Mystery on County Road M | Full Episode | Forensic Files

[Music] I like to make a TOS to Todd and bar hope you live a long and happy life
here's the Todd and bar Jessica I will be girl I always said when I was younger you know God I want
be just like my parents there's my son Jordan how old are you Jordan I want to be married young and have kids and well
off just totally in love with my partner just like them right ladies and gentlemen is my
understanding you've reached the verdict is that correct yes sure did it ever occur to you that your dad would be
blamed for the death of your mother Mr Ken Hammer if you please rise absolutely not leave the jury find the defendant
Tad Ken Hammer guilty a first-degree intentional homicide is charged in the information husbands kill their wives
all the time the husbands kill their wives where only they know the motive every day but it happens all the time
time11 what is the adder Todd K never called 911 at 806 a.m. on a Friday morning was in a car
accident you a p or something came through a l he reported that there was an accident where a truck lost a pipe
and it hit his wife and he needed help she got out Northern M he tried to do CPR while she bled all over
you're doing great I think he was just [Music] frantic this is the driver this is Todd
I got to see if she's okay well just wait let them do their work okay the only thing he really cared about was
what's happening to Barbara and when can I see her no I don't want to go with [Music]
the injuries on Barbra did not occur by a pipe coming through the windshield do you believe that Todd kendhammer
murdered his wife yes and they exhaustively searched for a motive in this case no infidelity no
financial trouble no life insurance no domestic violence history no argument history do I know why he did it all I
don't but I know it didn't happen from a pipe coming off a truck because there was no truck and none of his story is
true what are we looking at here here's the area where the pipe went through the
windshields you can tell standing right next to it it's pretty easy to take a pipe and hit it just like that it only
makes sense one way is that he caused her injuries caused her death and tried to cover it
up it was a sensational narrative the way the state wanted to present it a man kills his wife stages an accident the
jury was given a very narrow view of what really happened and what the evidence really
showed what do you want people to know about your father that he's not a bad person he didn't do this
and he deserves to come home do you think that Todd kendhammer got a fair trial no I don't all right
Dad we'll get you out don't worry about it if this could happen to Todd kin hammer it could happen to anybody
[Music] [Music] every year where the Mississippi widens out on its steady Journey South
alongside the Rivertown of Lacrosse Wisconsin bald eagles gather lofty symbols of Freedom they SAR
close to the remote country road where 46-year-old Barbara kendhammer was fatally
injured the circumstances so unusual made headlines and sent her husband Todd to prison for life I just became
fascinated by the story that I saw unfolding here I'm looking for the actual exhibit here now Tod hand
Hammer's appeals team says his murder conviction is the true Injustice that occurred in this controversial case do
you believe that Todd Kemmer had anything to do with the death of his wife no this was an accident you don't
believe there was a murder at all not at all this is not a murder case it was because of this man right here right
lawyer Jerry Bey is best known for defending Steven Avery on Netflix making a murder and now along with the attorney
Kathleen stilling who also happens to be his wife they've taken on Todd's case which they say should be measured by his
marriage to Barbara the relationship was really special and that was one of the things that really drew me to this case
the idea that out of the blue he would snap and kill his wife and then stage the accent it just seems so implausible
to me they insist this isn't a murder mystery it's an oldfashioned love story that ended in a tragic
accident I want to talk to you about bart during his trial Todd told the court that he fell for Barbara at First
Sight just one of these things where you you know immediately um that's the girl
you want both were just 16 friends at first they began dating in 1989 and in August 1991
they sealed the deal good night good night night soon Jessica and then Jordan came along hey
Witnesses they say to a romance how would you describe your dad well mom always called him a wild
hair he's always always always on the go always has some new crazy idea and she just like was all about going with him
for anything to the kids it was clear Todd adored Barbara he's just always like doning on her with
stuff did your parents argue more than any other couple definitely not I would say no basically whatever my mom wanted
my dad gave it to her Barbara worked in the cafeteria at the West Salem Middle School Todd at a
factory making aluminum soda cans on the side he flipped houses with Barb that was like the biggest out on a whim thing
he was like let's buy a house and flip it we're just like okay for extra income Todd also worked with glass replacing
people's smashed and broken windshields they paid their bills and lived comfortably they were just in a really
good time in their lives cuz they had their first grandchild and they were well off in
2016 Jessica and Jordan threw their parents a surprise 25th anniversary party everything was perfect it was good
until it wasn't yeah it was a month later September 16th 2016 the kendhammer family Was preparing
for their annual camping trip the plan was to leave later that day after Barb finished work I woke up in the morning M
and dad were still home I heard mom in the kitchen it was early that morning Jordan home from college says he heard
the garage door open and his parents car leave no arguing nothing unusually he says just his dad likely driving his mom
to work at school if he had off he'd take her to work and he'd go about doing his errand things and then when he got
