Dateline season 33 episode 11 : A detailed case overview
Dateline season 33 episode 11 describes the brutal shooting of the 38-year-old Railway worker Robert Limon from Silver Lakes, California. The episode titled Deadly Mirage documents the entire story of a couple, Robert and Sabrina Limon, who shifted from a life of nightclubs and parties to the Bible.
Robert and Sabrina were a celebrated couple among their peers for throwing massive parties. Eventually, the couple decided to make their marriage open and had two kids. They soon started distancing themselves from the life of alcohol towards religion and god.
However, during the investigation of Robert Limon's murder, investigators discovered a deadly love triangle concealing lots of secrets, which led to the crime.
Dateline season 33 episode 11 covers the entire story behind Robert Limon's murder, uncovering the brutal dark truths hidden beneath. The episode will air on NBC on January 10, 2025, at 9 pm EST. Viewers can stream it on Peacock the next day.
Dateline season 33 episode 11: Complete case explored
Dateline season 33 episode 11 explored the story of Robert and Sabrina Limon, who once was a very well-known couple among their friends and peers. Their close group of friends, known as "the wolf pack," often used to hang together.
As per a Good Morning America article published on April 7, 2023, Robert and Sabrina Limon decided to make things more exciting in 2008. They soon made their relationship into an open marriage and went on boat rides and vacations together. The couple eventually had two kids and were tired of their open marriage.
Sabrina's sister, Julie Cordova, wanted to go back to the church; however, Robert didn't want to do so. He was pretty much comfortable with his current lifestyle, though the sorrow and grief soon drove Sabrina into alcoholism. As per her sister, she would drink until she was numb.
Sabrina soon started visiting the church by herself, and this is where things took an unexpected turn. In the church, she met a man named Jonathan Hearn. He was a firefighter who shared the same religious beliefs as Sabrina. As per an Oxygen article published on October 22, 2019, she soon started having an extramarital affair with Jonathan.
As per Oxygen, the two soon started having long phone calls, and Jonathan would compare himself and Sabrina to King David and Bathsheba from the Bible. According to the Old Testament, King David once got se*ually attracted to Bathsheba after he saw her bathing naked on a rooftop. King David knew that his lover was married and hence lured Bathsheba to send her soldier husband, Uriah, to the war front lines so that he died.
As per Dateline season 33 episode 11, Jonathan's story had a different connotation, where he was pursuing Sabrina to eliminate her husband from their love story. Robert Limon was a worker at the BNSF railyard in the city of Tehachapi, California, and the duo devised a plan to kill him at his working station to avoid any suspicion.
The murder of Dateline season 33 episode 11 subject Robert Limon
According to ABC 7, the Dateline season 33 episode 11 subject, Robert Limon, was shot dead on August 17, 2014, while he was working at the BNSF railyard. As per the Former Kern County Detective Darin Grantham, the investigators realized, upon reaching the spot, that the crime scene had been fabricated to make it look like a mishandled robbery.
The investigators soon retrieved surveillance camera records from the nearby area and found very crucial evidence. As per ABC 7, at the time when Robert Limon was murdered, they found an unidentified limping man covering around the scene. Robert was soon detected on the way, which led to his office. They also detected a man on his motorcycle, wearing a helmet and a bandana to cover his face, according to Oxygen.
The police couldn't trace any details about the man on the motorcycle until Jason Bernatene, one of Limon's friends, reached out to them two weeks later. He revealed receiving an unknown voicemail from a man named Jonathan Hearn, who apologized to him for Robert's death. This turned out to be suspicious and soon became a crucial lead for the investigators.
As per ABC 7, the investigators soon discover the affair between Sabrina Limon and Jonathan Hearn. It was revealed that the couple met at the Costco retail store where Sabrina was working. They also discovered that Robert had found out about the affair after finding some intimate texts on his wife's phone. He had told her to end the affair, but she kept on continuing.
The investigators soon brought Sabrina for questioning but deliberately supplied her with false information to see her reaction. Investigators followed her after the interrogation, and she was found calling Jonathan with a burner phone and alerting him. As per Oxygen, it was on November 18, 2014, when Jonathan was arrested from his firehouse.
When the detectives searched his residence, they found the same motorcycle, the red bandanna, and a backpack, which completely matched the anonymous man on the surveillance camera. Investigators also retrieved two pieces of ammunition from Jonathan, one of which was used to kill the subject of Dateline season 33 episode 11, Robert Limon.
The trial for Jonathan Hearn was supposed to take place on January 8, 2017. As per Oxygen, two days before his trial, he was given the option to testify against Sabrina's crimes in exchange for a 25-year incarceration. He agreed to the deal and appeared as the primary witness, revealing her involvement in the murder. Jonathan also testified that they had tried to plot the murder earlier by mixing arsenic in Robert's banana pudding, which was unsuccessful.
Nine months later, Sabrina was arrested and put before the jury, and she declined all the charges. However, with the concrete evidence and Jonathan's testimony, Sabrina Limon was found guilty of the murder of her husband. She, too, received a sentence of 25 years to life in prison. Both of the culprits from Dateline season 33 episode 11 are currently spending their time behind bars.
To know more about the case, watch Dateline season 33 episode 11, titled Deadly Mirage, on January 10, 2025, at 9 pm EST on NBC.
