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Murder suspect’s record shows pattern of violence
Nathan Summerfield (Fox 8 WJW-TV)
Summerfield, 27, a medical sleep technician from Ashland, Ohio, was arrested in August on a first-degree murder charge after Lynn Jackenheimer’s body was found off an isolated cul-de-sac in Frisco.
Police records show that in 2004, Summerfield put his fist through two windows when a previous estranged girlfriend threatened to call her parents after telling Summerfield to leave her house. He also kicked out the window of her car and was later charged with criminal damaging/endangering and criminal trespass.
Summerfield was then 18 years old.
The girl’s parents, Laura and Russell Stephens of Greenwich, Ohio, secured an order of protection to keep Summerfield away from their then- 16-year-old daughter, Kelly, according to reports provided by the Ashland County Sheriff’s Office. Over the next two years, Summerfield reportedly continued to call the parents and Kelly’s phone numbers, often hanging up when someone answered.
In May 2005, Laura Stephens told police that Summerfield was leaving messages, saying he planned to kill her husband. When police interviewed the family, Kelly acknowledged she had been secretly dating Summerfield since that January, but they had broken up again. Summerfield later admitted to police that he had driven around a parking lot looking for Kelly, and had had a “heated” conversation with her father.
He was arrested and charged with menacing the parents.
About two weeks later, police received a call from Stephens saying Kelly had run away. After investigating, police found that she was with Summerfield. He was arrested for violation of the protection order.
More calls were made to the Stephens family in late June and again in July and August, many of them hang-ups, according to police reports. But it is not clear whether there were any subsequent arrests.
In January 2008, Laura Stephens called police and reported that Summerfield was at a bar where she was located. When police arrived, he was told to leave.
Numerous attempts to reach the Stephenses and their daughter were unsuccessful, and their telephone numbers were unavailable.
Kelly Van Driest, formerly Kelly Stephens, is now married and a new mother, according to her Facebook page. The page includes links to several Facebook pages supporting Jackenheimer.
“I’m a feminist, no matter what others say,” she wrote on her MySpace page. “Women and men are still not treated equally . . . and I fight for the right that they should be!”
Lynn Jackenheimer.
“She thought that was working,” Johnson said. “She was trying to have a cordial relationship with him.”
In recent months, he was writing her letters saying he had changed in the three years they’d been apart. But Jackenheimer made sure that the vacation cottage they rented had separate bedrooms, Johnson said. She was not looking to rekindle any romance.
“Lynn hasn’t been with him since the last domestic violence,” she said. “She had a restraining order on him in 2009.”
According to a report from Ashland City Police, on Dec. 21 of that year, Jackenheimer called police to the house she had shared with Summerfield for two years, saying he had grabbed her by the throat and choked her. He then pushed her onto the kitchen table and pinned her down by her throat, pulling her to the floor and dragging her to the living room by her neck. He finally let go and left.
Jackenheimer told an officer that “Nathan is usually quiet and nice to her,” but in the previous months he’d “been on edge and blows up for the smallest things.” She said she thought he was using steroids.
In January, she said, he had pushed her out of the house when she was naked and locked the door because he thought she was cheating on him.
“Victim said she is scared of the defendant,” the report said. “She said, ‘It’s hard telling what he would do to me.’ ”
Summerfield was arrested and charged with domestic violence. According to news reports, he was convicted, but his 60-day sentence was suspended.
Since then, Johnson said, she and her husband Raymond didn’t trust Summerfield. Jackenheimer didn’t know anything about his past arrests until months into the relationship, she said.
“If you’re just running into him, not knowing the other side of him, he was just a quiet, shy guy,” Johnson said. “The other side? Very jealous, very controlling. Stalking.”
Jackenheimer also had some rough times with her ex-husband, Ciara’s father.
In 2003, Jackenheimer called police and reported that Matthew Sheppard had thrown clothes in her face and verbally assaulted her during a child visitation exchange. Sheppard told police they were throwing the items at each other. Police advised them to avoid confrontation, and no charges were filed.
Records show that police were called again in 2007 over a physical argument, but neither wanted to file charges.
Johnson said her daughter was a devoted mother. She thought the worst when Summerfield came back from North Carolina at the end of that week with the children and not Jackenheimer — “because she wouldn’t let her kids go home without her.”
That was when police — and later family and friends — began searching for Jackenheimer on Hatteras Island. Her body was found a week later.
Summerfield disappeared for nearly six weeks before authorities found him in a motel room not far from Ashland. He was indicted by a Dare County grand jury earlier this month and has not yet entered a plea.
