Kathy Kraynik murdered?
On Dec. 11, 2000, three days before Kathy Kraynik was reported missing, a woman named Linda King told police a woman, man and baby came to her door, asking for help getting their vehicle stuck out of a muddy field. King and her son found the couple to be acting strangely. When they saw the news of Kraynik’s murder, and her vehicle, they called police. The mother and son were able to pick Jennifer Blake and her boyfriend, Corey Jackson, out of a line up as being in Kraynik’s car.
When Jackson was arrested for murder, he eventually confessed, and told officers he and Blake began plotting the murder on Dec. 10, 2000.
“When he saw Jennifer, she was just distraught and crying about how she was being kicked out,” Slone said. “How ‘Mom’s testifying. They’re going to take my kids away.’ Jennifer explains to him that she’s been thinking that whole night about ways to kill her mother.”
Jackson alleged that he held Kraynik down, while Blake strangled her.
“There may have been some noise,” Hopkins said. “Corey pulled a sock from her foot and stuffed it Kathy Kraynik’s mouth to quiet her down.”
Jackson admitted they tried to burn Kraynik’s body, and when they were unsuccessful, they decided to dump it in the woods.
“Jennifer was a manipulator and a controller,” Slone said. “I’ve always felt that Corey would never have done anything without her direction or permission. I assume he did it because he loved her and was trying to protect her. And clearly would do anything for her.”
Jackson took a plea deal and was sentenced to 35 years in prison with the possibility of parole. He testified against Blake at her trial, along with Blake’s 7-year-old daughter, who testified she heard her grandmother pleading for her mother to “stop” the night of the murder. A jury convicted Jennifer Blake of first-degree murder, and she was sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole.
Watch all-new episodes of Snapped on Sundays at 6/5c on Oxygen.
