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Dateline NBC featured an episode titled Double Lives on March 31, 2017. It mainly centered on the disappearance and murder of Paige Birgfeld, a mother of three from Colorado.
The Dateline episode explored her intricate personal life, particularly her secret work as an escort, and highlighted the impact of this revelation on the investigation of her disappearance. The episode helped the public understand Birgfeld’s story by tying together years of investigation, interviews, and evidence collected by police and journalists.
In Double Lives, Dateline narrated the complete story of the case. It traced Birgfeld’s life from a suburban mom to the startling revelation of her concealed employment. Furthermore, the show identified several suspects connected to her secret world.
Moreover, the episode detailed the efforts of the police, the perspectives of her relatives, and the tumultuous events of the case, including horrifying details of her abduction. It also covered the arrest and conviction of Lester Jones, who was found guilty of her murder.
The audience was presented with fresh interviews, original field reporting, and expert analysis. Dateline focused on the bitter truth of Birgfeld’s double life and the court’s extended struggle for justice.
Dateline: Who was Paige Birgfeld, and what happened to her?
Paige Birgfeld, a 34-year-old mother, was living in Grand Junction, Colorado. She had divorced twice and was simultaneously raising three children while working multiple jobs to support her family. To her friends and family, she appeared to be a loving mother and an ordinary woman managing life’s challenges.
However, Paige was leading a double life. In addition to her daytime jobs, she secretly worked as an escort under the name “Carrie” at a private company called Models Inc. This astonishing secret only came to light after her disappearance, which was initially reported by her 8-year-old daughter in June 2007.
Even her closest family and friends were unaware of her secret life. Her escorting work included stripping, dancing, and role-playing for clients who paid significant amounts of money. This was the complete opposite of the image of a devoted mother known to those around her. According to Dateline, police concluded that her disappearance was linked to this covert aspect of her life.
Paige Birgfeld was reported missing after spending a day with her first husband, leaving her children with their nanny. When she did not return home, her family and friends became concerned. The Mesa County Sheriff’s Office was notified by her 8-year-old daughter, prompting a police investigation.
On July 1, 2007, Paige’s red Ford Focus was discovered in a parking lot. The vehicle was empty, and Paige was missing, raising police concerns that she might be in danger.
The investigation quickly expanded, uncovering Paige’s secret employment as an escort. This revelation directed authorities toward several potential suspects, including her two former husbands and some of her clients. Among them, Lester Ralph Jones, a former client with a history of violence, drew the most attention from investigators.
Lester Ralph Jones was detained in November 2014, over seven years after Paige’s disappearance, according to Dateline. Investigators found crucial evidence linking him to the crime. His scent was detected in Paige’s burned-out vehicle, and a gas can was found near his workplace, suggesting he had set the car ablaze.
Additionally, video footage captured his wife’s vehicle near Paige’s workplace on the day she went missing. Although Jones denied any involvement, circumstantial evidence pointed toward him.
Other evidence was found near the road where Paige was abducted, indicating a struggle and that she had attempted to escape. Duct tape found with her body suggested she had been kidnapped and subsequently killed. Dateline reported that Jones’s motive was connected to his violent history and his relationship with Paige, making him the primary perpetrator.
Lester Jones faced two trials. The first trial ended without a verdict, and a second trial was conducted at the end of 2016. During this trial, the prosecution relied heavily on timelines and location evidence, using phone records and surveillance footage to demonstrate that Jones had been at key locations on the day Paige disappeared.
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The jury took four days to reach a unanimous decision. Jones was convicted of first-degree murder, felony murder, second-degree murder, and kidnapping in connection with Paige Birgfeld’s death.
According to Dateline, the judge sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole, the maximum punishment in Colorado for these crimes. Even after his conviction, Jones has continued to file appeals, claiming there is no direct physical evidence linking him to the crime scene and requesting that his kidnapping sentence be merged with the felony murder sentence.
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