Summerfield makes first Dare court appearance

Quietly answering questions from a judge, Nathan Summerfield made his first Dare County court appearance Tuesday on a charge of first-degree murder.

District Court Judge Edgar Barnes informed Summerfield of his rights and asked if he understood the charge — that he had killed Lynn Jackenheimer with “malice and forethought” on or about July 4.

Summerfield, clean-shaven of the beard he wore when arrested last week, said he understood.

Barnes then asked him how long he had been unemployed. The 27 year old replied, “About a month.” He acknowledged that he needed a court-appointed lawyer and was represented Tuesday by Public Defender R. Andrew Womble.

The hearing, about 10 minutes long, had been moved to an adjacent courtroom because more than 200 cases were on the docket for District Court, which is usually crowded with defendants on minor charges and traffic offenses.

Other than deputies, court officials and reporters, few attended the hearing. Among them were the family of Tiffany Caley of Ashland County, who said she had come to the Outer Banks to see where the crime had taken place.

She said she didn’t know the victim’s family before her death, but the slaying had united the community.

“This has actually brought me very close to the family,” she said.

Caley said she laid flowers and wind chimes at end of the Frisco cul-de-sac where Jackenheimer’s body was found in a plastic bag July 14, 10 days after the murder. Jackenheimer had been strangled and stabbed, an autopsy later determined.

Caley’s husband, William, wore a T-shirt that said, “Justice for Lynn.” He said he had know of Jackenheimer from a hangout high schoolers frequented and later from the Beer Barrel, where the 33-year-old mother of two worked.

A poster created when Summerfield was still a fugitive covered their pickup’s tailgate. Scrawled across it in magic marker was “Captured.”

Summerfield, Jackenheimer and her two children were vacationing in Salvo the week of July 4 when she disappeared.

Summerfield and Jackenheimer had an on-again, off-again relationship that reportedly included charges against him related to domestic violence.

Caley said she planned to attend a conference on domestic violence in Avon Sunday. The flowers she left near a cross at the cul-de-sac were purple, a symbol of domestic violence awareness.

Summerfield was arrested at a motel in Wadsworth, Ohio, about 30 minutes north of Ashland, according to the U.S. Marshal Service.

Assistant District Attorney Nancy Lamb said the case would be presented to a grand jury Sept. 10. That will be followed by a probably cause hearing Sept. 28.

Summerfield is being held in the Dare County Detention Center without bond.

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