done he'd pick her up a little after 7:45 the couple stopped at the home of a neighbor they
were looking after her house while she was away and stayed just a few minutes and then surprisingly instead of heading
to Barb's School Todd headed north away from it why he did would become a critical question 911 what the emergency
at 8:05 a.m. a distraught Todd made that call to 911 he said there had been a horrible accident and Barbara was badly
hurt she's hitting a head in the throat I think in the throat or something at this scene Todd began to tell his
version of what happened there was a pipe in the ground no come out of that tree off the truck off a truck a truck
or a trailer or something Barb was rushed to the hospital is she okay I can't tell you that I don't know placed
by cops into a squad car Todd continued with his account I thought it was a bird
at first and then at the last I seen it said it was a pipe soon Jessica and Jordan met their
father he seemed devastated his T-shirt soaked in blood he was kind of pale and shaky and panicky and wanted to know how
she was doing like all the time tell me what he told you about the accident they
were driving and something came and it and it hit mom I was like how did a pipe hit her he
said it came through the windshield and I pulled it out of the windshield how did you find out how
seriously your mom was really really injured the neurosurgeons kept coming in and giving us updates but the way that
they're talking her prognosis was pretty poor the start of a family holiday fast
turned into an allnight bedside vigil it wouldn't last long it was like 4 or 5 or
something when they actually pronounced her like brain dead how did your father deal with that
news he was just very upset [Music] as Dawn broke over the Mississippi Barbara kendhammer wife mother
grandmother took her last breath she was gone the family mourned they had already made the tough
decision to donate Barbara's organs but things would soon get even tougher police were already supicious of
Todd take pictures of Todd his front all the blood his knuckles everything at the
scene of the incident cops had noticed Todd's bloody knuckles and he had what appeared to be scratch marks on his neck
the police kept finding one more step and one more step that would disprove his story
[Music] so how big is this pipe Tim 53 in long and it weighs about 10 lb this thing is heavy this is the pipe
that Todd canhammer says flew off a truck smashed into the windshield of the car he was driving and caused his wife
Barbara's death a story that prosecutor Tim grinkie says is simply preposterous our theory is that he used that himself
to put the hole in the windshield it didn't fly off of a a truck going by Todd said he was traveling north and
Highway M grinkie says the police became suspicious of Todd when pieces of his story just didn't seem to add up turned
right on the Bergen Road starting with that mysterious truck this is the description Todd kendhammer gave police
it was a older like a bigger flatbed looking truck like a pickup truck with a flat bit on it what color was the cab I
don't even remember it was darker I don't that's all I know dark green or dark blue so he's going this way and he
claims that a truck carrying a pipe what going this way correct were you ever able to find a truck no uh police uh
spent some time uh looking for the truck and putting out word to the uh Community
to ask if anybody saw a truck that day surveillance video from a horse ranch down the road does show what
appears to be the kendhammer car pass by at approximately 7:57 a.m. on the day of
the incident but at around the same time no truck that matched the description Todd gave police was ever seen heading
in the opposite direction and then 4 days after the incident medical examiner Dr kathle
mccubbin conducted an autopsy on Barbara she didn't understand what she first heard a pipe had done it she had called
law enforcement to look at the pipe cuz she didn't understand how that could be Barbara had three lacerations on the
back of her head she said that the injuries to Barb were very inconsistent with a pipe of that size and that weight
coming through windshield she concluded that barb died of blunt trauma injuries of the head and
neck with skull fractures CID cartilage fractures and ultimate brain death the CID is the ring-shaped bony cartilage
structure that's located in the lower neck what do you believe caused the broken cryo cartilage it's consistent
with strangulation the medical examiner also noted that there were countless other injuries on Barbara that suggested
there could have been an earlier struggle she had scratches on her neck a broken nose a laceration on her forehead
and bruising all over her body she had injuries to her fingers do you need any medical attention Todd also had injuries
to his hands he said that came from striking the windshield when he saw something flying at him and he had what
appeared to be scratches on his neck and chest as well he said he got that cuz he
worked with glass turns out he doesn't work with glass he puts in windshields but he doesn't normally work with glass
or broken glass so those injuries seemed odd it seems consistent like someone who
was in a fight uh a really bad fight police it all o interviewed a construction worker who said he drove by
the kendhammer car around 8:00 a.m. but didn't see any damage to the windshield or any people around he saw the car in
the ditch and thought maybe somebody had just driven off the road or tried to make a turn and got stuck so he didn't
see anybody he didn't see either Todd nor Barbara corre could they have been hidden in the High Grass well that's the
only thought is that he was maybe trying to hold her down and keep her from calling for help
there were other red flags on the day of the incident Barbara was scheduled to work at 8:00 a.m. but she never called
to say she'd be late she also did not make her daily call to her mom it's a woman who's never been late for work who
always calls her mom when you look at patterns that's an obvious change of the pattern and where were Todd and Barbara
driving to that morning going in the opposite direction from Barbara's work I'm gonna put a windshield in a truck
