MURDERED: Leah Kline & Vivian James | Jacksonville, Florida 2019

Two women strangled in two days by the same man in Jacksonville, Florida -- one killed at a motel on Christmas night, the other a beloved teacher murdered in her own home the next morning. This episode features real interrogation footage and court audio.

Leah Kline's life ended on December 25, 2019. She and Zebulon Perkins had been staying at a Westside Jacksonville motel when an argument turned violent. Perkins strangled Kline and disposed of her body in a dumpster behind the building. She was 38 years old. Her remains would not be discovered for days.

The following morning, December 26, Perkins drove to the Cedar Hills home of Vivian James, a 49-year-old chemistry teacher at Atlantic Coast High School. James had once been his teacher. According to court records, Perkins went to her looking for guidance -- and when James told him he needed to turn himself in to police, Perkins beat her and strangled her with a cord inside her home.

Vivian James had spent years in a classroom shaping the futures of Duval County students. Colleagues and former students described her as someone who gave her time and attention freely, a teacher who saw potential where others saw problems. The fact that a former student came to her door in crisis -- and that her instinct was to counsel him toward accountability -- speaks to who she was.

On December 28, a friend stopped by James' home and found her body. The friend called Jacksonville Sheriff's Office and reported James' car missing. Investigators located the vehicle at the same Westside motel where Kline had been killed. Perkins was inside. When officers searched the car, they found Perkins' bag containing sweatpants stained with James' DNA, along with her camera and three laptops. Two of James' televisions and her computer monitor were recovered from the home of Perkins' mother. DNA recovered from beneath James' fingernails matched Perkins.

In March 2024, Zebulon Perkins pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder. He was sentenced to 70 years in Florida State Prison. The interrogation footage played during court proceedings showed detectives confronting Perkins about the evidence against him -- a man who, according to investigators, showed no emotion when asked about either death.

This episode features interrogation recordings and court audio. Listener discretion advised.

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