At first, the murder plot was a joke.
Former California firefighter Jonathan Hearn says that he and his lover, Sabrina Limon, laughed about knocking off her husband as they basked in their secret romance.
But the sick humor would become all too real, with Hearn and Limon allegedly concocting her cuckolded hubby’s demise.
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On Thursday, Hearn testified about his and Limon’s scheme to poison her spouse’s favorite banana pudding before they ultimately settled on shooting him one Sunday as he worked alone at an industrial complex.
Robert Limon, a 38-year-old father-of-two in Helendale, was murdered on Aug. 17, 2014—two days before his 14th wedding anniversary.
The lovers began plotting the rub-out in late 2013 or early 2014, Hearn told jurors. “I distinctly remember it coming up in conversation as a joke at first. And I don’t remember who mentioned it first, honestly. But I remember … it definitely turned from humor into something that actually began to materialize,” Hearn said.
As the duo traded tender words, they discussed “how much simpler it would be if [Robert Limon] were gone,” the former fireman added.
Hearn’s testimony comes as part of a plea deal to dodge murder charges himself. The 27-year-old pled guilty to voluntary manslaughter and will serve 25 years behind bars in return for his statements against Limon.
Limon’s trial, which began Monday, paints a narrative of how a young firefighter met an older, married woman at Costco and entered a torrid love affair. Their liaison would turn deadly, with the couple allegedly plotting to murder Limon’s husband, get married and then raise her and Robert’s two children together.
Allegations surrounding the Limons’ marriage bring an extra layer of intrigue to the already outlandish case, with Sabrina’s lawyer claiming the married couple were “swingers” and engaged in “wife swapping” with their friends.
It was a lifestyle that Sabrina Limon’s attorney says she wanted to escape.
Yet, in opening arguments, Kern County prosecutor Eric Smith described the victim as a hard-working dad who “was a friend to everyone.”
Robert was killed so Limon and her young lover could be together, and so Limon could snag more than $300,000 in life insurance money, the prosecutor claimed.
Smith read aloud Limon’s text messages to Hearn weeks after her husband’s murder, including one that said: “I feel God’s purpose and strength working in my life and in our relationship. I love you, Jonathan.”
“Evidence will show that Robert Limon was killed for money. Evidence will show that Robert Limon was killed to replace him … so [the Limon children] could be brought up by godly parents,” Smith told jurors.
But Richard Terry, Limon’s defense attorney, said the mother had no part in her husband’s killing. Instead, he claims she soaked up the flattery of a young man who showed her interest while she endured an unhappy marriage.
“The only evidence that the people have is Jonathan Hearn: an admitted, cold-blooded, calculating killer, who stalked her husband and killed him,” Terry said.
Terry broached Limon’s “open marriage” and allegedly loose lifestyle with her husband as something she was no longer interested in.
“Now there’s been a lot of talk about this case being a love triangle case, and it’s not a love triangle, ladies and gentleman,” Terry told jurors. “I would call it more a love polygon. In other words, it has so many sides, that it’s not just limited to three people.”
Limon “began to feel less and less important and special to her husband” because of their swapping of sexual partners, Terry said. So the mother fell for the younger man who made her feel worthy for who she was, “not just some sex toy that her husband kind of passed around,” Terry added.
Hearn “manipulated” Limon, then killed her husband, the lawyer claimed.
On Thursday, Hearn described how his previous relationships with women “were subpar” and not with “people like her [Sabrina].” Limon was kind, encouraging and attentive, and a “very entrancing person,” Hearn said.
They met while Limon, who is now 37, passed out samples at her job at Costco. Hearn, a paramedic for the Redlands fire department, was buying food and supplies for his station. Eventually, Limon passed Hearn her phone number. Hearn testified that Limon wasn’t wearing a wedding ring and said her work barred her from wearing jewelry. They talked and texted for a spell before Limon said, “You know I’m married, right?”
Hearn said they decided to be friends, but Limon’s “magnetic personality” overwhelmed him. He even dedicated a website—where he collected stories from firefighters around the country — to her a few months after they met.
