CAMDEN COUNTY, Ga. (Court TV) — A long-haul truck driver was sentenced to spend the rest of his life behind bars after a jury found him guilty of killing his girlfriend.
Jason Palmer was convicted of murder, aggravated assault, concealing the death of another and malice murder in the death of Jessica Goodrich, whose body was found in a wooded area adjacent to a truck stop. Palmer and Goodrich were traveling through Georgia from their home state of Massachusetts at the time.
Immediately after the jury delivered its verdict, Judge Stephen Kelley sentenced Palmer to life in prison without the possibility of parole for malice murder and another ten years for concealing the death of another. The other counts merged following the conviction.
Jason Palmer takes the stand in the Trucker’s Girlfriend Murder Trial, where Palmer is accused of murdering Jessica Goodrich, a Massachusetts woman whose body was found near a Georgia truck stop. (Court TV)
An arrest warrant stated Goodrich’s body was discovered next to Roadie’s Chevron Truck Stop in Woodbine, on Oct. 8, 2022. Goodrich was wearing all black; she had on oversized men’s basketball shorts and an oversized men’s tank top.
Goodrich had sustained stab wounds to the left side of her chest and the right side of her neck. There were no traces of blood on her body, which appeared to have been washed.
Authorities in Georgia and Massachusetts partnered for the investigation, which revealed Goodrich and Palmer had been in an on-again, off-again relationship for nearly a decade that Goodrich’s family described as “tumultuous.”
According to the arrest warrant, Goodrich texted a relative On Sept. 30, 2022, to say that she and Palmer were in Tennessee. She said that Palmer had choked and threatened to kill her. The texts included photos of Goodrich’s bruised face and neck. Goodrich also indicated to this family member that she was going to look up flights because she could no longer be with Palmer, declaring: “I’m not going to die in the back of his truck or go to jail for whipping his f—ing ass.”
An Oct. 3, 2022 text message that the relative sent Goodrich went unanswered.
The warrant further stated that Palmer sent a Facebook message to a family member on Oct. 19, 2022, saying that Goodrich had gone back home to Massachusetts and that he had paid for her hotel and train fare. Palmer later stated, however, that he had dropped Goodrich off at a Pilot truck stop in Wildwood, Florida.
Goodrich’s truck was equipped with GPS monitoring, which pinpointed Palmer’s arrival in Wildwood, Florida on Oct. 7, 2022. The truck was then tracked making the 176-mile trek to Woodbine, which is where Goodrich’s body was found hours later.
That truck was later tracked down at a truck stop in Indiana. He was apprehended on Oct. 26, 2022, and ultimately extradited to Georgia.
DAILY TRIAL UPDATES
DAY 4 – 8/29/24
- Jason Palmer was found guilty of murder, aggravated assault, concealing the death of another and malice murder in the death of Jessica Goodrich.
- Palmer was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for malice murder and another ten years for concealing the death of another.
- WATCH: Trucker’s Girlfriend Murder Trial: Prosecution Closing Arguments
- WATCH: Trucker’s Girlfriend Murder Trial: Defense Closing Arguments
- WATCH: Trucker’s Girlfriend Murder Trial: Defense Closing Arguments (part 2)
DAY 3 – 8/28/24
- The presentation of evidence is now closed. Both the state and defense rest their case-in-chief.
- Jason Michael Palmer testifies.
- Palmer says the last time he saw Goodrich was on October 5, 2022, in Wildwood, Florida, after she got out of his 18-wheeler and sat on the curb. The couple got into an argument because she wanted him to stop communicating with the mother of his children.
- Palmer said he wanted to “help” Goodrich because she was struggling with substance abuse and wanted to “help” her get “clean.”
- Dr. Keith Lehman, Associated Medical Examiner with the GBI, determined that Jessica Goodrich’s cause of death was from “stab injuries.” The manner of death was not revealed.
- When investigators from the Camden County Sheriff’s Office and the Indiana State Police checked Palmer’s 18-wheeler for blood, none was found inside the truck.
- Closing arguments begin Thursday.
DAY 2 – 8/27/24
- Corporal Nathan Daniels, Camden County Sheriff’s Office, told jurors that there was no evidence that Jessica Goodrich was murdered where her body was found but believed that she was killed somewhere in Camden County, Georgia.
- Jessica Goodrich’s cell phone last transmitted data on October 5 at 6:45 p.m. in The Villages.
- Tracking information from Palmer’s semi-truck showed that he arrived in Woodbine, Georgia, on October 6, 2022. The tracking device shows Palmer was in South Carolina on October 7 and October 8, 2022.
- Jessica Goodrich was an authorized passenger listed for Palmer’s semi-truck from January 11 through June 20, 2022.
- Jurors heard from Jessica Goodrich’s eldest son and her sister.
DAY 1 – 8/26/24
- According to Assistant District Attorney Harold “Hal” Moroz, in his opening statements to the jury, Goodrich’s cell phone last “ping” in Wildwood, Florida. The big rig Palmer was driving for his company was outfitted with a GPS tracking device and showed that he stopped in Woodbine, Georgia, at an Exxon Truck Stop along I-95 at Exit 14 on October 7, 2022. His truck would remain there for 12 hours, and when he departed the location “alone.” Goodrich’s body was left along a private wooded path just behind the gas station. Her body was found on October 8, 2022, by a man walking his dog.
- WATCH: Trucker’s Girlfriend Murder Trial: Prosecution Opening Statement
- Danielle Snook, Palmer’s attorney, told jurors there was no evidence that Goodrich was murdered in Camden County, GA, and went further to say that there is no evidence that links her client to the crime.
- WATCH: Trucker’s Girlfriend Murder Trial: Defense Opening Statement
- Goodrich was found lying on her back wearing men’s black basketball shorts and a black tank top. She had been stabbed twice, once in her chest and once in her neck. There was no blood at the scene.
- “It’s like someone cleaned her body,” Sgt. Erica Rafferty, a Crime Scene Investigator Expert, said.
- It took investigators ten days before they were able to identify Goodrich.
- Following Goodrich’s death, one of her sons spoke with Palmer about his mother’s whereabouts. Palmer said, “Your mom is already home. I bought her a train ticket.” According to prosecutors, there is no record that Palmer purchased a train ticket for Goodrich to return home.
