The Last Call: Inside the Killing of Jordan Wheeler

0:00 [MUSIC] Jordan Wheeler did everything they tell you to do when a marriage turns dangerous. She left, she filed, she started building a new life for herself, then her son called, scared, and she drove back through that door one more time. [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] Jordan Wheeler had already done the hard part.

0:56 She left, she filed for divorce two months before any of this happened, and she moved in with her sister. And if you know anything about walking away from a marriage that's falling apart, you know that's the scary part, that's the part that everybody tells you to just survive it. And she survived it. Then on October 19th, 2023, one of her sons called her. He was scared. Steven, her estranged husband, had been drinking, and he'd thrown an iPad across the room and it hit one of the boys in the back. And the kids were home with him at the house in Clinton Township, Michigan, and they wanted their mom. Even the kids knew that a grown man throwing something and hitting one of his own kids was a warning sign.

1:37 And it's the reason a scared kid ended up on the phone with his mother in the first place. So Jordan drove over. And that decision seems like a no-brainer. Of course, you would drive over to your estranged husband's house when your kid calls and says that they feel like they're in danger. A mother gets a call that her kids are scared and she gets in the car. Jordan had three kids total, Colton, Carson, and Kinsey. And her family described her afterward as the "mama of all mamas." When she got there, things were already bad. Steven was yelling. The kids were terrified. And Jordan called 911 to report that he'd assaulted her. She stayed on the phone with that dispatcher while she tried to get her boys out of the house.

2:21 Her son's ran. They got out seconds before the gunfire started and sprinted toward neighbor's house. And their mother was still on that call when it happened. Steven shot her five times in the head. My child called me crying that his dad threw his tablet at him so I was coming to get him. And then he was here on me. Okay. Okay. Can you get out of the home with him? I am trying to get my kid stopped so I can get out of here. Okay. You're ready for bed so they're trying to get dressed and get their stuff first. Because they need medical attention, ma'am. No. Get out of my house. Okay.

3:01 Can you wait in your vehicle? Are you arriving? I can't get out of my house. I also believe that he's been drinking so. Okay. What did he do to you? He grabbed me and tried to push me out of the house. What's your name? Heather. I'm video. Jordan. Tyler. Jordan. Yes. He said he has been drinking. I believe so. Anybody have any weapons? Yes. Yes, yes. Where is the gun? Somewhere in the house, probably in the bedroom.

3:42 But it's not being used or threatened in that way. go ahead.. go ahead.. come on Ana.. eeler? he is a beau? hello what's going on? I found it in the fucking head I found it in the fucking head I found it in the fucking head I found it in the fucking head I found it in the fucking head eeler?

4:45 what's going on? I found it in the fucking head the vet's here, 60 car, via the house, male hats on the phone now saying he shot the female dog the special no longer here, the female background there was no mystery for investigators to solve here they had a 911 recording capturing an assault as it happened they had a husband still standing in the house when officers arrived they had two child witnesses who just watched the worst night of their lives from a dead sprint across the front yard the jury's whole job was deciding whether Steven's versions of that night could survive the evidence sitting in front of them and once they heard that 911 call that version didn't hold up long there's audio that you just heard from right after the shooting where you can hear Steven's own voice say I shot you in the head he said that out loud standing next to a phone line that was still connected this is a man who served in the National Guard and worked professionally as a private investigator someone whose whole job was watching people documenting details and staying a step ahead and he apparently gave zero thought to the fact that there was a live phone right there still sitting six feet away from him you'd think a private investigator of the entire population on earth would understand how recordings work I guess not he also did not run officers found him still standing at the house when they showed up researchers who studied domestic homicide describe this pattern often

6:17 a person who was never planning to keep on going once the act itself was finished because the killing was the whole plan start to finish there's nothing left afterward to strategize toward their oldest son testified a trial he was nine room full of strangers and described hearing the shots and seeing the flashes after he and his little brother made it outside and then he talked about his dad drinking that night and yelling and being rough with him before any of it kicked off nine years old is too young to be a witness on a stand he did it anyway because somebody had to say what happened in that house and the only people who really knew were the children Steven Wheeler was 31 Jordan was 33 the trial ran six days in McComb County and the judge didn't settle on a lesser charge they convicted him a first degree premeditated murder and that word premeditated is the real story here that piece turns this from a fight into an execution Jordan was unarmed she was on the phone asking for help Steven had real time enough to walk away from a fight and he used it to go get a gun and come back with it that was a choice made in stages with room to stop at every single one of those stages he fired five shots into the head of the woman that he used to be married to while her sons were running for their lives outside he was sentenced in February of 2025 to life without parole plus a mandatory extra two years tacked on for the fire arm charge