Although she has a mild form of autism, Johnson said, Ciara has been able to talk about some details. While they were at the vacation house, she said that Summerfield kept telling her to go ask her mother if she loved him.
“For the most part, she only knows what happened after the fact,” Johnson said.
The night she was killed, Jackenheimer went ghost crab hunting on the beach with the children, then they went to bed. When Ciara woke up, her mother wasn’t there.
Summerfield told her that Jackenheimer had drank two bottles of wine and ran off to the ocean. He said he was going to take Leland with him to go look for their mother.
Johnson said that Summerfield had wanted to send Ciara back to Ohio on a plane or a bus, but she was too young. She now lives with the Johnsons, and Summerfield’s parents are challenging them for custody of Leland.
A lifelong resident of Ashland, Jackenheimer worked several jobs. Johnson said she was planning to go to school to become a radiologist.
By nature, she said, her daughter always tried to see the good in people. But she overestimated Summerfield.
“She just honestly didn’t think he was capable of going that far,” Johnson said. “She has a trusting heart — unfortunately.”
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Dina Anderson says:
Did you ask Kelly and her parents how they felt about you publishing this article? that is pretty rude that you invaded their privacy like that.
Steve Sheppard says:
I’m trying to figure out why my son’s name, Matt Sheppard, was even brought up in this article. I swear, no matter who the reporter is, they can never get the facts straight. First of all, Matt is not Lynn’s ex-husband. They were never married. Secondly, the 2007 assault was initiated by Lynn, and witnessed by her sister. Law enforcement asked Matt if he wanted to press charges, and he declined. I know, I was their! It’s no secret that Matt and Lynn could not get along over the years. I witnessed a lot of that conflict first hand. But the overiding factor was Ciara Rae, and they both loved that little girl more than you can imagine. But I do tend to get more than a little irritated when this reporter as well as others seek to lengthen their articles with ilk. Their past had no bearing on what was a horrific outcome to Lynn’s life. Nate’s past is the one who saw to that. Ms. Kozak, please don’t look for that Pulitzer any time soon.
Adam Van Driest says:
Nope, they weren’t courteous enough to ask my wife or my in-laws, you wanna know why? Because Ms. Kozak claims everything in this article is “public record” and if she didn’t report and write all of this then it would be sloppy journalism!
Dina Anderson says:
Agreed Mr. Sheppard! and I’m sure poor Kelly doesn’t need her name drug through the mud either! Have a little respect for others’ emotions and personal lives!
Becky says:
This is not journalism – First off, the article is horribly written. Most of it doesn’t even make sense. Secondly, just because court records are made public does not mean you have the right to drag other people into this. What happened years ago to some one else has nothing to do with the tragic loss of Lynn’s life. You disgust me. This article never should have been published. I think you should consider a career change.
Kayla says:
Anything to get a few readers… Like Kelly really wants to re-live this…We all know he’s a monster.
janice powell says:
ok…this has gone far enough..when you bring my innocent family into this it means war…this lady lives how many miles away and is talking about someone she knows nothing about…i never knew lynn but from what i hear she was a loving mother and a wonderful friend…i would appreciate it if this SO called reporter would leave my (Stephens) family alone…they have gone thru enough..this could have been their child…
Lora Johnson says:
I never said the Summerfields were challenging custody as I recall I said “I could not comment on that” I never talked about anybody other than Lynn! The rest was dug up somewhere else, not by me!
SoundMInd says:
This article really needed editing and fact checking before posting. The extraneous information about events that occurred ten years prior could have been summed up in one paragraph, (and without dragging all of the other people through the mud.) Reporters creeping on Facebook for fodder in a news article is distasteful.
Although this is an online publication-this piece really does not fit with its usual standard of writing. It reads like tabloid style gossip, or a high school writing assignment. It is very hard to follow. There is a lack of cohesive storytelling.
Please do not let the journalistic quality of this site deteriorate. Many people in this area depend on The Voice for hyper local news that is not available anywhere else. Thank You
Outer Banks Teach says:
Hack Alert
Where else was this piece of trash published?
Please remove this article! But I have copied it and I will be using it as an example of very very bad journalism for my students.
