Fan, Candles Left Behind To Mask Murder Allegedly Commited By James Ayers

[Whisper]

Ayers (left), and Okrzesik

Man charged with New Jersey woman's death
March 30 2012
Victim's decomposing body found in James Ayers' home

A 32-year-old Fort Lauderdale man was arrested on Thursday for the murder of a 19-year-old New Jersey woman, according to Fort Lauderdale Police.
Broward Sheriff's Office detectives learned that James Anthony Ayers had told a friend on Wednesday that he had killed a woman named "Julie" on March 23.
[...]

http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/201...-mark-shotwell

Fan, Candles Left Behind To Mask Murder, Roommate of Suspect Says
Mar 31, 2012

Broward Sheriff’s Office detectives said they found the decomposing body of a 19-year-old New Jersey woman who was murdered in a Fort Lauderdale apartment.

How Juliana Mensch was murdered is still being investigated, as is the motive of suspect James Ayers, 32, who has been charged with one count of first-degree murder and is being held at the Broward County Main Jail, Fort Lauderdale Police said Friday.

BSO detectives found Mensch’s body in Ayers’ home at 1102 NW 7th Terrace in the early-morning hours Thursday, police said.

His roommate David Burden, a hard-working house painter, can hardly believe what happened in the small rented bedroom in the corner last Friday night.

“She was murdered right in that room,” he said.

A fan and candles were left behind to cover the odor.

"We started smelling something about Monday morning. And we couldn't figure out what it was,” Burden said. “And checking everything, my clothes, I'm thinking, 'something stinks.' I did not know."

Police said they located Ayers in Plantation and arrested him without incident.

Burden said Ayers was quiet and “worked somewhere out in 441,” but couldn’t describe him much more than that. “I didn’t know him very long.”

Burden and another neighbor said Ayers had a girlfriend who also lived in their tiny room. They said she knew the victim, and that the three were seen only a day or so before Julie Mensch quietly died.

Ayers is being represented by a public defender in court,
[..]

http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/F...145256115.html

Nicole Okrzesik, Girlfriend of James Ayers, Arrested in Killing of Juliana Mensch
May 11 2012
http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/pu...s_arrested.php

Juliana Mensch Murder: Text Messages Between the Accused Killers
May 14 2012

Police say 19-year-old Juliana Mensch was strangled to death March 23. 32-year-old James Ayers was arrested a week later and charged with the murder after reportedly telling a friend that he strangled Mensch after his girlfriend tried to break Mensch's neck and failed. The couple left her body in a room Ayers was renting in Fort Lauderdale.
Last Thursday, police arrested the girlfriend, 23-year-old Nicole Okrzesik, who was in Port Saint Lucie.
When Okrzesik was confronted about the ordeal, police say she threw Ayers under the bus, telling them that the three of them were getting high the night of the murder, and after Mensch fell asleep, Ayers "without provocation jumped on top of Mensch" and killed her so he could get money out of her bra to spend on drugs.

After the murder, which police say was early on March 24, Ayers and Okrzesik reportedly exchanged "several hundred text messages." Here are some of the worst, in roughly chronological order. They start March 25, just before 4 p.m.

Ayers: I'm callin 911 remember your driving her car

Okrzesik: stop it

Ayers: Fuck it ill just call the cops

Okrzesik: Why the fuck would you do that and ruin both out lives when we can just get rid of the shit and move on

Ayers: You held her down remember, you better hurry, call me now

Okrzesik: Why are you blowing up my phone when I told you im driving

Ayers: I only did what I did to Julie for you but you still continue to be unfaithful

Okrzesik: Im being honest im scared of you

Ayers: Are you coming home, if not I'll just turn us both in

Okrzesik: im scared of you right now, ya I told you if you calm down I will

(Half an hour passes. 6:15 p.m.)

Ayers: You cool with a life sentence

Okrzesik: No I'm not stop it

Ayers: Don't make me ruin your life answer the fucking phone

Okrzesik: Then don't cause it will ruin your life to

Ayers: Not if you don't answer

Okrzesik: Stop its not worth it don't ruin your life and mine just cause your pissed

(Another half hour passes. It's 7 p.m.)

Ayers: I will testify against you if you don't call you aint coming home Anyway keep playing you have til 735

Okrzesik: fine

(At 7:45 p.m.)

