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She was among those closest to Matthew Jacobs, yet after his untimely passing, she sought to benefit financially from the tragedy. Oxygen’s Southern Fried Lies delves into the story of Jacobs, who lost his life at 34 years old in a fatal car accident in Camden, Arkansas on January 19, 2015, and reveals how those around him became entangled in controversy following his passing.
Donna Herring, along with her sister Marion Kinley, her brother-in-law John Kinley Jr., and her daughter Jordan Alexandra “Alex” Peterson, were all sentenced by a U.S. District Court judge in November 2019 for their involvement in a scheme to commit wire fraud.
The chain of events was triggered when Jacobs passed away in the collision, leaving behind an estate valued around $1.7 million. As a survivor of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig disaster in 2010, Jacobs received a financial settlement through a class action lawsuit. He met Herring in his pursuit of home ownership and was also employed by her spouse, not to mention being engaged to her daughter, Alex.
Following Jacobs’ death, Donna sought to ensure that his estate was dealt with. “Donna pulled me aside and said ‘We need to start protecting Matt’s stuff right now. And we need to make sure that nothing or no one gets to it,’” said Shawna Reed, Matt’s sister-in-law, on Southern Fried Lies. “I’ll never forget that.”
But Jacobs’ will left almost everything to his fiancée instead of his 17-year-old son, Jordan, leading some to question the validity of the will.
“I’m his only kid. And it leaves everything to someone he’s been dating for a year and a half, two years. I can’t put it into words. I can’t. I’ve tried,” Jordan Jacobs said on Southern Fried Lies.
Law enforcement eventually concluded that Herring used her sister Marion Kinley’s debit card to create a fraudulent will for Jacobs and name her daughter as the beneficiary of his estate. Officials proved that Herring had her sister and brother-in-law sign as witnesses to the fake will, then asked her daughter to give her the combination to Jacobs’ gun safe so she could place the fake will there.
Is Donna Herring out of prison now?
Donna Herring was sentenced to serve 41 months in federal prison. She only served 13 months before she was granted early release in 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic. After leaving prison, Herring was under supervision for three years.
“Prison was not anything scary. It was perfectly fine. I was perfectly fine,” she said in Southern Fried Lies. “COVID hit. There wasn’t a lot to do. I played a lot of cards. Read a lot of books.”
Producers asked her how her relationship currently is with her daughter.
“Very strained,” she replied, as she teared up. “We’re not going to talk about that! We’ll ruin the makeup.”
Donna shared that she often visits Matt Jacobs’ grave and cleans it up, even though some in the documentary question if she was involved in his death. Herring has never been charged in connection with the death, and she denies all wrongdoing.
“When I couldn’t come out here anymore, I knew they wouldn’t do anything to keep it up,” she said. “I guess I was right.”
Herring explained that now she just wants to move on.
“I have paid my debt to society, and I am going on with my life…I really and truly don’t give a diddly damn what anybody thinks,” she said.
Were Lance and Shawna Reed ever charged by law enforcement?
When Donna Herring was sentenced, she shockingly accused Lance and Shawna Reed of being involved in Matt Jacobs’ fraudulent will.The FBI then investigated if the couple were involved in the making of his brother’s fake document.
“I was angry. You lost your brother. And then you’re defending your nephew,” Lance said on Southern Fried Lies. “Now I’m trying to defend our name. And we’ve got one person wreaking all this havoc.”
Lance’s nephew, Jordan Jacobs, never believed Herring’s accusation.
“I know that he would never hurt me like that. And I know that he would never disrespect his brother like that,” Jordan said on Southern Fried Lies.
Lance and Shawna were eventually cleared of any charges by the FBI.
“She’s a dangerous woman with her words,” Shawna said on Southern Fried Lies. “I’ll never understand why she still thinks that she can accuse others as a part of her poor decisions. That’s something Donna Herring has to live with.”
Where is Jordan Jacobs now?
After the sentencing, Jordan Jacobs got almost all of his father’s estate, including three houses, personal property, and cash.
“Having my dad’s estate back, it felt like having a piece of my dad back,” he said on Southern Fried Lies. “It’s like we’re right back to where we were before he met Alex. The peaceful part of our relationship. It felt good. And, you know, don’t get it twisted. At any point of any day, I would give it back to have him back.”
But Jordan still questions if his father’s death was truly an accident, though no one has ever been criminally charged.
“I hope there’s still a chance I could get those answers. But I was able to move on with my life and move forward,” he shared.
Helping Jordan in moving forward is the birth of his son, Matthew Seth Jacobs II, named after his father.
“Probably the highlight of my life was having my little boy,” he said. “It’s like he gives me a second opportunity to make up for what happened with me and my dad. I feel like I’m happy.”
