Birmingham’s Biggest Crooks: Jeff and Jessica McCord
By Wade KwonIn August, we’re celebrating Birmingham’s Biggest Crooks, whether they be liars, thieves, extortionists, swindlers or thugs. A 30-part series running daily until Birmingham mayor Larry Langford’s Aug. 31 Oct. 19 federal trial. Thanks to Bhamwiki for helping with this project.
Jeff and Jessica McCord
Positions held: Jeff, Pelham police officer; Jessica, wife and mother
Wanted for: murder
Date of conviction: Jeff: April 15, 2003; Jessica: Feb. 15, 2003
Sentence: Jeff: two life terms in prison, eligible for parole in 24 years 6 months; Jessica: life in prison with no parole
Criminally fun fact: Jessica orchestrated the murders of her ex-husband and his wife over an ongoing custody battle. Jeff shot each one four times in the den of the McCords’ Hoover home. They put the bodies in her ex-husband’s rental car, then drove it to Georgia and set it on fire.
Jessica was about 2 months pregnant with her fifth child at the time of their arrest. A friend of the couple and Jessica’s mother were both convicted of perjury related to the case. The story became a 2007 episode of the reality crime series, “Snapped.”
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Additional reading:
- Bhamwiki: Category – Criminals
- Crime Watch
- “Snapped: Jessica McCord” on Amazon Instant Video and iTunes [aff. links].
- Meet more of Birmingham’s Biggest Crooks | RSS feed
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Wednesday, August 26, 2009, 11:33 pm
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Friday, July 17, 2015, 11:41 pm
I knew Jessica and her first husband when they were dating, and liked them both very much. Breaks my heart that she could do that to him…and it also breaks my heart to think of the kid I knew spending her life in prison. Did she have her baby in prison?
Saturday, July 18, 2015, 10:23 pm
She did, and she was featured in a 2009 documentary called “Storybook” (see her at 3:07):