ABC News' '20/20' to air true-crime episode on Sabrina Limon case
Apr. 7—The case of Sabrina Limon, whose murder trial attracted national audiences as sordid details about her life unfolded, is the subject of an episode on ABC News' "20/20," a true-crime mystery show and will air Friday.
Limon was convicted in 2017 of murdering her husband, Robert Limon, during a trial in which salacious details such as a swinging lifestyle, alleged arsenic-laced banana pudding and biblical passages to justify her husband's murder all were discussed. Jonathan Hearn — who was having an affair with Sabrina Limon — accepted a plea deal to testify against Sabrina and said he killed Robert Limon in 2014 at a Tehachapi rail yard after planning his death with Sabrina.
"How often do you get a murder like that?" former Californian reporter Harold Pierce said during a phone interview Thursday. Pierce was interviewed in the two-hour episode, titled "Unholy Matrimony," and covered the verdict, as well as portions of the trial in Kern County Superior Court.
Joseph Rhee, a senior producer on "Unholy Matrimony," explained the show takes a deeper look at the human and psychological aspects of this story. They filmed in Mohave, Ariz., where Robert Limon went to high school and spoke to his football coach, Don Morse, Rhee wrote in an email. Morse talked about how Robert Limon sold burritos to railroad workers to make extra money.
Also interviewed in the show are people close to Sabrina and Robert Limon, Hearn's close childhood friend, attorneys and Kern County sheriff's deputies who investigated this case.
"Our program shows how the repercussions from (Robert Limon's) murder continues to impact people to this day," Rhee wrote. "We interviewed friends and family members close to both (Robert Limon) and Sabrina, and their feelings about the case are as strong as they were when Sabrina was convicted."
In a clip shared with The Californian, "20/20" contributing anchor Deborah Roberts, with former KCSO detective Darin Grantham, visit a Tehachapi warehouse used by the BNSF railway company, which is where Robert Limon was killed while working. Crime scene photos are shown, and detectives begin to explain how Robert Limon was found.
Offices inside the warehouse were ransacked, Grantham said in the video. It looked like someone had staged the destruction inside, he added.
The episode will also feature an interview with appellate attorney Valerie Wass, who represents Limon. The California Supreme Court declined to hear Limon's case last year.
Defense attorney and private investigator Richard Terry, who represented Limon in Kern County, told The Californian his client is innocent of murder. She was a very nice person who got caught up in a bad situation — Terry said he feels bad for her kids and family.
"I felt that it was somewhat of a miscarriage of justice," Terry said Thursday.
Chief Trial Deputy Eric Smith didn't respond to a request for comment. He prosecuted Sabrina Limon.
"The cold-blooded killer" — referring to Hearn, who admitted to gunning down Limon — was offered a deal and will get out of prison in a few years, Terry said. Hearn was sentenced to 25 years and four months in prison, and is eligible for parole in November 2028, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Limon, on the other hand, was sentenced to a 25 years to life sentence, Terry said. She's eligible for parole in 2033, according to the CDCR.
"Where's the justice in that?" Terry said.
You can reach Ishani Desai at 661-395-7417. You can also follow her at @_ishanidesai on Twitter.
