ELIZABETHTOWN, Ky. (Court TV) — An Army NCO is standing trial on charges he murdered his wife, who was also a ranking officer in the military.
Jordan Henning sits in court on the first day of his murder trial, March 12, 2025. (Court TV)
Jordan Henning is accused of murdering Sgt. 1st Class Ashley Henning in their home on June 26, 2023. That day was Ashley’s birthday, and the couple had hosted some friends at home to celebrate.
Prosecutors say that when the party ended and the friends went home, Jordan flew into a rage and began screaming and yelling at his wife and berating her children. One of Ashley’s sons ran to a neighbor’s house for help, but prosecutors say when the neighbor arrived to try to calm the situation, Jordan threatened them.
In their opening statements, prosecutors said surveillance video inside the home shows Jordan shooting his wife as she was pleading with him to put the gun down, then reload and shoot her again before spitting on her body.
But Jordan’s defense said there’s more to the story than the video, arguing that Jordan was a victim of physical and mental abuse in a horrible marriage and he simply “broke.”
DAILY TRIAL UPDATES
DAY 3 – 3/14/25
- Prosecutors rested their case in chief after playing video from kitchen and living room Nest cameras in the Henning home of Jordan Henning shooting wife Ashley after an argument over a Slip and Slide escalated into allegations over marital strife.
- After resting, prosecutors made an unusual request to “reopen” its case on Monday to call the medical examiner to testify to cause of death to guard against appellate issue. Prosecutor Eric Carr made the request after the defense repeatedly objected to a detective testifying to cause of death from an autopsy report, citing it in their motion for a redirected verdict as insufficient proof of cause of death.
- Defense called 4 witnesses who knew Jordan from Fort Knox – including two retired high-ranking sergeants – to testify to his reputation for honesty and nonviolence.
DAY 2 – 3/13/25
- The Hennings’ 13-year-old daughter took the stand (off camera, with audio) and described what she heard and saw the night her father shot her mother from her upstairs bedroom, where she was recovering from pink eye.
- Judge Ashlock prevented the teen from testifying about allegations of physical abuse that prosecutor Eric Carr said she disclosed for the first time hours before she took the stand. The defense called the last-minute disclosure “trial by ambush” and argued the allegations would unfairly prejudice their client.
- Ashley’s fellow soccer mom friend, Janie Savat, and her husband, Brandon Savat, testified to Jordan’s complaints that Ashley would not have sex with him and other signs of marital discord. But said they never witnessed signs of physical abuse and did not suspect Ashley was in danger from Jordan – not even as they left the home the night of the shooting after seeing Jordan grab Ashley by the neck.
- WATCH: Friend: Jordan Henning Claimed He Could Kill And Blame PTSD Or Rage
- WATCH: Friend: ‘I’ve Seen What Those Children Went Through, Unlike You!’
- WATCH: Victim’s Friend to Jordan Henning’s Lawyer: ‘I AM Answering the Question!’
- It was Janie Savat who proposed celebrating Ashley with an impromptu birthday party despite Ashley’ wariness of the occasion. Janie’s fiery turn on the stand included tearful recollections of her friend, digs at the defense for trying to “to get [Jordan] off on an insanity plea,” and allegations that Jordan joked about claiming PTSD or the effects of testosterone if he ever got in trouble for killing someone.
- Jordan’s former friend and neighbor, Jimmy Watts, returned to the stand and described what prosecutors called Jordan’s a “top 10 kill list” consisting of people Jordan “deemed a threat or had supplies he could use” in an apocalypse. Watts said he didn’t take the list seriously even though the topic made him uncomfortable, especially when Jordan brought up his family, saying his oldest son would be the only one to survive an apocalypse because “he would pull his weight.”
- WATCH: Military Wife Murder Trial: Day 2 Recap
DAY 1 – 3/12/25
- Jordan Henning shuddered in his seat and bowed his head as his lawyers played police body camera video of him shrieking and crying during his arrest:
- He lamented his actions and begged deputies to kill him for what he’d done, saying “she just kept hitting me and I couldn’t take it no more” and other allegations of Ashley “hurting” and “beating” him over the years.
- The jury only saw about 5 seconds of the 10-minute video in which Jordan said “just fucking kill me” and did not hear any of his abuse allegations.
- Both sides delivered opened statements:
- Assistant Commonwealth Attorney Eric Carr said the jury would see security video from inside the couple’s home showing the shooting and the events leading up to it, from Jordan screaming at Ashley about how she “dismissed” him in front of guests and didn’t love him to Ashley’s pleas for him to lower his gun before he opened fire on her while she was seated at a kitchen table. As Ashley tried to flee, Jordan shot her again, Carr said, the spat on her body and said it was her fault.
- Defense lawyer Robert Eggert said Jordan Henning “broke” after allegedly enduring years of verbal, emotional and physical abuse from wife Ashley, who was older and outranked him in the U.S. Army, making Jordan fearful of losing his job and their children if he reported her. He “goes completely over the edge and loses it” at the birthday party after she squeezed his genitals – something she allegedly did often as part her abuse, according to Eggert – leading to a fight during which neighbors showed up, making Jordan fear his wife may harm him.
- Neighbor and former friend of Jordan James (Jimmy) Watts testified about trying to intervene in the verbal altercation after one of the Henning children ran to his home for help. After Jordan forced him out of the house, Watts said he called 911 and tried to deescalate the situation from outside, which is where he was when gunshots rang out. He went inside the house after Jordan took off in his car and found Ashley’s body.
- Neighbor and former friend of Jordan Jason Bouchert testified about arriving at the Henning home and joining Watts outside as Jordan yelled at them to leave from inside the house and started counting down. On cross, he tried to distance himself from statements he made to police about the couple’s strained relationship and that Jordan was “one of the greatest guys in the world.” He agreed that he said he never knew Jordan to be violent.
