Forensic Files - Season 10, Episode 40 - Wired for Disaster - Full Episode | Forensic Files

NARRATOR: A bomb explosion often destroys the evidence of where and how the explosive was made.
But microscopic elements do survive. These tiny fragments often tell a story, and sometimes can identify the perpetrator.
[theme music] NARRATOR: On a warm humid night in 1993, Kurt Simon and his fiancee, Kem Wenger,
returned home from a surprise engagement shower. They wanted to unpack the car quickly and get to bed
since they both had busy schedules for the following day. -I had felt the concussion of this thing hit me in waves.
I had looked down and I had noticed a pair of legs. Then it all of a sudden occurred to me that this was Kem,
and, yeah, she was obviously-- obviously dead. And the neighbors were all starting to come over,
and I had screamed to them to call 911. NARRATOR: Investigators noticed pieces of metal
in Kem's left hand, an indication that the bomb was detonated with a motion sensor device.
-There was something in the foyer there that she knew was out of place. And she bent over to either move it or pick it up,
and that's when it detonated. -There was evidence that it was a pipe bomb. By the pipe bomb fragments, there
was also added shrapnel to the bomb. They found ball bearings, were later determined to be hunting shot.
NARRATOR: Investigators found a hole in the foyer floor almost a foot wide and deep.
Metal fragments were embedded in the walls and ceiling. -There was shrapnel as far away as across the street,
into various segments of the house, blown both backwards and forwards into the kitchen, which
is in a straight line from the foyer. NARRATOR: In the basement, investigators found wires, gunpowder, and fuses-- proof
that the bomb had been made in this house. -The bomber obviously left all that material
down there thinking that, you know, the house may be destroyed. Nobody would ever find it.
Nobody would ever see him come and go from the house. -In the kitchen were battery wrappers.
Batteries were used in the bomb. But most importantly, a pair of gloves. So the speculation was the bomb construction
was finalized at the house, the person threw the paper debris and the gloves in the garbage, and then left.
NARRATOR: It was clear that the perpetrator was someone who had access to the house.
-Kurt Simon could have placed the bomb in the foyer prior to Kem coming in. -By going in the house first, he could have taken something out
of a suitcase, and set it on the floor, and walked back out. Could have. -Wait a minute.
Wait a minute. You're thinking I had something to do with this? NARRATOR: Kurt was unable to provide any information
about the bombing because he said he didn't see anything suspicious. -The next thing I remembered was being
grabbed by a couple of police officers, handcuffed, pulled to the front of the house,
and paraded in front of this crowd of people into a police car. NARRATOR: Kurt had his own suspicions
about who killed his fiancee. He pointed the finger at Kem's mother, Cricket. -If you take every kind of evil, roll it up into a ball,
there you have Cricket Lewis. Cricket was just depraved, and evil, terribly, terribly self-centered.
What I do know is, does Cricket have the capabilities and the depravity to do something like that?
Absolutely. Absolutely. -Cricket-- hope I'm not shot for this-- but I mean, Cricket made her money on her back.
I mean, yes, she had a bar. But I think that the bar that she had was bought from the inheritance of an old lady
that she took care that, of course, died under her care. NARRATOR: Investigators had suspects.
All they needed now was some hard evidence. 29-year-old Kem Wenger was killed when a pipe bomb
exploded in her Bloomington, Illinois, home. Kem was divorced with two children,
and worked both as a hairdresser and occasionally a house cleaner. -It was creepy because here's this decent person, who has not
done anything to deserve anything like this, murdered in a very heinous way. -She's the type that she would sit down with a bowl of popcorn
and soda, and watch a good scary movie. That was her Saturday night. She loved it.
She was so much fun. And yes, I miss her terribly. NARRATOR: At the time of her death,
Kem was engaged to Kurt Simon, a Presbyterian minister who was now a suspect in her murder.
-Just the thought that somebody would kill her was just beyond belief. NARRATOR: The other suspect in Kem's murder
was her own mother, Cricket Lewis. Kem had a strained relationship with her mother.
They barely spoke to one another. And witnesses said Cricket behaved badly at her daughter's funeral.
-While everybody else was crying, and reliving Kem's memory, and just basically not able
to do much because everybody was so distraught, Cricket just kept complaining that Kem let her life insurance
policy lapse, and that nobody's going to get any money out of this. -You can't judge by reactions at the funeral though.
You just-- because people express loss in very different ways. I mean, some people laugh at funerals and some people cry
at funerals. NARRATOR: Like Kurt Simon, Cricket Lewis denied any involvement in her daughter's murder.
When all of the bomb fragments were recovered, investigators found some distinctive features.
The explosive charge had been wrapped with metal ball bearings, or BBs, which increased its killing power.
-When the bomb explodes, they would be traveling at very high rate of speed. There'll be several hundred pieces of either metal
or, in this case, metal and BBs, would be projected towards its intended victim.
NARRATOR: Gas chromatography testing revealed that two different types of gunpowder
had been used. We won't reveal the specific components except to say there may have been a motive for the mixture.
-It would create a more powerful explosion, yes. NARRATOR: The sheer power of the device
