{Note: I spoke with Joelle in December 2024. This recording was not meant to be released but for my own research, however, she died on January 13, 2025. The official cause of death is suicide. This recording represents Joelle’s explanation of legal corruption which consumed her life. I have not developed evidence to dispute or confirm the official cause of death, but I will present her story of legal corruption. Part two of the interview is below.}
Joelle told me that she married into a wealthy family. In anticipation of the wedding, her husband’s family wanted her to sign a prenuptial agreement.
Joelle told me that she was in favor of this however the process dragged on, and through a relative, Joelle was recommended to hire California attorney Kira Masteller to help guide her in the process.
Masteller is already attached to two unexplained deaths- Ed and Marcie Sherman; check out my interview with Randi Berger who is Ed’s niece and Marcie’s daughter.
With this story, we can add two deaths; Joelle told me she believed that her ex-husband’s death in 2020 was also suspicious. While it’s not clear what direct role- if any- Masteller played in any of these deaths, there is compelling evidence that she engaged in legal malfeasance in numerous cases.
Masteller claimed that she did not know who Joelle was when Randi confronted her after Joelle’s death.
“The fact that you denied even knowing Joelle Rutherford is more damning.” Randi stated to Masteller in an email from January 24, 2025.
Masteller has blocked my email, so I left a voicemail at her law firm. Masteller then unblocked my email to write the following.
I won’t be returning your call.
Please note that your contact talked about Ms. Rutherford in context to Ms. Berger’s own serial litigation. Ms. Rutherford’s name was not Rutherford when I spoke with her over 15 years ago and she has nothing to do with Ms. Berger’s litigation. That I not remember her name is not a lie Mr. Volpe.
While it’s true that Masteller worked with Joelle when she was still using her maiden name {Jaffey}, Joelle sued Masteller in 2021 using her married name.
Ms. Masteller quickly blocked my email after sending me the preceding response. I left a subsequent voicemail about this lawsuit but received no response.
Joelle told me that she started feeling pressure to sign the pre-nuptial agreement, despite not having a clear understanding of what was in it.
Masteller, Joelle told me, was also not acting as her advocate.
“She was basically very pushy about it {Joelle signing the pre-nuptial agreement},” Joelle told me, “She was saying, ‘You’re a- you should feel very fortunate to be marrying someone with this much money.’ You know, basically insinuating that I was a gold digger if I didn’t sign it.”
Joelle told me she was still not comfortable with what the prenuptial agreement looked like. That’s when Masteller, Joelle told me, suggested a post-nuptial agreement.
Joelle said that at this point in the process things were too close to the wedding. Joelle said she refused to sign a prenuptial agreement.
That was in late January 2010; the wedding was in February 2010. A few days later, she was pressured into a meeting with her ex-husband’s lawyer, Amy Jacobs.
Jacobs did not respond to an email at her law firm’s email address.
Joelle said she refused to sign after being pressured at this meeting; she also fired Masteller. Below is the email Joelle sent firing Masteller.
Kira,
To be frank, I am incredibly disappointed with the conversation we had earlier this afternoon and, generally, I feel that you haven't been adequately performing your services as my legal advisor in this case. Our phone conversation left me feeling more pressure to rush into an agreement before all of my concerns were fully addressed.
Even though I had a valid concern, you were aggressive about preventing any more changes to the contract and you responded to my main concern in a surprisingly offensive way. Combining the phone call with some other issues that arose on days prior, I feel it's best to ask you to provide no further services on my behalf.
I'm sorry to say it but I have to be straight with you. I'm not comfortable with the way things have been handled. I am officially requesting that you send the final bill and whatever else I'l need to have another attorney finalize the contract.
Joelle said that before her wedding rather than signing the prenuptial agreement she wrote “under duress” where her signature was.
The whole affair was dead and buried until 2020, when her marriage broke up.
Joelle told me that her husband developed a substance abuse problem.
Joelle said she believed he died under mysterious circumstances because she was in constant contact with him before his death, and he suddenly disappeared.
Joelle’s husband died while they were separated, and the two never divorced.
Upon his death, Joelle told me she was presented with a purported prenuptial agreement by Masteller and others which supposedly Joelle signed.
Joelle insisted she never signed her name to any prenuptial agreement and instead signed “under duress.” While she told me she did not believe her husband was involved in any shenanigans against her, she did include him in her complaint against Masteller.
The purported prenuptial agreement was deleterious to her interests, Joelle told me.
Joelle told me she spent the last nearly five years of her life trying to prove the prenuptial agreement was forged.
Los Angeles County declined to provide me with any documents related to her death.
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office did have a public record regarding her death.
Randi Berger told me that she was in contact with Joelle shortly before her death. She told me that Joelle did not appear suicidal, and she is skeptical of the official determination.
Update:
I erroneously described Joelle’s husband Matthew as her ex-husband, however, he died before the divorce was finalized. That error has been fixed and updated.
Post-script
Please check out and consider contributing to the new fundraiser to continue investigating the suspicious deaths related to Kira Masteller.
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