Hack writer is a colloquial and usually pejorative term used to refer to a writer who is paid to write low-quality, rushed articles or books “to order”, often with a short deadline. In a fiction-writing context, the term is used to describe writers who are paid to churn out sensational, lower-quality “pulp” fiction such as “true crime” novels or “bodice ripping” paperbacks. “hack writers” are usually paid by the number of words in their book or article; as a result, hack writing has a reputation for quantity taking precedence over quality (Content from Wikipedia)
Ashton says:
This was a great article, it gets you in the mind of that crazy guy who is currently on our beach. Our locals and friends and family of Lynn searched and searched for her. To everyone saying comments above about names being dropped in this “sloppy journalism” research PUBLIC infomration yourself and realize that this was a great article by a journalist on the Outer Banks and far from sloppy. Good work Outerbanksvoice for keeping everyone up to date with what is going on.
Kelly Van Driest says:
Great article?! This woman basically stalked me! She tried to contact me through my husband’s cousin, because she found his name on facebook and found his phone number! That is NOT numerous attempts to contact me!!! That is one attempt!!!!!!! And he didn’t contact me because he knew it is something that should be LEFT ALONE. I spoke with Ms. Kozack and asked her if she would consider deleting or re-writing the article so she could get the FACTS straight with me and she refused. So before anyone thinks this is a GREAT article maybe you should move to Ashland County and meet me or Mr. Sheppard and make your own opinion or hear our stories first!!!!!!!!!
Kelly Van Driest says:
And for the record, I don’t care if she has my PUBLIC records, look at them all you want!!! But do NOT bring up the fact that I am a new mother and steal MY QUOTES. This is terrible behavior. Makes me sick.
Lori Lang says:
Awful portrayal of journalism.
Kelly Van Driest says:
My husband was not saying this was sloppy journalism, when I asked Ms. Kozack to remove mine and Mr. Sheppards name, since she is so far the only journalist to use my name, she refused because she said that it would be sloppy journalism if she didn’t mention us. However, this is a very sloppy article….most agree.
Fifi says:
Revealing personal information about an individuals life – recently married, new child, etc… is simply tacky.
The fact that the information was trolled from this individuals Facebook page is even more disconcerting.
People – put your FB page on lock down. Set all to private.
You never know when an opportunistic journalist will creep around your site and share personal details of your life with complete strangers.
Ms. Van Dreist, I (as I’m sure many others) was completely appalled by Ms. Kozak’s insensitivity.
My condolences to Ms. Jackenheimer’s family.
Observer says:
If you have to take out a restraining order on someone you shouldn’t go on vacation with them! This beautiful young mom would be alive today if she had “restrained” herself from communicating from this monster. If you have a restraining order you shouldnt even let your kids see the person.
Sue says:
What a mixed up, muddled up, shook up, trashy mess. I won’t be reading anything more about any of these people ever again, ever. Umph.
OBXer Ohio Native says:
There is no disputing that this article is not well written. The methods used to obtain the irrelevant information are appalling. People can contact the sites management in regard to the integrity of the OBV. This article amounts to salacious gossip and innuendo, half truths and does not belong in a site dedicated to local news.
Laura Stephens says:
This article is revolting. Putting my daughter’s personal information in this article is appalling (she was a juvenile at the time). We had reporters call us and ask for an interview, and we told them at this time “No Comment” and they respected that.
What happened years ago to us have nothing to do with the heartbreaking loss that the Johnson and Jackenheimer family have suffered.
About two weeks later, police received a call from Stephens saying Kelly had run away. This is not true at all! I called the police and said my daughter was MISSING.
Very poor and repulsive journalism.
beachlivin' says:
Im with the family and frinds of Lynn. This artice should never have seen the light of day. The author should be ashamed and apologize to every person mentioned in this artice. SHAME ON YOU!! Obviously you had nothing to report, so you went diving in the dumpster.
Missy Butts says:
This article is horrible!!!! I can’t believe that you can publish something that happended to someone when she was 16 years old!!! That is considered a minor in Ohio and should NOT have been public record. In fact I know Kelly and her family and DID NOT know that happended to them – but now do thanks to your CRAPPY article!!!! They are a wonderful family and she is a GREAT MOTHER!!!! You should be ASHAMED Ms. Kozak – her personal life recently married, new child is not your journalism BUSINESS!!!!
Tori Mullet says:
I love the OBX! My family has been there a couple of times. I am from Ashland, Ohio! I very surprised by this article, and surprised that the Voice would allow her to publish this article. I think out of respect for all the families involved, this article be removed, and a public apology be made. Shame on the “Voice” for employing such heartless, insensitive, and obviously ignorant people. I expect better from the Outer Banks.
surprised says:
“OBV” usually does an outstanding job however they did make a mistake in their choice to publish this article. Please don’t make assumptions about the Outer Banks based on one misguided article.