indicated that Kem's fiance, Kurt, may have been a target as well. -This bomb was strong enough to kill several people.
I do believe that Kem was the intended target. But I also believe that, you know, had I been standing
in the room and killed by this thing, that that would have just been considered a bonus.
NARRATOR: Investigators didn't think Kurt knew how to build a bomb, let alone one with a motion
sensor device and so much power. -One of the end caps had two holes drilled in it, which was very unique.
At the time of my evaluation of the evidence, there were more than a handful of pipe bombs
involving an end cap with multiple holes drilled in, and over 20,000 entries in our database.
So it made it very unique. -I don't think Kurt Simon could make a bomb if his life depended on it.
NARRATOR: For the same reason, Kem's mother, Cricket, was eliminated as a suspect.
-We didn't feel she had the ability, the mentality, to build such a device. I think she was preoccupied by her own personal problems.
NARRATOR: The next logical suspect was Kem's ex-husband, Paul. He lived only two miles away, and he knew Kem's schedule
because they shared custody of their daughter. -Anytime someone's divorced, and you're
going to look and see who would have the motive. Who would be motivated to hurt someone else?
You know? What's the past history there? -There was a little dispute as far as custody,
and some support that was being given to Kem financially. So there was some potential there for a motive.
NARRATOR: Paul said he was with his friends and daughter for the entire weekend.
And they all corroborated his alibi. Next, investigators learn that one of Kem's former coworkers,
Phil Hartman, may have had the motive. Kem had filed a sexual harassment complaint
against Hartman, alleging that he continued to make sexual advances towards her even
after management ordered him to stop. Hartman was fired and promised to get even.
-He did make some statements about, I'll get you for this, I'll get back at you, something like that.
So he became a person of interest right away. NARRATOR: But Hartman was in another state
when Kem was murdered. And he had an airtight alibi. -He was actually working at the time of the explosion.
And he had several witnesses, several people, who could testify the fact that he was there, not in the area,
had not left the area for several months. NARRATOR: Now, investigators were baffled and realized
they would have to look deeper to find out who wanted Kem Wenger and Kurt Simon dead.
-I would characterize this as one of the coldest, calculated murders that I've ever been involved with.
NARRATOR: In the search for Kem Wenger's killer, investigators had one last suspect to interview--
Dale Fosdick, a former boyfriend and the father of Kem's youngest child. -The relationship between Dale and Kem
seemed to be fraught with acrimony. There was disputes over child visitation and child support.
NARRATOR: Friends said that Fosdick didn't always behave as a responsible father.
He often failed to pay child support. And when he did, it was usually late. -It just got crazy.
She couldn't get a hold of him for days at a time. He wouldn't acknowledge her. He wouldn't-- wouldn't answer her phone calls.
NARRATOR: Kurt Simon had offered to adopt the child in order to provide a stable home life.
-If he's finding having a son to be a real nuisance, if he's not wanting to take care of him, if he's not
wanting to be part of his life, let me do it. I'll do it with open arms and more--
be more than happy to do it. NARRATOR: Investigators discovered that this made Fosdick angry.
-Dale starts getting pushed out of Kemberly Wenger's life. And he has to sit there and watch her new love,
or imagine, her new love while he's being pushed aside, and living in his lonely little apartment
on the east side of Bloomington. NARRATOR: Also suspicious, Fosdick worked as a machinist at a nearby Caterpillar plant.
Obviously, he was mechanically inclined. -He had some electrical skills. He was an airplane model hobbyist.
He put together model airplanes from scratch, including the engine. NARRATOR: Armed with a warrant, investigators
searched Fosdick's home. And in the basement was every possible component to make model airplanes, or possibly a bomb.
-All kind of electrical components, microswitches, batteries, wire cutters, wire strippers,
wrenches, screwdrivers, everything that you could imagine. NARRATOR: In the kitchen, Fosdick
issued what appeared to be a challenge. -He had lined up a series of tools on the kitchen table.
And right next to these tools was a newspaper with Kem Wenger's obituary. To me, that was sending a very clear message.
The message was, hey, I did it. Now you prove it. NARRATOR: Investigators collected the tools
on the kitchen table for analysis. They also reviewed Fosdick's credit card receipts for the past six months.
And one item stood out. -Dale Fosdick had purchased several packets of the slingshot BB ammunition in early February and March.
Which was significant because this is the same type of slingshot ammunition that was used
in the manufacture of the bomb. -And the handwriting analyst concluded that the signatures
on the credit card receipts were indeed those of Mr. Fosdick. NARRATOR: Investigators found some of those BBs
in Fosdick's basement, and they were compared to the ones found at the bomb site.
Each one was carefully weighed and measured. -There has to be more to tie this together.
The size and shape of the shot isn't specific enough to be a direct link between the suspect and the bombing.
It's just circumstantial evidence. NARRATOR: Then investigators remembered the shreds
of wire found at the bomb site. -I could see tears in the installation, which means that the blade did not come completely together.
So that the installation had to be ripped in places. NARRATOR: And they also had a pair of wire cutters
