To the outside world, Sabrina Limon’s life seemed almost perfect.
She had two beautiful children with her husband Rob, the couple had good jobs, and the family enjoyed an active social life in the scenic community of Silver Lakes in California’s Mojave Valley.
Rob was then found murdered on August 17, 2014. He had been shot several times and his body had been dumped on the railroad property where he worked in Tehachapi.
At first, Sabrina, then 35, behaved like a distraught woman. But within weeks friends said she was giggling over a love note from her new firefighter boyfriend Jonathan Hearn, who was 10 years her junior.
Police soon determined that the crime scene had been staged to look like a robbery gone wrong, and the truth began to unravel.
Ultimately, it turned out that Rob had fallen victim to a twisted murder plot that involved a sordid affair, wiretapping and accusations of desserts laced with poison.
His wife Sabrina and her lover Jonathan were subsequently arrested.
Now a new six-part Dateline podcast, Deadly Mirage, about the gruesome love triangle murder has unearthed a police interview with Sabrina, where her eerie reactions when questioned about her affair can be heard for the first time.
Sabrina Limon pictured with her husband Rob before his murder in August 2014
Sabrina, 32, and much younger lover, Jonathan Hearn, 22, pictured before the murder
During the podcast, presenter Josh Mackewnicz revealed sordid details about the married couple’s close group of friends who called itself the ‘Wolf Pack’.
The ‘pack’ shared an interest in swinging and swapping spouses.
Friends claimed that Rob and Sabrina were known for throwing booze parties and taking adult vacations as they explored the idea of an open marriage.
Sabrina later confessed that she no longer wanted to be part of this lifestyle and had tried to convince her husband to return to the church.
During this time, she met Jonathan while working a part-time job at Costco.
She later admitted that she had not worn her wedding ring at that time or when he asked for her number and she gave it to him, despite him feeling guilty about it.
Jonathan later discovered she was married, but continued to pursue her anyway.
They are said to have bonded over their love of God and shared Christian faith, and as they grew closer, their texts became more intimate and they shared racy photos.
When Sabrina’s husband discovered the texts, he told his wife to put an end to them. But after not speaking for a few months, they got back together and continued their affair.
During their time together, Sabrina and Jonathan allegedly plotted to kill Rob by lacing cookies or his favorite banana pudding with poison.
Then in August 2014, their murder plan was carried out. Jonathan admitted to shooting Rob while he was alone at his workplace, trying to make it look like a robbery, and fled on a motorcycle.
Police had received a tip from a friend of the Limons who claimed that Jonathan had left him a strange voicemail that seemed apologetic.
After police exposed the affair, officers later tapped his and Sabrina’s phones and recorded many conversations in which the couple discussed God and the Bible.
And after police posted false details about the investigation to see how Sabrina would react, they immediately called Jonathan on a burner phone and the couple was arrested.
Jonathan refused to talk to the police and asked his lawyer.
But Sabrina, who had not been charged at the time, agreed to talk to investigators about the open relationship with her husband and the affair.
Authorities have released surveillance video showing the rail yard where Rob Limon was killed
Jonathan Hearn called his job as a paramedic in the fire brigade a dream job
Dateline launched a new six-part podcast earlier this month called Deadly Mirage
Sabrina Limon’s booking photo – she is serving a 25 years to life sentence for her husband’s murder
She described to police how she and Jonathan first met and described him as smart, friendly, knowledgeable and devoted to her.
When Kern County Sheriff’s Senior Deputy Marcus Moncur told her they had proof her lover was her husband’s killer, she couldn’t believe it.
“I understand, but I can’t wrap my brain around it. “I mean, there’s no way that Jonathan is the one who killed Robert – I mean, that’s just impossible,” she said.
“I can’t figure out…how can he be gone?”
“I put my trust in God,” she added.
When the interview ended, Sabrina was taken to the Bakersfield Sheriff’s Department for formal booking and fingerprinting.