Ayers: You held her down your guilty of murder to, you still wont answer that, I need the car so I can go get something, hellooooo, took me off your friends list too huh? Your new BF on there, gotta do what I gotta do, caught you in to many lies, you never did love me

Okrzesik: no, cause you went on mine, I do love you stop

Ayers: I'm serious, you have two min. dead body and all

Okrzesik: Wow wtf

(45 minutes later)

Ayers: We have a dead body in the house and you want to play?

Okrzesik: I'm not playing

(45 minutes later, 9:30 p.m.)

Ayers: What are we doing about the body, thanks for talking me into that by the way, don't you dare ignore me

Okrzesik: I'm not ignoring you

(More than two hours later, just after midnight on March 26:)

Ayers: Call me right now or I'm calling the police, I've given you plenty of Time, you know I'm serious, please don't call my bluff

Okrzesik: why the fuck would you ruin our lives over little shit

The two stopped texting later on March 26, and on March 27 Okrzesik checked herself into a rehab facility in Port Saint Lucie.
[...]

http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/pu...s_okrzesik.php

[Whisper]

James Ayers, Nicole Okrzesik Arrested for Fort Lauderdale, Florida Murder of Juliana Mensch

May 14, 2012
Nicole Okrzesik and James Ayers were arrested in Fort Lauderdale, Florida in connection to the murder of Juliana Mensch, 19, according to news reports. Okrzesik, 22, and Ayers, 32, were both booked into Broward County Jail on the charges. Okrzesik was reportedly charged with one count of first degree murder last Thursday; Ayers was hit with the same charge on March 31, reports indicate. It is not known whether Okrzesik, who was apprehended just before the weekend, has qualified for bail bond or has retained a private criminal defense lawyer.

According to news reports, authorities believe that Juliana Mensch was murdered in the early morning hours of March 24 in Nicole Okrzesik's residence, located in the 1100 block of Northwest 7th Terrace in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Sources indicate that on the night of the alleged murder, Mensch spoke to a friend on the phone and told him that she was "getting high with Nikki and her boyfriend at their house." It is not clear how the victim and the defendants knew each other, nor is it clear what types of drugs the trio was allegedly using. Troy Grimes, the friend who Mensch spoke to before she died, is believed to be cooperating with the investigation.

Detectives reportedly believe that at some point during the course of the night, Okrzesik attacked Mensch and attempted to kill her by breaking her neck. However, Okrzesik was allegedly unsuccessful, and authorities believe that Ayers ended up killing Mensch via strangulation as Okrzesik held her down, according to reports. After she died, Ayers allegedly stole several hundred dollars that Mensch had stashed inside of her bra. It is not clear how Ayers allegedly knew that the money was there.

Investigators evidently compiled details of the story through testimony that Ayers allegedly gave while in custody, as well as from two people Ayers had allegedly told about the murder. One, Michael Paul, is reportedly a friend of Ayers, while the other Paul Sohr, was a former drug counselor to Ayers. Both of the men are believed to be cooperating with the investigation.



Michael Paul reportedly contacted authorities on March 28 after Ayers told him about the alleged murder. Paul told investigators that Ayers had visited him at his workplace, which remains undisclosed, driving a blue Toyota Scion with a New Jersey license plate. Ayers allegedly told Paul that the vehicle belonged to a woman named Julie who he had killed. Ayers allegedly went on to describe the details of the alleged murder to Paul. Since then, the tag number of the vehicle has reportedly revealed that the Toyota is registered to Juliana Mensch.

Ayers reportedly told Sohr the same story, although he declined to say where the body was hidden. Investigators evidently found it in the room that Okrzesik and Ayers were renting, hidden under a pile of clothes. They were able to locate the body after arresting Ayers and contacting the landlord of the residence using a number saved on his cell phone, according to reports. The landlord purportedly told investigators to "kick in the door" if they had to because something "smelled dead" inside of the room. Investigators linked Okrzesik with the Fort Lauderdale murder after reviewing phone and text message records between her and Ayers, sources indicate.

http://www.florida-criminal-attorney...iminalAttorney

[Valasca]

Well, I knew today there would be a Fort Lauderdale story. I just thought it was the pregnant lady raped by security.
This.... Is fucked up.

[Whisper]

Nicole Okrzesik Googled How to Kill Juliana Mensch, Police Say

Police say 19-year-old Juliana Mensch was strangled in a Fort Lauderdale home by two of her friends, James Ayers and his girlfriend, Nicole Okrzesik, who wanted to rob her for drug money. Ayers was arrested several days following the killing after reportedly telling a friend that he did it; Okrzesik was arrested May 10 and blamed the whole thing on Ayers.