from Fosdick's kitchen table. Tool mark examiner, John O'Neil noticed that the blades were slightly offset.
This gave him hope that he could identify the tiny imperfections on the blade of the tool.
-Every tool has a unique mark. Even if they're manufactured the same, they will still have a different mark
left when they cut an item. And certainly as one's usage of the item continues, it will become more and more obvious.
-We have a manufacturing process that has to sharpen these blades. And then the use of them and the abuse of them
adds accidental marks, which further separate them from their brothers in manufacturing.
NARRATOR: O'Neil used Fosdick's wire cutters to strip the insulation from a sample piece of wire.
Then wrapped the ends in silver foil to improve the visibility under the microscope.
He then compared the test wire to the wire recovered from the bomb site. At 50 times magnification, O'Neil
could see that the microscopic striations in the rubber insulation lined up perfectly across both samples.
Clear proof that Fosdick's wire cutters had been used in making the bomb. -To me, this evidence is the strength
to say that that tool and whoever held it was the person who manufactured the device that killed an innocent person.
-Certain cutting tools he owned were used to cut the wire that was involved in the bomb.
And the wire was at his house as well. So without saying Dale Fosdick built the bomb,
Dale Fosdick built the bomb. -That was our smoking gun. That was our fingerprint.
NARRATOR: Despite his denials, Dale Fosdick was arrested and charged with first degree murder.
-We knew we had our man. NARRATOR: What was the motive for killing 29-year-old Kem Wenger?
Prosecutors believed Dale Fosdick was angry with Kem for ending their relationship, especially
since they had a child together. Fosdick was also troubled by Kem's desire to gain full custody by having her new fiance, Kurt Simon,
adopt the child. The evidence shows Fosdick designed a pipe bomb with extraordinary power, and took
every precaution to avoid detection. But he inadvertently signed his name to his work
by leaving those tool marks on a single piece of wire. He put together most of the bomb at his house.
But to make sure he didn't blow himself up while transporting it, he did the final assembly in Kem's basement.
He carefully placed the bomb on the foyer floor near a table, where he usually left his child support payments.
And Fosdick may have suspected both Kem and Kurt would enter the house together.
Or perhaps he didn't care which one he killed. Kurt apparently walked right by the device without noticing it.
But something about the packaging caught Kem's eye. -That's the mother of his own child.
That's a brutal murder. NARRATOR: When Fosdick learned that investigators planned
to search his home, he placed his bomb-making tools on the kitchen table, next to Kem's obituary.
In so doing, he provided investigators with the smoking gun and never realized it.
-You think of a bomb exploding, and you think of evidence evaporating. But in fact, you leave a good deal of evidence behind.
-We were just able to determine that it, A, it was functioned electrically. B, it functioned by motion.
And C, it involved a minimum of two microswitches. NARRATOR: Throughout the trial, Fosdick
maintained his innocence. But the jury found the tool mark evidence too strong to overlook.
-The jury looked at that. And I could see a light bulb going off in each one of their heads, saying, I can see it.
I know what they're talking about. At that point, I saw most of them turn and stare at Dale Fosdick.
And I knew at that point, they had made the determination that in fact, Dale Fosdick was guilty.
-I had watched the slides from the electron microscope, and watched to see how he had lined everything up,
and had done this work in this painstaking, unbelievably difficult work. And was able to pin the hard evidence to this bomb,
to this killer. And I thought, I've got some new heroes now. These guys did a fantastic job.
And I was very, very impressed. NARRATOR: Dale Fosdick was convicted of first degree
murder, and was sentenced to 55 years in prison. -Just the fact that he thought he could get away with it,
and they got him. That's what's so great. You can't outsmart science. That's for sure.
-I guess he's not quite as bright as he thought he was. NARRATOR: Fosdick narrowly escaped the death penalty
because a single juror voted against it. -This is a very dangerous human being. He never gave any kind of indication that he was sorry.
I think the only thing that he was sorry about was that he got caught. [theme music]

A 29-year-old woman was killed instantly when a bomb exploded in her home. The device was so powerful that shrapnel was embedded in houses across the street. The bomber had not only knowledge and skill, but also a motive for murder.

Forensic Files is the longest-running true crime series in television history. Evidence and interviews with experts help solve real crimes, disease outbreaks and accidents around the world.

Brief Summary

Kem Wenger was murdered by a bomb, leading to the arrest of her ex-boyfriend Dale Fosdick after key evidence linked him to the crime.

Key points

Kurt Simon's Suspicion. Kurt Simon suspects his fiancée's mother, Cricket, of being involved in the murder.
The Tragic Bombing of Kem Wenger. Kem Wenger was killed by a pipe bomb in her home, shocking her fiancé and community.
Dale Fosdick's Arrest. Dale Fosdick was arrested for the murder of Kem Wenger after evidence linked him to the bomb.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I had looked down and I had noticed a pair of legs.

Kurt Simon realizes the tragedy that has occurred.

1:29WatchJan 14, 2022

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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