True Crime With Caledonian Kitty

(Jimmie Sue Finger Gambrel. Picture credit: donmcclellan)

This was quite a shocking case back in the 1980s so I'm surprised that there's not that much information about it online but it's a story that I've known about for years and I tried to gather as much research on it to share with you in this post.

As you read this story you'll probably be reminded of the Pamela Smart case which I covered a little while ago.

Before I go any further I just want to remind you that you can find me on social media here and if you would like to make a one off donation to my blog or set up a monthly subscription (so that you can have access to my weekly personal blog posts), you can do so here

So, let's get into the case...

[Cougar = slang for an older woman who seeks attention, relationships and sexual activity with younger men.] 

Michael Kettmann Jr was what some people would describe as an all American boy, he was young, handsome, did well at school and was popular with his teachers and classmates at North Cobb High School. He came from a close, well respected family and lived in Kennesaw, Georgia (USA). Nothing traumatic happened to him in his childhood, he was happy and was always close to his mother Blanche, he could tell her anything. Their relationship wasn't just like a mother and her son, they were also friends and Michael could always count on his parents to support him no matter what and he also got on well with his two sisters.

Michael was 18 years old and the future was looking bright, he seemed to have the world at his feet and there was quite a few girls who had their eyes on him but he was quite shy and sometimes he didn't know how to act around girls. His mother always brought him up to have manners and be respectful to women and he was. One girl, Angela had been getting on well with Michael for months and invited him to a party at her house as a way of getting closer to him. Michael wasn't much of a social person but he went along and didn't think there would be any harm in having a few drinks, just to be sociable and his other friends would be there.

During the party, Michael became transfixed on a girl who was dancing in quite a sexy manner, he couldn't take his eyes off of her and when he asked Angela who she was and what school she went to, Angela looked at him shocked and told him that the girl was infact, her mother, she just looked younger for her age.

The girl Michael was transfixed by was actually in her late 30s and was a married beautician and stylist. Her name was Jimmie Sue Finger and all the boys had a bit of a crush on her and it looked like Michael was to become another one of her admirers.

(Jimmie Sue Finger Gambrel. Picture Credit: donmcclellan)

As time went on, being in a small town, Michael kept running into Jimmie Sue and despite the age difference between the pair, it was obvious there was a strong attraction. Michael worked at a local food store in his spare time to help save for his college fund and Jimmie Sue would often pop in for her shopping. Michael would drop whatever he was doing and follow her around the store, flirting with her and carrying her groceries.

Jimmie Sue loved the attention and would laugh when she saw Michael falling all over himself trying to talk to her and impress her. Jimmie Sue was quite glamorous and very flirtatious with a zest for life, she was more like a teenager, despite her age and being married with a teenage daughter herself. With Angela, she would hang out with her and go to the movies with her like they were two friends. Rumours began to circulate that more was going on between Jimmie Sue and Michael and it was becoming a bit of an embarrissing point for Angela, it's hard to know what she must have felt knowing that the guy that she had a crush on, was actually more interested in her mother.

The rumours that were going around town were true, Michael and Jimmie Sue were seeing each other. It was all exciting and passionate for both of them and they would meet up at secret places together to have sex. Michael made Jimmie Sue feel like she was a teenager and she could forget her unhappy home life with her husband, Terry for a while.

When Blanche (Michael's mother) found out about the affair, she refused to believe it until her two daughters confirmed the truth. She confronted Michael which ended in a tense argument. Blanche and Michael rarely argued like this and he never kept secrets from her but ever since he started seeing Jimmie Sue, he was changing and becoming more distant from her and his family.

There was a lot of back and forth over the next few weeks of Blanche's discovery of the relationship. Michael would pretend that he ended things with Jimmie Sue but then Blanche would see them both in town kissing. Michael's parents also bought him a car as a way of trying to persuade him to stay away from Jimmie Sue and he would agree but again, they'd find out that he was still seeing her.

As things became even more hotter between Michael and Jimmie Sue, she began to open up to him about personal things and he would often have to comfort her after she would come to him crying, saying that Terry had hit her.

Jimmie Sue told Michael that Terry would beat her and had been sexually abusing Angela. Michael was horrified and told her to leave him, that he would run away with her. Jimmie Sue said that she couldn't leave him because he would take everything and make her life hell.

The conversation soon turned around to Jimmie Sue asking Michael if there was some way that he could get Terry out of their lives once and for all so that they could be together. She would tell him things like ''I've never wanted a man like I want you'' and would use sex to try and control him.

The atmosphere back at Michael's family home was tense and Blanche decided to call Jimmie Sue to warn her to stay away from her son. As you can imagine, the conversation wasn't exactly a friendly one and I have no details of the exact transcript but Blanche claimed that Jimmie Sue said:

''If you make any trouble for me honey, I'll drive nails in your son's coffin.'' 

Jimmie Sue later denied that this conversation ever took place. Another time, Blanche arranged to meet Jimmie Sue in a cafe to discuss the situation. That didn't go down to well either with Blanche becoming quite hot headed with Jimmie Sue and she walked out before the drinks even arrived.

Despite the trouble and grief it was causing his parents and the gossiping around town, Michael refused to forget about Jimmie Sue.

Jimmie Sue was starting to play mind games with Michael, he was besotted with her and she was in control of him. She wanted rid of Terry, wanted to be free of him but also wanted to keep the house and the money. According to Michael, there was only one thing for it in her eyes, someone would have to kill Terry and she wasn't going to do it herself.

Continued in part two...