Kill or Be Killed is investigating the shooting of Joshua Jourdan, who was shot dead during an argument with his wife, Kathleen Jourdan, as they drove along a highway in Nebraska.
On June 17, 2020, Kathleen and Joshua were driving on Interstate 80 near Cozad in Dawson County on their way home to Omaha from Scottsbluff when they began arguing.
At one point, Joshua slammed on the brakes and reportedly raised his arm to his wife.
Kathleen responded by grabbing a firearm from the center console and firing two shots into her husband’s chest. Joshua always kept a loaded gun with the safety off in the console. Their two young sons were on the back seat.
Kathleen dialed 911 and waited for the cops to arrive. Joshua died a short time later; he was 35 years old.
She was charged with second-degree murder and use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony.
Kathleen Jourdan said Joshua Jourdan was about to attack her
Kathleen claimed she was innocent, having acted in self-defense. She said Joshua had tried to strangle her in 2015 when they lived in Grenada and that he had the same look in his eyes and had raised his hands in the same manner just before she shot him.
Watch the Latest on our YouTube ChannelShe later testified at her trial, explaining, “I didn’t have time; I just thought to protect myself. I thought he would kill me. I knew something was going to happen.”
The defendant maintained that she had been a victim of domestic abuse for many years. She said Joshua was a control freak who prevented her from seeing her mother and her friends. He allegedly demanded she return home immediately after work or church, and if she didn’t come straight home, he accused her of infidelity.
Kathleen worked as a physician at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, and she claimed Joshua insisted she write him prescriptions for drugs.
On the occasion in Grenada when Joshua tried to strangle her, Kathleen said he had stripped her naked and urinated on her head before insisting she wash her hair in the toilet. She said she complied with his demands, but he still knocked her to the ground and strangled her.
Kathleen Jourdan found not guilty through self-defense of killing Joshua Jourdan
Kathleen and her legal team successfully convinced a jury that she feared the same was about to happen when they argued on the Interstate. She was acquitted of all charges.
The prosecution had demanded to know why Kathleen had not previously filed reports of the abuse, and she admitted she had made a mistake in not doing so but that she was scared of losing her kids. She had filed for divorce after the strangling incident, but the couple later reconciled.
After her acquittal, Kathleen said the first thing she would do was hug her two boys.
Kill or Be Killed airs Saturdays at 9/8c on Oxygen.