On December 26, 2003, a businessman named Russel Douglas drove out to meet Peggy Sue Thomas, a friend of his wife, to collect a Christmas present she had for her. But it was a trap. Things turned ugly when Peggy’s boyfriend, Jim Huden, was waiting for Russell with a gun in his hand and shot him right between the eyes as soon as he arrived at the secluded area near Wahl Road on Whidbey Island in Washington in 2003.
No points in guessing that Peggy Sue Thomas, a former beauty queen, was at the center of the mystery and plotted to take Russel’s life. However, there was one more person associated with the case who drew a lot of attention through her comments and that was none other than Jean Huden, the wife of Jim Huden, and the woman who became a police informant due to a certain turn of events.
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The killing of Russel Douglas became a media sensation and police were desperately trying to find the killers as soon as possible. In 2004, Jim was taken into custody and interrogated by police. He dismissed all the allegations and was later released.
However, he was still one of the prime suspects in the case along with Peggy Sue. As a result, Jean helped his husband in escaping to Veracruz, Mexico. After he left, Jean’s condition started to get worse because she was in debt and had no money to survive. She became an informant and led the police to Jean.
However, that was not the only thing that forced her on becoming an informant. The real reason that forced Jean in helping the police was her own criminal record. The key witness in the Douglas murder had a criminal record. Let’s dig a little deeper and learn more about Jean Huden.
Jean Huden’s personal life and criminal past
Born in Orange, New Jersey, Jean was a rather simple woman and faced a lot of issues in her first marriage. After her divorce was finalized, she met Jim and fell in love with him. They both got married. However, her marriage with Jim also started going downhill when she got to know that he might be having an affair with Peggy Sue.
The killing of Douglas created more differences between them but she still helped him in fleeing to Mexico. But how did Jean have so many crimes against her? Did she help Jim in killing Douglas?
According to court records, Jean had a long history with the law and was mostly taken into custody for crimes related to drugs. Court papers also revealed that Jean pleaded guilty to multiple charges of marijuana possession and possession of drug paraphernalia, according to CNN.
Apart from that, there have been numerous other charges at the same time. However, she never went to prison for any of those charges.
In 2011, she was taken into custody on 18 charges of passing forged checks and grand theft larceny. Jean confessed to stealing checks from the woman, forging a signature and cashing them. She did not want to go to prison and struck a deal with law enforcement authorities. Jean became a police informant and disclosed the whereabouts of her husband.
Jean was sentenced to 18 months of state probation and had to pay court costs. “This was, in part, due to the wishes of the victim who is a family member, who wished to seek other resolution,” said Samantha Syoen from the Florida State Attorney’s Office.
Jim’s confession to Jean
Police were certain that Jim was the murderer and Jean confirmed it. During the interrogation, Jean confirmed that her husband and Peggy Sue killed Douglas. According to interviews, Peggy Sue told Jean that they were plotting against Douglas and carried out the murder of Douglas. Jean also noted that she and Peggy discussed the murder on more than one occasion.
The court filing also showed that Jean did help her husband by sending money while he was in Mexico. She also visited him once there and even planned to move in with him.
Where is Jean Huden now?
Jean was last seen living in Florida because she was on state probation and had to be under the supervision of the law enforcement agency. However, there’s no news of Jean’s whereabouts after that. She did not remain in the media limelight after she was named a witness and continued to live normally.
The theme of Lifetime’s new movie ‘Circle of Deception’ has drawn many parallels to the actual case. The project also gives a closer look as to how Peggy lured Jim to kill Douglas and what happened after Jim was captured.
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