While there, she spoke with lead investigator Detective Randall Meyer.
She apologized to the detective for not being honest when they first met.
The detective said: ‘You were probably scared and upset and didn’t know what to say. I know a lot about what happened and I want you to tell me the truth.”
He asked her to retell her story, starting with the first meeting at Costco and when Jonathan asked her for her phone number.
She explained, “Our friends were having a party and there were firefighters and I said [to Jonathan] are you going to such a party? And he says: maybe I’ll see you there? What’s your number?’
“I had never given out my number to like a stranger before I immediately felt guilty, like, oh my god,” she added.
The pair continued to talk and their relationship developed.
She said: ‘The funny thing was that after I told him I was married, he genuinely regretted it. I didn’t feel that bad. It was opened. Socially we talk to other people. Like Rob, he was quite nonchalant towards me.’
Sabrina told the detective about her open relationship with her late husband and claimed that he initiated the lifestyle swap between their spouses.
“We had open relationships and parties and that kind of lifestyle. The kids haven’t had to deal with that firsthand,” she said.
Meyer responded, “I know we talked about your open relationship before and you told me you didn’t have one.”
‘I didn’t want all this to come out. It’s a shame,” she explained.
Sabrina was vague about the moment she and her lover started sleeping together, but said she remembered the moment her husband found her phone with all the texts and confronted her.
She explained that he asked her, “What’s going on?” How did this go?’ – to which she replied that she didn’t know, ‘it just happened’.
The detective said, “Did you think it would be okay for Rob to hang out with Jonathan because you had kind of an open relationship?”
“I think that’s how I justified it,” she replied.
She said: ‘Jonathan apologized to Robert and we felt bad and Rob and I kept going and Jonathan and I kept talking.’
She claimed her special bond with Jonathan ran ‘deep’ and admitted she kept him informed when her husband would be working late.
She also confessed to telling her lover the location of the railway shop in Tapachei where her husband worked.
“I think if you had never told him he would never have been able to find it because it’s not on the map,” the detective said.
“You can’t Google it and find it. I tried.’
You could then hear Sabrina whisper to herself, “Why did I tell him?”
The detective replied, “Yes or no, have you ever suspected him of that?”
Sabrina said yes, but insisted they were trying did not conceal the affair as a murder, claiming that she never wanted to believe that her lover was a murderer.
The detective then urged Sabrina to tell him everything she knows.
“I’ll be honest with you: When I come out of this interview, it will be a huge decision whether you ever see or touch your children again in your entire life,” he warned.
“I feel like I’ve gone completely crazy,” Sabrina said.
Finally, the detective tried to suggest that Jonathan was already talking.
“Jonathan is going to tell me that you started this and talked him into it,” he said – to which she replied, “That wouldn’t be true.”
After the nearly four-hour interrogation, she was handcuffed and taken to jail.
She was released within a few days due to lack of evidence, but Jonathan was charged with murder and held in prison.
He eventually turned on her and made a deal where he would testify against her in exchange for a 25-year prison sentence.
Rob and Sabrina pictured in happier times
The couple had a close group of friends called the ‘Wolf Pack’, which involved swapping partners
Jonathan Hearn eventually turned on his lover and made a deal where he would testify against her in exchange for a 25-year prison sentence
Jonathan Hearn is on trial. He agreed to plead no contest to charges including voluntary manslaughter in exchange for helping prosecute his former lover
Sabrina Limon confers with her attorney Richard Terry during her murder trial in Bakersfield, California in September 2017
He admitted on the stand that he had fired the fatal shot.
In exchange for his testimony against Sabrina, prosecutors reduced the murder charge against him to voluntary manslaughter.
In October 2017, three years after her husband’s shooting, a Kern County jury found Limon guilty of murder, conspiracy to commit murder and accessory to murder in her husband’s shooting.
She was acquitted of the poisoning attempt and sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.
In January 2023, the California Supreme Court denied her appeal for a new trial.