7:49 that extra time barely registered next to a life sentence the law still adds it in anyway because that's how the paperwork works during deliberations they asked to hear the 9-1-1 call again they also asked for a video Jordan had recorded of herself approaching the house that night and for the paperwork tied to the custody of the kids the jury was piecing together who this couple was to each other who felt like they owned that house who felt entitled to control what happened inside it and whether Jordan had reason to be afraid walking through her own front door she absolutely did Michigan signed a new law in May of 2023 letting family members, co-parents or police request an emergency removal of someone's guns if that person looked dangerous it's called an extreme risk protection order that law didn't actually take effect until February of 2024 Jordan was killed in October of 2023 four months before that tool existed anywhere in the state now I'm not going to sit here and promise you that that law could have saved her or would have saved her because no one can promise that or see the future like that and I don't trust the crime shows that pretend that they can what I can tell you is that Michigan recorded at least 59 domestic violence homicides in 2022 alone and 58% of those involved fire arm Jordan's case sits right inside that pattern that new law that one that came four months too late for her lets us spouse a co-parent or even a police officer petitioned court

9:22 to remove someone's firearms temporarily if that person shows signs of danger things like threats, a history of violence or heavy drinking layered on top of an already volatile home every one of those factors was evident and present in that house that night in October the public record in this case is pretty thin on a few important places there's no documented mental illness no insanity defense no childhood history of anyone's laid out publicly what witnesses did say is that Stephen had been drinking that night pouring alcohol from a jar into a cup before things escalated and after his arrest he admitted to killing Jordan and made statements about wanting to die himself strip away the address in Clinton Township and the specific names in this case and you're left with something researchers who study intimate partner violence will tell you it shows up again and again a woman leaves the relationship is legally ending but still tangled through the kids and a shared house and a court calendar and the man on the other end of that tangled decides that if he can't control it anymore no one gets to have it news of this case spread past Clinton Township fast a mother shot while she was on the phone with 9-1-1 her kids sprinting for a neighbor's yard and it was absorbed the way that most of these cases are absorbed as proof that the most dangerous room for a woman in a bad relationship is often her own living room a family friend later started a fun for the kids education

10:55 and this case is still going on by the way as of this year the case is still working through appeals in Michigan with motions filed back and forth with no final word yet either way Jordan Wheeler left she filed she built a plan and she followed it right up until the moments her kids needed her back inside that house the 9-1-1 call is still sitting in a court file somewhere in McComb County and it ends the same way her life did mid-sentence thanks for listening to 10-minute murder binge-able true crime stories I'm Joe I'm the host and here's an email subject third times a charm hey Joe hope you're doing great just want to say how much I love your podcast your webpage your newsletter love it all I love your voice so calming but warning and angry but caring all at the same time my absolute favorite thing about you is that you legit say thank you at the end of every show most shows I feel I become arrogant and don't care about the listeners like that anymore one question you probably answered I'm so sorry if you have if you have kids have you become extremely wary of everyone everywhere all the time I feel like I'm always so observant of everyone and everything around my kids at all times like maybe more than normal LOL they know I'm always watching well thank you for making me happy every time you put out anything I've emailed you twice before but you never read them or replied maybe you read them but just didn't reply sorry ADHD I just hope you read this one

12:26 your number one stalker shy BTW I'm not actually stalking you please don't sue me shy thanks for the emails and I I won't sue you probably but I reserve the ride in the future and yeah I get as you can imagine hundreds of emails to this show all the time and I do my best to respond to every single one that I can but you can imagine with the volume that I get I can always do that I do try to read them all though and do some slip through the cracks I'm sure they do I try not to let that happen but I'm sure it does and to answer your actual question yes I do have a kid well he's a grown up kid now he's college age but I have been kind of a helicopter parent when he was younger I was very aware of his surroundings who was allowed to be in his presence who was maybe looking too long at the grocery store always focused on his safety and maybe that's normal maybe that's not normal I don't know but he's the only one I've got so I just I've been overprotective or the right amount of protective I don't know in my opinion if you are keeping them safe you're watching where they're going who they're seeing and they're still having fun in life and doing things that they enjoy that's all you can really ask for try again thank you for the email thank you for listening to the podcast hey if you're a brand new listeners to this podcast you're listening to me right now for the very first time do me a huge favor subscribe wherever you're listening you can also go to 10minutemurder.com

13:57 find more places to listen also follow the show on social media you'll find links there at the website as well you OG listeners like shy borderline stalking keep doing what you're doing sharing the show with your friends and your family rating at five stars wherever that's possible and suggesting cases for me to talk about here on this podcast that's gonna do it that's your episode for today thanks again for listening to 10minute murder see you next time