A home-schooled Christian who dreamed of becoming an arson investigator, Hearn described how he started dating Limon in 2012 when he was 22 years old—a relationship he said conflicted with his religious, family-oriented upbringing.
Still, Hearn described the decade-older Limon as his first true love.
Hearn testified that when he tried breaking away from Limon in November 2012, she hugged him and teared up. “It kind of made an impression on me that perhaps I was a little more meaningful to her at that point than I had recognized,” he said.
The adulterers cut off their affair a few times over the next few years, after Robert twice discovered it and confronted Hearn. In an April 2013 journal entry—presented in court—Hearn wrote that he had disrespected Robert and needed to let Limon go.
“Ultimately, I want this woman to know that she is amazing and loved by God and me. But I cannot also disrespect, hurt or dishonor her incredible husband,” Hearn wrote in an entry displayed to the jury, the Bakersfield Californian reported.
The prosecution also displayed a personal check that Hearn wrote out to “Jesus, the one who helped stop me, tried me and showed me Grace”—a bizarre gesture that Hearn said was a sign that Robert forgave him for the infidelity.
One month later, however, Hearn and Limon were back at it.
Soon Limon, who didn’t speak ill of her husband initially, would constantly tick off Robert’s shortcomings as a husband and a father. She allegedly told Hearn that Robert “perpetrated a very image-based lifestyle” and was “exploitative” in their open marriage. Robert’s interests “focused on partying, his truck, his boat,” rather than his wife and children, Hearn testified of Limon’s complaints.
Robert caught Hearn and Limon texting, so they resorted to communicating and leaving each other messages on a shared Gmail account, Hearn testified.
In December 2013, Hearn said, he and Limon grew “more passionate and more serious” than before. They began laying the groundwork and “solidifying … our terrible plans that followed,” Hearn testified.
Hearn testified that Limon told him divorcing Robert wasn’t an option. (Earlier this year at a preliminary hearing in Limon’s case, the fireman claimed she said Robert “would probably rather be dead than divorced.”)
As The Daily Beast previously reported, Hearn allegedly practiced the murder plot on a neighborhood dog, tossing arsenic-laced salmon into its yard. But they quickly nixed their plan to poison Robert’s banana pudding.
The cheating lovebirds also considered staging a car wreck or fire to get rid of Robert, but Hearn says they ultimately decided on targeting him at the railroad where he worked, at a sprawling industrial complex in Tehachapi.
Hearn, then 24, wore a Halloween mask as he entered the property. He spoke briefly to Robert, who offered him a drink, before shooting him with a .45-caliber Glock he equipped with a silencer made from a flashlight.
Earlier this year, the fireman testified that he shot Robert in the head as he stocked a refrigerator with Gatorade. Hearn then tried to make the scene look like a robbery and stole a laptop before speeding away on his motorcycle.
Police arrested Limon and Hearn months later, but Limon was released due to what prosecutors called insufficient evidence.
Indeed, Limon was free for two years as her former flame sat in jail.
But authorities had enough ammo to charge her in January, when Hearn agreed to testify against her if the DA dropped his murder charge. Hearn must also apologize to Robert Limon’s family under the plea agreement.
Jonathan Hearn’s testimony will continue today.
On Wednesday, Hearn’s younger sister Emily testified that she and Hearn brought Limon flowers after Robert died. She said she became friendly with Limon and “felt right at home” with her family and didn’t suspect the affair.
During one visit, Limon allegedly confided in Emily about her and Robert’s wild, drunken parties and things “getting a little too loose and wild.”
Emily said she spent the night at Limon’s home and they talked the next morning while putting on makeup. Limon allegedly teared up and told her, “I think the best is yet to come.” At the time, Emily believed Limon wanted to move on from her grief.
The sibling also said her brother typically went for women who “had a little bit of baggage and a little bit of depth,” as opposed to shallow partners.
After Robert died, Emily noticed her brother spending too much time with Limon and testified that she confronted him.
“I do remember saying, ‘You know how this looks. You were spending a lot of time with a guy’s wife before he was murdered. You’re going to be under scrutiny. Where were you?’”
Hearn allegedly told his sister, “I was at home that night.”
