Jill Owens was four months pregnant when she received horrific news about the father of her unborn child.
It was Halloween 2006 when the police sergeant learned that Dean Jenkins, a self-made businessman, had been arrested for being the getaway driver for a gang of robbers who stole over $400,000 from the companies developers, who provide financial services in the UK.
“It was like I was hit by a bullet,” Owens recalled to Fox News Digital. “I was absolutely blown away. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.”
Owens recalled how a fairytale romance quickly turned into a nightmare for a Wondery and Novel podcast limited series, “Stolen Hearts.” He details how the decorated rural Wales enforcer fell in love with what he thought was Mr. Right.
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Jill Owens shares her story in a new true crime podcast for Wondery, “Stolen Hearts.” (wonder)
The 54-year-old had previously penned a book released in 2020, ‘Two Cops and a Robber’ which detailed her ‘match made to hell’.
“In the aftermath of everything that happened, I fought very hard to try and deal with everything,” she explained. “When I set out to write the book, I wanted to silence some of those demons. … I wanted to get rid of all the rumors. I wanted the truth from my point of view to come out. And it was therapeutic.”
As a child, Owens dreamed of joining the police force. He often found himself in front of the mirror wearing a trilby hat like the one worn by Inspector Clousau from the “Pink Panther” series. In 1990 she joined the Dyfed-Powys Police Department. She served 17 years and even received an award for bravery after risking her life to help a suicidal youth.
“Without being presumptuous, I was very good at what I did,” she recalled. “And I was quite happy that I was able to get the job I’ve always wanted to do.”
Peter Sellers as Inspector Clouseau in one of the ‘Pink Panther’ films. Jill Owens said it was her childhood dream to become like the character. (Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
As Owens’ career blossomed, privately he found himself looking for love. After being married and divorced twice to two police officers, she hoped the third time would be a charm.
Despite her reservations, the single mother of two tried online dating after being persuaded by a friend. That’s how you met Jenkins.
“At the time, online dating was a pretty new thing. It wasn’t like now,” she said. “There was a little bit of stigma about it. I said, ‘I don’t feel like it, so I’m leaving.’ And then I said, ‘I’ll give it another try.’ This time, rather than looking at profiles, I’ll just look at photos and see if I’m attracted to them.
“That’s when I saw Dean dressed in a blue Armani suit. There was an instant attraction to the photo, which made me click on him. It’s like we’ve known each other for a while.”
Owens was quickly blown away by Jenkins, the charismatic self-made businessman who had his own line of men’s grooming products. While he was in London and she was in Wales, distance didn’t matter. They enthusiastically met in Cardiff, midway. The romance blossomed very quickly.
Jill Owens thought she’d found love online, but she couldn’t have been more wrong. (Courtesy of Jill Owens)
“I met his family. I went to his workplace. He met my family,” Owens said. “There were no missing gaps whatsoever. We were three hours apart, but we saw each other every weekend. I had my kids here, and he had his kids there. It was a long-distance relationship. But during the time we we were together, we did a lot of things on those weekends. And I met everyone. I met his sisters, his mother, his father. There was absolutely nothing to suggest that anything was wrong.”
Owens was in for a surprise. She was pregnant.
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“I suppose there’s going to be a lot of opinions about ‘It was too soon’ or ‘They shouldn’t have gone into it at all,'” she said. “But… when is the right time? It was an accident, we found each other and we want to be together, so we’re going to take it one step further. And when I found out I was pregnant, we were over the moon. It was wanted.”
“It was the icing on the cake. It was absolutely perfect. … I guess everyone wants to feel like they’ve finally met their soulmate, and that they’re going to spend the rest of their lives and be happy with them. At that point in time, it’s what it felt like. It was probably too good to be true, but it all felt so right. There was nothing to question there.
On Halloween night in 2006, Owens suddenly found herself worried. She hadn’t heard from Jenkins in two days, which was unusual. She was elated when her sister sent her a message, asking her to call.
Dean Jenkins appeared to be a self-made businessman for Jill Owens. However, her boyfriend lived a double life. (Courtesy of Jill Owens)
“It was always constantly texting or calling, and then, all of a sudden, there’s nothing,” Owens said. “So when her sister called, it was a relief because I was finally getting some news. I needed to know what was going on because something was wrong. And I was so desperate to find out what the hell was going on.”
According to Jenkins’ sister, there’s been a robbery in Kent. One of the armed thieves had been shot and killed. And Jenkins was the gunman’s getaway driver.
Owens learned that Jenkins was part of a gang that targeted security guards delivering money to building societies across Kent. The raids took place between March and October of that year.
“I’ve heard a million times, ‘He must have known. He should have known,'” Owens admitted. “But, at the time, there was no criminal record for him. … I was pregnant. My job was in jeopardy. My home was in jeopardy. My relationship was over. Everything I held dear was blown up in one fell swoop.
Jill Owens was pregnant with Dean Jenkins’ child when she learned he was involved in a gang of robbers. (Courtesy of Jill Owens)
“It took so many years to process what had happened,” she added. “I was constantly asking myself, ‘Why did he do that?’ or, ‘Why did I react that way?’ There is no critic greater than me”.
Owens soon became the subject of disciplinary proceedings. Two or three senior officers would interview her at the same time, Owens said, insisting that she needed to know about her fiancé’s double life.
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“They said I should have known because the names of two of his shower gels were Beat the Filth and It’s a Stick Up, and they clearly referred to armed robberies,” she said. “Somehow, I should have known with him that he had that shower range that he was an armed robber, which was ridiculous. There was no sign that he was involved in anything like that. was no trace of him.”
His career as a sergeant was officially over. Owens said she was “forced to resign” in 2008. A Dyfed-Powys police spokesman did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
According to the podcast, Dean Jenkins was sentenced to 17 years. (Courtesy of Jill Owens)
Jenkins was sentenced to 17 years behind bars.
“My career, my income and my family were fractured because of this,” she said. “I lost friends. Colleagues didn’t talk to me. I was very lonely. I went from being in this fairy tale to being in the absolute depths of hell. And I was there for a long time, many years. It was still a tough climb because I couldn’t trust anyone. I couldn’t make sense of anything. I was naturally defensive. You’ll learn to love again and have a life, or you’ll let this whole thing be the end of your life.’
“I still don’t feel like it [Dean] he realizes or even wants to acknowledge the enormity of the effect this has had on me,” she said. “He was the one involved in the robbery. I wasn’t aware of it, yet he affected my whole life.”
While Owens was left with unanswered questions from her former lover, she has since moved on. Today she runs her own business and is happily married. She has also received letters from many others who have found themselves on the wrong side of her love.
Jill Owens at her home in Havefordwest, Wales. She said her relationship with armed robber Dean Jenkins ruined her career in law enforcement. (Images by Ben Birchall/PA via Getty Images)
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“[My past] it doesn’t cut me anymore,” she said. I know where I am now and I know what is right. There hasn’t been a day that you don’t go over everything and ask me what I did.
“But this was a one in a million chance that these circumstances would fall on me all at once. It was a rough road, but I came to terms with what happened. And, in telling my story, the goal was save me”.
