In a dramatic turn of events, California firefighter Jonathan Hearn took a moment to pray before stepping into the industrial setting where Rob Limon worked. He then proceeded to shoot Rob twice, one shot hitting him in the face, as revealed in a recent episode of Oxygen’s Dateline: Secrets Uncovered aired on November 12.

Rob Limon, known for his vibrant and lively personality, was a beloved figure in the close-knit community of Silver Lakes, California. His untimely death sent shockwaves through the town, where he lived with his wife, Sabrina, and their two young children. What began as a tragic loss soon unraveled into a complex story of entangled relationships, deception, and religious motives, as investigators zeroed in on the person responsible for his murder.

The couple, Rob and Sabrina Limon, had been regarded as the “magical couple” within the Silver Lakes community, renowned for their infectious charm and affable nature. They were the kind of people you couldn’t help but include in every social gathering, as recalled by Rob’s close friend, Jason Bernatene, during the episode titled “Deadly Mirage.”

Coworkers Describe Rob Limon as a “Kind, Loving Person”

In the aftermath of Rob’s death, the community did what they could to support Sabrina, who seemed devastated by the sudden loss.

“All the friends rallied around Sabrina and the kids and did everything they could to support her,” Jason explained. “People donated money, people…made sure there was food there every day. Everyone wanted to make sure she was taken care of.”

But investigators with the Kern County Sheriff’s Office would soon discover that not everything was as it seemed in the Limon’s marriage. 

The couple’s partying ways had extended into the bedroom, where they sometimes welcomed other couples for a night of fun. Still, everyone who knew the Limons seemed to love them—including Rob’s coworkers. 

“They told me that Rob Limon was a very kind, loving person. A good friend,” said Detective Randall Meyer. “He was somebody who would help anybody out if they needed help at any point in time.” 

Suspicious Voicemail Provides New Lead

No one could imagine who would have wanted Rob dead, until Jason, a firefighter, got an unexpected voicemail two weeks after Rob was shot to death. 

The caller was Jonathan Hearn, a young fellow firefighter who had once trained with Jason and spent time in their friend group. 

According to Jason, Hearn had admitted to having an affair with Sabrina just one year earlier, even confessing to the deed to Rob himself. The admission put a strain on the couple’s marriage, but Sabrina promised to end the affair and it seemed as though they’d gotten back on track.

Then, just weeks after Rob’s death, Jason received that voicemail message, in which Hern told him he wanted “to be right with God.”

“I feel numb. And you know what? I feel like God has crushed me, and he has gotten my attention,” Hearn said in the message, adding that he was “begging” Jason and his wife to meet with him so that he could apologize for “the hurt” he’d caused them. 

“I started thinking, ‘Who would want Rob dead? Who wanted Rob out of the picture? And the only person that walked into my mind was Jonathan Hearn,” Jason said.

Troubled, Jason reached out to detectives to share the voicemail message. Investigators also soon learned that Hearn owned a large caliber gun similar to the one used to kill Rob and drove a Yamaha motorcycle similar to one spotted on surveillance footage traveling on a road near the crime scene that day.

Phone Conversations Confirm Secret Affair

Sabrina’s friends and family also noticed that in the weeks after Rob’s death, Hearn had begun to drop by the Limon’s house with increasing frequency, bringing Sabrina flowers and even cooking the family dinner.

The detectives’ suspicions were raised even further when phone records showed thousands of calls and texts between Sabrina and Hearn. They decided to tap their phones and soon discovered the affair was definitely not over. 

“I love you so much, my girl,” Hearn told Sabrina in one call.

The pair talked in the recorded calls about a future together and often talked about God, discussing their “sins” and comparing their love story to the biblical tale of King David and Bathsheba. 

Meyer even gave Sabrina false information to try to get the couple talking, once telling her the case had hit a dead end.

“Everything’s fine,” Sabrina told Hearn on the phone a few minutes later. “No questions at all.”

As the game of cat and mouse continued, Meyer shared an image with Sabrina of the man captured riding on the motorcycle, telling her “we think this is our guy.” 

Jonathan Hearn and Sabrina Limon Are Arrested

Three months after Rob’s murder, detectives felt they finally had enough evidence to make an arrest and took both Sabrina and Hearn into custody. 

Hearn was charged with murder, but the district attorney didn’t feel like the case was strong enough against Sabrina and she was released. Now facing more public scrutiny than ever, Sabrina moved with her two young kids more than 100 miles away. It seemed to Rob’s friends like she might escape prosecution.

Then in late 2016, just weeks before his own trial was set to begin, Hearn struck a deal with prosecutors to give Sabrina up. Under the arrangement, he agreed to plead guilty to a lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter and testify against her, in exchange for a lesser sentence.

Hearn told authorities that Sabrina helped plan the murder and wanted her husband dead because she didn’t think a divorce would be well perceived in her community.

Jonathan Hearn Testifies Against Sabrina Simon

He’d later take the stand in Sabrina’s 2017 murder trial to tell jurors how he met Sabrina while she was handing out samples at Costco and asked for her number, only later realizing she was married. 

“I enjoyed spending time with her,” he testified. “But then there was also the guilt of recognizing that I was doing something immoral.”

As the relationship progressed, Hearn testified that Sabrina told him that Rob was exploiting and objectifying her in the marriage and his hatred for him grew, ultimately culminating with the pair plotting Rob’s murder. 

“Her demons became my demons,” he testified.

On the day of the murder, Hearn told the jury he put on a mask, hopped on his motorcycle and rode to Rob’s work, stopping just outside the office doors to pray.

“I fired the first shot,” Hern explained. “He fell seemingly mortally wounded.”

Hern staged the scene to look like a burglary, then fired one last shot into Rob’s face to make sure he was dead before returning home and calling Sabrina to tell her the news.

“I had done it,” he testified. “Everything was about to change.”

Yet, the defense argued that Hearn had acted alone. To strengthen their theory, Sabrina took the stand herself, insisting that she never wanted to kill her husband and claiming he already had the best of both worlds: a husband and attentive lover on the side. 

The claims didn’t resonate with the jury, however, who convicted her of felony murder and a litany of other charges. Sabrina was sentenced to 25 years to life behind bars.