A Fort Myers street returned to calm Wednesday after a dramatic scene unfolded the night before, when FBI agents, bomb squads, and local detectives surrounded a home in the normally quiet neighborhood of Harbor Drive.
Neighbors were left shaken and questioning how they could have lived next door to a man with such a dangerous past.
Investigators say Jesse Korff, a convicted felon known for his role in a 2014 international murder plot involving illegal poisons sold online, was living in a rented unit of a duplex when he allegedly held a woman hostage. According to police, the woman’s father called 911, reporting that someone was trying to kill his daughter.
When officers arrived, Korff reportedly claimed he had explosives.
Jenny Schimelpfenig, who co-owns the property with her husband Steve, said they had no idea what was happening until a neighbor called from across the canal.
“Our neighbor across the canal called and let my husband know,” she said. “The SWAT team was there. We knew nothing until he called us.”
The couple, who live in Illinois, had hired a property manager to oversee the rental and said they never conducted a criminal background check on Korff.
“I only met him once,” Schimelpfenig said. “My husband’s met him a few times. We told the property manager to rent it to whoever would live in it with the damage.”
Schimelpfenig said both units of the home had sustained hurricane damage and that her husband had remodeled it twice. Just weeks ago, they told Korff he would have to leave.
Korff was reportedly out on supervised release at the time of the incident. The arrest has raised concerns about the monitoring of high-risk individuals.
Dr. David Thomas, a professor of forensic studies at Florida Gulf Coast University, said Korff’s release is troubling.
"That to me means that he is an absolute, bona fide threat and he is subversive,” Thomas said.
He explained that while law enforcement has the authority to search the homes of individuals on supervised release, limited resources often mean many slip through the cracks.
“There’s not enough for them to go around,” Thomas said.
Korff now faces federal charges for possessing firearms as a convicted felon. His first court appearance, originally scheduled for Tuesday, was canceled.
Gulf Coast News will continue to follow this developing story.