The sun is usually the first thing people mention when they talk about Silver Lakes. It’s a desert oasis, a place where the California heat feels purposeful, bouncing off man-made lakes and manicured lawns. For Sabrina and Rob Limon, it was supposed to be the backdrop of a perfect life. They were the "it" couple. Friends called them the "Wolf Pack" leaders because they were always at the center of the party, always smiling, always seemingly untouchable.
Then everything broke.
On August 17, 2014, Rob Limon was found shot to death in a Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway building in Tehachapi. He was 38. He was a father. He was a guy who worked hard and loved his family. But as investigators started digging into the "perfect" marriage he shared with Sabrina, they found something far darker than a random workplace tragedy.
The Mirage of the Perfect Marriage
To understand why people are still obsessed with the Sabrina and Rob Limon case, you have to look at the contrast. On the outside, they were high-energy, attractive, and deeply involved in their community. They had two kids. They hosted the best parties. But behind the scenes, the couple had ventured into an open marriage, a decision that supposedly started as a way to "fix" a rough patch but ended up being the catalyst for murder.
Open relationships aren't illegal. Neither is having an affair. But when Jonathan Hearn, a young, handsome firefighter and paramedic, entered the picture, the dynamic shifted from experimental to homicidal. Hearn wasn't just a fling. He was a "godly" man, according to his own bizarre self-perception, who believed that God wanted him to be with Sabrina.
Think about that for a second.
A man who spent his days saving lives as a first responder spent his nights plotting how to take one.
The First Attempt: Banana Pudding and Arsenic
Most people think the shooting was the first and only attempt on Rob’s life. It wasn't.
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Before the gun was ever drawn, there was the arsenic. Hearn later testified that he and Sabrina had actually tried to poison Rob first. The vehicle for the poison? Banana pudding.
Hearn had researched lethal doses. He even tested the arsenic on a neighborhood dog to make sure it worked. Honestly, the coldness of that detail is what sticks with most people who follow this case. They sent Rob to work with a snack meant to kill him. It didn't work—Rob reportedly complained that the pudding tasted "off" and threw it away.
Sabrina told Hearn she told Rob to toss it because something went wrong when it was made. They panicked and called off the poisoning, but the seed was planted. They weren't going to stop until Rob was out of the picture.
The Day Everything Changed
The railroad yard in Tehachapi is a lonely place. In August 2014, it became a crime scene. Hearn drove there, knowing Rob’s schedule, and shot him twice. It was a calculated, professional-style hit.
For months, Sabrina played the grieving widow. She posted on social media about how much she missed her husband. She cried. She accepted the community's support. But the police were watching. They were listening to the phone calls. They were seeing the frequency with which she was communicating with Jonathan Hearn.
The investigation revealed thousands of texts and hours of recorded conversations. They weren't talking about grief. They were talking about their future together.
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The Trial and the Ultimate Betrayal
When the law finally caught up to them in early 2017, the real show started. Jonathan Hearn did something Sabrina probably never expected: he flipped.
In exchange for a 25-year sentence on a voluntary manslaughter charge, Hearn testified against Sabrina. He laid it all out. The affairs. The "godly" justifications. The arsenic. The planning.
Sabrina took the stand in her own defense, which is always a gamble. She admitted to the affair—she couldn't exactly deny it with the evidence—but she claimed she had no idea Hearn was going to kill Rob. She painted herself as a victim of a manipulative, obsessed younger man.
The jury didn't buy it.
On October 5, 2017, Sabrina Limon was found guilty of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and accessory to a crime. She was found not guilty on the attempted murder and poisoning charges, ironically, because of a lack of physical evidence regarding the pudding.
Where Are They Now?
As of 2026, Sabrina Limon is serving her sentence of 25 years to life. She’s currently housed in the Central California Women's Facility in Chowchilla. Her appeals have been a long, drawn-out process. Her legal team argued that her original lawyer failed to prepare her for the witness stand, but those efforts haven't overturned the conviction.
Jonathan Hearn is also behind bars. Because of his plea deal, he will eventually be eligible for parole, though he still has years to serve.
The children, who were caught in the middle of this nightmare, have been raised by family members. That's the real tragedy here. Two kids lost their father to a bullet and their mother to a prison cell, all because of a "deadly mirage" of a lifestyle that was never as perfect as it looked on Instagram.
Key Takeaways for True Crime Followers
- Evidence is digital: Most of the case against Sabrina was built on the sheer volume of communications between her and Hearn.
- The "Open Marriage" Fallacy: While the Limons claimed an open relationship, the prosecution argued it was a cover for a singular, obsessive affair that sought to eliminate the "obstacle"—Rob.
- The Informant Factor: Hearn's testimony was the nail in the coffin. Without the shooter’s cooperation, proving Sabrina’s "conspiracy" would have been significantly harder for the Kern County prosecutors.
If you’re following this case, the best way to understand the nuance is to watch the actual trial footage. Seeing Sabrina’s demeanor on the stand compared to the recorded calls is a masterclass in the complexity of human behavior under pressure. There are no winners in Silver Lakes. Just a quiet desert town that now has a very dark history attached to its name.
Stay updated by checking the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) inmate locator if you want to track her current status or potential future parole hearings, though those are still many years away.