Oh Wow says:
This article makes me humiliated to live on the Outer Banks. I really hope my friends and family in other parts of the world do not happen upon this article and assume that we Bankers consider this reputable journalism. Sam? Russ? You guys know better, I know. <3
objective says:
Lots of negative comments here, but not sure most aren’t missing the point. The article is about Summerfield’s history of violence toward women. I think the article is well written and the information it contains strikes me as basic background reporting that is commonplace in serious criminal cases. Hopefully justice will be served in this case and the Voice will keep us updated throughout the proceedings
C. Bruce says:
I’m a native of NC but currrently reside in Portage county, OH (long story, don’t ask). While many comments have been made regarding the sloppy journalism, I would submit that anything in the public record or within the public domain is legally “fair game” to an enterprising journalist. While some of the information contained in the article may be disturbing to the families, I would simply state…if you don’t want it published, don’t put it on the internet…Facebook and privacy are mutually exclusive terms. Think about what you throw out there.
wow says:
Terrible attempt at “basic background reporting”…I am a Roanoke Island native and feel this type of article could do more harm for the reputation of the Voice than good. Very disappointed that this piece has not been removed yet!!
Kelly Van Driest says:
If this is about his history of domestic violence then it shouldn’t be written in an article that I’m new mother and recently married. And Matt and Lynn’s relationship has NOTHING to do with Nate. There’s no getting around that this article should be deleted…
OBXIslander says:
Thank You for publishing this story. More young vulnerable women need to realize that their lives can also come to a violent end if dating, living with or marrying men like Summerfield. For the others writing, I don’t care what your name is, but I AM interested in the fact that he had assaulted and stalked others prior to Ms Jackenheimer. It shows a dangerous pattern. The story is NOT about you! You were lucky. It’s a cautionary tale for others. Deepest sympathies to Lynn’s children and family.
OBXNATIVE says:
Honestly, this has been thrown out of porportion on so many different levels. Sitting here reading all of your comments… its a PUBLIC site. Sorry for you if you were brought up in something. Are you going to piss and moan if a news cast stretches the truth about a story? It happens to everyone all the time, that how they come up with this stuff. Life would be boring if not. Sorry you had to be the subject of the story, it could be someone else next time. This story was national and I am sure other people have came up with more worse things to say about you people and I am 99.9% sure you are not going to track every single one down and complain. Hate to sound rude but get over it. So the facts were tweaked…like any other national story.
P.S. Stay out of OBX… Thanks
Oh Wow says:
OBXNATIVE,
Your comment was needlessly rude. I wish you would use a different user name. I don’t want to be in the same category as you. Your comment makes you seem like a bad person.
Sue says:
OBXNATIVE, I’ll bet your tune would change if OBX natives’ dirty laundry got aired this openly and in this much unnecessary detail. You know there’s plenty of juicy, tabloid type trash material amongst some of the good ole Outer Banker folks. Wouldn’t you rather see quality journalism, and not just National Enquirer fodder?
OBXNATIVE says:
It would not bother me either way, Sue. Whether it is someone local or a tourist… same opinion. It is what it is. and Oh Wow… I am not a bad person… just tired of reading people complain about how this article is soo horrible. People stretch the truth whether it is local or national, it is just something that reporters do. It sucks that this family had a tradegy and it was written about but thats everywhere and you just happen to be the subject this time, next time maybe it will be someone local. Just get over the fact that it was written and Catherine should not have to take down her article because people do not like it or the facts are not COMPLETLY accurate… welcome to the news.
Oh Wow says:
It says a lot that you are content with inaccurate facts. You’ve more than made your point.
oh my says:
This article is redicuolous, along with many others that I have seen. This is proof that the media blows everything way out of proportion – they lie, and add whatever they want to the story just to catch your interest. Its not about the truth, its about what sells. My heart goes out to the families that were portrayed in a negative way in this article. Also, to the family of Lynn. I didnt know Lynn, But I do know Nate. And from what I know of him, he is far from a monster. Sure, he may have issues, he may have made mistakes, but we all have. Who are we to judge anyone? Im not saying he is guilty or that he is innocent- thats for a jury to decide – But what happened to innocent until proven guilty??? Which, btw, he has not been convicted yet. Regardless, I believe that there is more to the story than just what the media portrays. Nathan is a very intelligent, loving, caring individual that has unconditional love for his son. Im posting this because I know that Nathan Is NOT a MONSTER! And wether he is found guilty or innocent – he will still have friends and family that care about him very much.