Jessie Collins never got close to carrying out his threat against Judge Mark Schweikert. But authorities took the threat seriously, pairing forensic science with old-fashioned sleuthing to trace a trail of evidence right back to jail. There they found the letter writer: Collins, 31, of Westwood.

Jessie Collins, left, with attorney Elizabeth Agar, signs a plea bargain agreement as he enters a guilty plea on a felony charge of retaliation. (Enquirer photo/GARY LANDERS)

Collins was serving a eight-year prison sentence that Schweikert imposed after a jury convicted Collins of felonious assault and child endangerment for shaking his 2-month-old son so severely the child suffered a fractured skull, two broken legs and bleeding on the brain.

On Monday, Collins pleaded guilty to writing the letter to Schweikert. He was sentenced to an additional two years in prison.

The letter Collins wrote was mailed to Schweikert's courtroom on June 9, 2003. It was simply addressed to Mark, and unsigned.

"You don't care about the families you destroy,'' the letter writer wrote. "But I got a surprise for you."

The writer threatened to follow Schweikert home from work, and kill the judge and his family: "I'm gonna make you feel the pain you caused so many people."

A gun with a bullet coming out of the barrel was drawn on the bottom on the letter, along with the word "murder."

Schweikert immediately turned the letter over to the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office.

It didn't take long for investigators to develop a suspect list: The paper on which the letter was written was the same that inmates could buy in the commissary at the Hamilton County Justice Center. Ditto for the envelope and stamp, said Assistant Hamilton County Prosecutor Adam Seibel.

From that list - about 2,000 inmates - investigators narrowed their search to those who recently had a case before Schweikert.

Collins almost immediately become their prime suspect. Court employees remembered that Collins had been very angry and protested his innocence at his sentencing just six days before.

At the same time, evidence technicians in Hamilton County Coroner Carl Parrott's office collected a saliva sample off the envelope and tested it for DNA. A swab of saliva taken from Collins' mouth matched the sample taken from the envelope.

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