On a summer afternoon, the life of 35-year-old Joshua Jourdan, a Caucasian male, came to a sudden and violent end along Interstate 80 near Cozad, Nebraska. On June 17, 2020, while traveling with his wife and their two young children, an argument escalated, leading to a fatal shooting. The family was in the process of moving from Scottsbluff at the time of the incident.
During the heated argument, Joshua pulled their pickup truck over to the side of the interstate.
It was then that his wife, Kathleen Jourdan, retrieved a handgun from the center console and shot him twice in the chest. Their two children, who were in the backseat of the vehicle, were unharmed. Following the shooting, Kathleen herself called 911 to report the incident and remained at the scene until law enforcement arrived.
Nebraska State Patrol troopers responded to the call and found Joshua Jourdan deceased in the driver's seat. Kathleen Jourdan was subsequently arrested on suspicion of second-degree murder and booked into the Dawson County Jail. The couple's children were placed in protective custody.
The case proceeded to trial, where Kathleen Jourdan argued that she had acted in self-defense, alleging a history of abuse at the hands of her husband. In March 2022, a Dawson County jury found Kathleen Jourdan not guilty of second-degree murder and a related weapons charge. She was acquitted of all charges in the shooting death of her husband.
