Jennifer Emmi: Colorado Animals Rights Lawyer Accused of Murder-for-Hire Plot

Jennifer Emmi, also known as Jennifer Edwards, is an animal rights attorney in Evergreen, Colorado who was arrested after police say she tried to hire a hitman to kill her husband’s new girlfriend.

Emmi was the face of the Animal Law Center, which advocated for animals and spread awareness through social media and a Facebook show. She also owns a ranch, which provides animal therapy and is home to a range of animals including baby water buffalo.

Here’s what you need to know:

1. Emmi Is Accused of Trying to Hire a Former Sniper & a Ranch Hand to Kill Her Family’s Au Pair

After Emmi’s estranged husband began a relationship with a new girlfriend, the family’s au pair, police said she plotted to have the woman killed. She was charged with solicitation of first-degree murder, two counts of retaliating against a witness or victim and three counts of stalking, according to her jail record. Emmi was arrested in late January, and an affidavit was filed January 25 by the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, the Denver Post reported.

Investigators conducted a six-month investigation leading up to the murder-for-hire arrest. They allege the arrest followed a year of stalking, threats and harassment, the Post reported.

Emmi’s bail is set at $3 million, and she can only be released if she posts it herself, her jail record says. Her next court appearance is scheduled for 8 a.m. February 26, 2021.

Here is her jail record:

Jefferson County Sheriff\’s OfficeJennifer Emmi’s jail record

Emmi is 43. Her full name is Jennifer Reba Emmi.

2. Emmi Heads a Legal Firm for ‘Animals & Their People,’ One of Few Law Firms to Practice Animal Law Full Time

Emmi, who used the name Edwards in her law firm, provided “legal services for animals and their people,” the Animal Law Center Facebook page says.

“Our Mission: The Animal Law Center (ALC) provides an array of legal services for animal owners and guardians. We are the only full-time Colorado law firm dedicated to animal law,” the page says.

Articles are frequently shared on the page, which includes articles about international animal rights problems, memes, posts from other animal groups and articles about medical issues like the story of Biscuits and Gravy, a two-faced kitten. A video posted on Facebook shows her leading two goats through a barn to a stall.

“Jennifer Edwards is the animal whisperer!” the caption says.

Emmi’s personal Facebook page has few public posts, nearly all of which are fundraisers for animals.

The website and domain for the Animal Law Center is no longer active. A GoDaddy message on the webpage says that the domain expired.

“Welcome to the Animal Law Center. A dog ate our website but we are still here. Call Jen Edwards,” the search results for the webpage said, followed by a phone number.

3. Emmi Claimed She Was ‘Set Up’ in a Recent Jailhouse Interview

Emmi Agreed to an interview from inside the Jefferson County Detention Facility in which she told Fox31 she did not want to hurt anyone and that she was “set up.” She denied the allegations that led to her arrest.

“I was set up, and I have been repeatedly set up. All I can say is I want the truth to come out,” she said. “The whole thing is crazy. I don’t want to hurt anyone.”

She further said “things happened, but not anything that’s in the report.”

Emmi blamed that on steroids she says she was taking for health conditions. She told Fox31 her marriage unraveled, she suffered a brain bleed and was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

“I was struggling with the autoimmune and I said and did things that I can’t believe came out of my mouth, because of the steroids,” she said.

She is facing 16 felonies in five different cases, including charges of child abuse and retaliating against witnesses.

“I’ve always fought for the underdog and now I’m the underdog. That’s what this boils down to,” she said. “I really do feel like I’m in some kind of nightmare TV show. This whole thing has just been a ridiculous course of events.”

4. The Mission of the Animal Law Center Was to Raise the Legal Status of Animals Higher Than Property

The Animal Law Center’s LinkedIn page says they aim to “advance the legal status of animals in alignment with mainstream American views.”

“As the law stands in many states, a pet is worth only its market value and a person is no more liable for causing your emotional suffering by killing your companion animal than he is by cutting the power cord to your television. ALC has changed this in many Colorado cases to have animals recognized as members of the family having intrinsic value to their family,” the page says.

The headquarters are listed in Avarda, Colorado and the LinkedIn page says the Animal Law Center has between two and 10 employees. The law firm’s specialties are “animal control issues, bites & attacks, custody disputes, equine & livestock issues, product liability, service animals, veterinary hospitals, and landlord-tenant disputes,” the LinkedIn page says.

5. Emmi Also Founded 14 Hands Ranch to Provide Animal Therapy to Seniors, Veterans & Others

Emmi also turned her ranch into a non-profit organization to provide animal therapy, which included therapy for veterans and seniors. The 14 Hands Ranch Facebook page includes a video showing a visit to an area senior center, and she shared descriptions of the therapeutic effects of horseback riding on veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder.

The ranch is home to animals including water buffalo, goats, pigs, horses, sheep and cattle. Her LinkedIn page says she founded the ranch in August 2018.

“Just southwest of Denver, in a bucolic setting is a wonderous ranch filled with opportunity and hope utilizing the human-animal bond,” the Facebook page says.

Emmi has one recommendation on her LinkedIn page, which describes her as an attorney who fights tenaciously for abused pets.

“Jennifer is such an unabashed lover of animals that she devotes her life and the law firm she founded to speaking for the abused animals in courtrooms,” the recommendation says. “She’s an impressive attorney.”

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