We showed you text messages between the accused killers last week in which Okrzesik repeatedly tells Ayers not to call police, saying, "Why the fuck would you do that and ruin both our lives when we can just get rid of the shit and move on."

But there's more incriminating evidence that points to her -- according to police, while Mensch was sleeping on the floor of Ayers' rented room, Okrzesik was using her phone to Google how to kill her.

At 3:09 a.m. on March 24, Okrzesik (or someone using her phone) sent a text that said "she's laying on my floor LMAO."

At 3:36, she sent another text asking another friend if he knew anywhere to get crack. (The friend responded "what hell no.")

3:38 -- Google search for "chemicals to passout a person"

Yahoo! Answers page opened: "What kind of chemicals make people sleep/pass out?

Yahoo! Answers page opened: "Whats on those rags that make people pass out?"
3:39 -- Ask.com search for "making people faint"

Wikipedia entry opened: "Suicide methods"

Wikipedia entry opened: "Murder-suicide"

3:40 -- Google search for "ways to kill people in their sleep"

3:41 -- GoLivewire.com forum entry opened. Police documents say the title was "could you kill someone in their sleep and no one would think it was murder," but the only forum entry I could confirm was "could you kill someone in their sleep and no one would think it was you."

3:42 -- Cracked.com article opened: "The 7 Most Insane Things People Have Done While Sleepwalking."

Blog post opened: "Ways to Kill Someone With Your Bare Hands"

3:43 -- Google search for "how to suffocate someone"

3:44 -- Google search for "how to poison someone"

3:44 -- Blog post opened: "Thirteen ways to poison someone"

(The only web page I can find that corresponds to "Thirteen ways to poison someone" is "Thirteen Ways to Poison Someone... On Paper," which is a post containing tips to aspiring authors about how to get rid of characters in their stories.)
[..]

http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/pu...gle-search.php

[Whisper]

Alleged Killers James Ayers, Nicole Okrzesik Talked About Corpse on Facebook, Went to Wet Willie's After Murder

Nicole Okrzesik and James Ayers have been arrested in the March murder of 19-year-old Juliana Mensch.

We've already brought you the creepy text messages between Okrzesik and Ayers after the crime and the homicidal Google searches Okrzesik allegedly made, but there's more: In addition to text-message arguments about what to do with Mensch's body, Okrzesik and Ayers appear to have used Facebook chat to plot their next moves too.

The first bits of Facebook info about the alleged crime come from around 8 p.m. on March 23 -- around seven hours before the murder, according to police. Okrzesik posts a picture from an IHOP and tags Mensch:
She then posted four photos just before midnight, including the one featured at the top of this post. Police say the photos were taken on NW Seventh Terrace, at the house where Mensch's body was found.

Police say the murder happened sometime early the morning of March 24. That afternoon, Okrzesik posted that she was in Miami:
On March 25, Okrzesik and Ayers got in an argument via text message about what to do with Mensch's body and whether to turn themselves in. The argument ended in the early hours of March 26, with Ayers asking Okrzesik to come over and getting repeatedly brushed off.

The argument started up again later March 26, on Facebook:

3/26, 2 p.m.

Ayers: if you don't show up I'm telling your dad and the police everything

Okrzesik: I'm waiting for money

6 p.m.

Ayers: I'm not going down by myself If you wont help me, your going with me

7:23 p.m.

Okrzesik: I haven't been on Facebook I had to find wifi I'm not ignoring you

Hellooooooo?!
3/27, 3:52 a.m.

Ayers: Danielle's msging me about you and julie

You have til 9

You asked me if I was ready, why would you do that if u werent coming? Thanks for everything. dont worry, ill repay the favor

Cuz I know you wontbe [sic] here by 9

3/27, 9:18 a.m.

Okrzesik: What did Danielle say?

Ayers: She said Jules missing

Okrzesik: What did you say?

Ayers: It was 3 am, I didn't respond

We have to figure this out, Im not going to but if the smell gets worse were fucked

Okrzesik: Cant we just go dump it somewhere then take off

Ayers: Please just get here already, I need you, were in this together

Okrzesik didn't show up -- later March 27, she checked into a drug rehab facility.

The next day, Ayers was arrested after police say he told several people the details of the crime and said he was going to kill himself.
[...]

http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/pu...s_facebook.php

Ayers and Okrzesik, in a photo posted the night of the murder.

She also posted pictures of her and Ayers at the bar