Arrest made in 1993 cold case murder of 12-year-old Jennifer Odom
Bringing a 30-year-old cold case to a dramatic close, an arrest has been made in the 1993 kidnapping, sexual assault, and murder of 12-year-old Jennifer Odom who lived in St. Joseph, Florida.
Background: According to the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO,) on Friday, February 19, 1993, around 3 p.m., Jennifer stepped off her school bus, waved goodbye to friends, and started walking the short 200 yards to her home in rural Pasco County. Children on the bus reported that they saw a faded blue pickup truck slowly following Jennifer as she walked home. Jennifer never made home.
During the next days, law enforcement equipped with police dogs and hundreds of volunteers scoured 60 square miles of rolling groves, pastures and woods surrounding the tiny Pasco town of Dade City.
On Thursday, February 25, 1993, a man and woman searching an abandoned orange grove in southeast Hernando County found Jennifer’s body. Jennifer’s clothes, including the red sweater and Hooter’s jacket she was wearing when she went missing, have never been found. When she was last seen, Jennifer was wearing a white zip-up Hooters sweat jacket with orange lettering on the left sleeve, a red long sleeve pullover sweater, a white turtleneck shirt, white denim pants and black lace-up style boots.
Approximately two years later on Thursday, January 5, 1995, a couple hunting for scrap metal in a rural area of Hernando County discovered Jennifer’s missing book bag and clarinet case. The bag and case were found in Western Hernando County.
Fast forward to yesterday morning, July 27, 2023: the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office held a press conference where Sheriff Al Nienhuis provided updates on Jennifer’s cold case, updates which included information of an arrest.
The Sheriff announced that Jeffrey Crum – a career criminal with an extensive criminal history had been arrested. Because of his background, the Sheriff’s Office believes there’s a good chance that there are more of Crum’s victims out there.
Nienhuis explained that 13 months prior to Jennifer’s abduction, another young Pasco County girl was “horribly attacked and sexually assaulted.” Despite being “left for dead,” that girl survived.
Biological evidence collected in that case was tested in 2015, giving detectives a full DNA profile to run through national databases. FDLE was able to match the profile with the son of the man who turned out to be a suspect in both cases: Jeffrey Crum. ~ WTSP-10, Tampa Bay
Officials are asking anyone who had interactions with Crum, or who may have information on other crimes he may have committed, and/or may have themselves been a victim of Jeffrey Crum, to reach out to the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office and speak to their Cold Case Unit, (352) 754-6830.
Fox-13 News shared that Crum was already serving two life sentences for the sexual battery and kidnapping case out of Pasco County that was prosecuted around 2015. Hernando County has now charged him with first-degree murder, kidnapping and sexual battery.
For more on the story, see the video accompanying this article.
(Cover photo, Jennifer Odom and Jeffrey Crum pictured in 1993) / (Source: HCSO)
Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today / Follow Richard on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram
