Hemme Becomes a Suspect
Nearly two weeks after the murder, Hemme appeared at the home of a nurse who had previously treated her, carrying a knife and refusing to leave. Police found her in a closet and took her back to St. Joseph’s Hospital, where she had been a patient numerous time.
Hemme, then 20 years old, was targeted by the police, her attorneys say, she was undergoing treatment for drug usage, de-realization, and auditory hallucinations. Since the age of 12 she had been receiving inpatient mental health care.
She had been discharged from the hospital the day before Jeschke’s body was found and had hitchhiked more than 100 miles to her parents’ house that night. Her presence near the time and location of the crime seemed suspicious to law enforcement.
During interrogations, Hemme was heavily sedated and shackled in leather wrist restraints. She was so mentally confused and physically incapacitated by antipsychotic drugs that she could barely articulate responses to the police’s questions.
