Two people from Iowa got harsh jail terms for kidnapping and tying up his ex-girlfriend, then slashing her throat and running her over several times with a car in an attempt to stop a previous domestic violence case from going forward.
Jordan Blake Mangum, 42, was given a prison term of up to 45 years on Friday. He will have to serve more than 22 years before he can be released on parole. Jessie Ann Marie Wheeler, 36, who was also charged with him, got a 35-year jail sentence and has to serve more than 17 years before she can get parole.
Mangum pleaded guilty to attempted murder, third-degree kidnapping, attack with a dangerous weapon, and domestic abuse in Alford last month. A person who makes an Alford plea doesn’t say they are guilty, but they do agree that there is enough evidence to convict them. Wheeler admitted that he tried to kill someone and took their child.
In a news release, the Polk County Attorney’s Office said that the crime happened on December 2, 2023, when Mangum and Wheeler broke into Luna Cox’s home in Des Moines. They used duct tape to hold her hands together and then threw her into a car and drove her to Mangum’s house. They then took Cox to another place and slashed her throat, choked her, and ran over her several times with the van.
Mangum took Cox to the hospital after she begged for her life.
Prosecutors say Mangum had been jailed about two weeks ago for assaulting Cox. They tried to get the victim to drop the domestic violence case by going to her house the day before the theft, the victim said. When she said no, the attacks got worse.
Cox lived through the attack and spoke at the sentence of her attackers. She said that during their more than 10 years together, Mangum had hurt her physically, mentally, and emotionally. Cox said that what she went through was “not love, but control dressed up as care.”
She also talked about how she was getting better:
The road to recovery has rarely been simple for me. There are moments when feelings like anger and sadness become overwhelming. Even so, this journey has reignited my determination — not to allow anyone else to define who I am or diminish my dignity. By engaging in therapy, reaching out to supportive people, and trusting my own intuition, I am focusing not just on safety, but also on building a life filled with genuine happiness.
Now, as I stand here, I know that telling this truth out loud is the bravest act I will ever perform. Speaking these words, I am not only asking for justice — I am reclaiming my voice.
Mangum said he was sorry for what he did, but he was having trouble finding the right words.
It was done for him by Judge Joseph Seidlin.
A court report from the Des Moines Register says he said, “What you, Mr. Mangum, did to the mother of your child was that you kidnapped her, beat her up, and tried to kill her.” “Those are words that are readily available in our language to acknowledge.”
He said he would hurt her again, and Wheeler accused Mangum for everything. She is said to have said that they only “jokingly” talked about the theft before it happened.
Even Seidlin didn’t think Wheeler’s answer was very good.
“This was grotesque from start to finish, and you had the ability to stop this at any point in time, and you didn’t,” he told the Register.
Cox is said to be raising her 6-year-old son with Mangum by herself while going to school to become an accountant.
