Season 31, Episode 15 of the popular crime documentary series Snapped follows the tortured tale of the seemingly perfect Kohnle family. On June 29, 2007, in the city of Ringgold in Georgia, a fire broke out at James, aka Jim, and Teresa Kohnle’s residence. Throughout the episode, we see how the incident turned from an accident to arson and homicide.
With a mixture of real footage and re-enactments, audiences are taken through this truly devastating story.
Teresa Kohnle was Jim Kohnle’s wife. They lived in Ringgold, Georgia, with their two children, Calen and Alison. A year into their marriage, the couple opened the Alpha Wellness Center in Dalton, Georgia, where Jim worked as a chiropractor and Teresa as a massage therapist. Despite both working, it’s reported they had huge financial issues.
Teresa was a suspect in starting the fire and killing her husband. When interviewed by the police, she told the officials she left the house at 8:30 am on June 29th, about half an hour before the fire was reported.
However, using CCTV footage to trace Teresa’s movements, the police determined that Teresa had given a false statement. Packed clothing in the garage also suggested that Teresa had been prepping for the fire.
They had Teresa undertake a polygraph test, which she failed, and when she was shown the results, she tried to blame her husband for starting the fire, stating that he wanted to die.
Jim Kohnle (L) and Teresa Kohnle (R) (Credit – The Cinemaholic)
According to North Georgia’s Dalton Daily Citizen newspaper, she said, “I lit two candles like he wanted me to, and I walked away with no questions.” The police then arrested Teresa and charged her with arson and murder. Two days before her trial was to begin in December 2010, Teresa Lynn Kohnle pleaded guilty to felony murder.
At her sentencing, she claimed she assisted in her husband’s suicide in order to “ease financial burden.” While investigations were happening, they learned that several months prior, Teresa suffered a miscarriage and subsequently became depressed and began abusing drugs.
There were rumors of infidelity, and unsigned divorce papers were found inside the home.
In December 2010, Teresa Kohnle was sentenced to life in prison with a possibility of parole after 30 years. At present, Teresa is still serving her sentence behind the bars of the Pulaski State Prison in Hawkinsville, Georgia. She will first be eligible in 2041 at the age of 67.
On the day of the fire, the firefighters entered the house, and by using a thermal imaging camera, they detected a body on the floor behind the bed. It was Jim Kohnle, dead at 57. An autopsy later determined excessive smoke inhalation to be the cause, and following the autopsy, his death was ruled as a homicide.
Jim had a large life insurance policy, which would have benefited his wife, and with their financial troubles hitting the family hard, this may have looked like one way out for them. However, with the false statements and eye-witnesses, this is a sad case of a possible suicide/murder.
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