for for a guy this is what Todd canhammer told investigators on the drive to the hospital a windshield
you're replacing somebody drive in his truck I was going to take it to my Todd told police that on the way to drive
barbar to work he decided to drive over to pick up a truck that needed a windshield replaced he said the truck
with keys inside was in the driveway of a person he knew from work named Justin H we do that no I didn't call him I was
just going to thing over and if it was there grabing but when the investigators spoke with Justin Heim he told a very
different story when the police looked into that they found Justin Heim never had ordered a windshield from Todd
didn't need a windshield Todd didn't even know where he lived so just one week after Barbara's
death and just two days before her funeral investigators asked Todd to come down to the police station under the
ruse that they had some leads on trucks that may have dropped the pipe that day are you okay if I take C I didn't take
no medicine this morning yeah that's fine as investigators began to question him Todd told them he had not taken his
anti-anxiety medication and he appeared confused and forgetful of details um I I I just don't
I remember I remember and I don't know how I remember I remember that's and that's how I was and I don't
the pipe was the pipe was there he was trying to help like he thought they were trying to help him find the cause of the
accident how did the pipe get through La you let's start there I I don't it came
off the truck but they were closing in on what they believed were Todd's lies there's no explanations for it you can't
the injuries that were un Barbed did not occur from that accident from a pipe going through your windshield and then
when police pressed him about where he was actually going that day I talked to Justin to canhammer changed his story he
told a story that he wasn't going to Justin heim's house it was actually friend of Justin's police would later
find that friend who told them he also didn't need a windshield and was not expecting Todd the day of the incident
isn't it possible he was in shock isn't it possible that he just can't remember anything from that time part of it I
could see somebody not remembering a detail or two um not remembering uh something traumatic but the things that
surround it usually do remember so things like remembering where you were going after three and a half hours of
questioning Todd investigators let him go home but they kept building their case
do I know exactly blowby blow how it happened no I don't but I know it didn't happen from a pipe coming off a truck
3 months after Barbara's death Todd kendhammer was arrested we were basically just like well how do we get
him back out cuz he's not supposed to be in there Jessica hoped a jury would believe her father when Todd took the
stand to tell his side of the story at his trial I think he just looked like somebody who was trying to explain a
Way's lies [Music] what started out looking like a tragic car accident would soon become much more
complicated in December of 2017 when Todd kendhammer went on trial for his wife Barbara's murder almost everyone
who attended was there to support him yet his daughter Jessica feared the worst every day as in a constant state
of anxiet and couldn't eat and couldn't sleep the cause of Barbara Ken Hammer's death was blunt impact injuries of her
head and neck the state star witness was medical examiner Dr kathle mccubbin I do
not believe that these injuries are consistent with the end of a pipe striking the back of the head Todd's
trial lawyer Steven Hurley didn't call a forensic pathologist of his own to dispute the state's case but tried to
create Reasonable Doubt during cross-examination if her head were moving at the time of the pipe coming
through the pipe had the potential because it is some 5 ft long to strike her head in more than one place is that
correct that may be possible yes attorney Hurley asked mccubbin if Barbara's large water mug could have
slammed into her face if she ducked to avoid the pipe and cause some of the injuries and yes it could be it's a
possibility but when Hurley questioned Dr mccubbin he didn't focus on one of the critical injuries that Barbara
suffered the cry covid fracture which the prosecution insisted could only have been caused by Todd it could have
happened in a multitude of ways but I believe during the fight her CID fracture happens this is a view from the
inside of the car the windshield of the car was as hotly disputed as the medical
evidence the defenses expert mark melum with over 30 years of experience working
with glass believes the evidence supports Todd's Story by observing the crack branching the fracture patterns on
the windshield he said show three different events the first one was a hand impact when Mr Ken Hammer's fist
went into the glass the second event was the puncture when the pipe broke through
the windshield and the third harder to detect was caused he said when Todd removed the pipe from the windshield the
lines that are highlighted in here would but the state's forensic expert Nick stalky said the impacts didn't occur in
the order that mesum said they did da grinkie argues this is more evidence showing that to kendhammer intentionally
damaged the windshield and it was not from a pipe falling off a truck it couldn't have done what it he said it
did the crime lab found that the windshield had two strikes on the outside which is impossible however the
pipe comes it's not going to hit and then back up and then hit again if he wanted to kill ma why the hell would he
go through all the work and trouble to find a pipe drive all the way out to the middle of a busy road he has like 28
guns in the basement more than that this one's from their Crews Jessica and Jordan don't believe prosecutors ever
answered critical questions about what happened they never really said how he killed her or
what he did to Stage everything if what they're saying is he staged it and killed her at the same time the time
frame doesn't fit up either you don't have enough time to do all that stuff because that construction worker drove
by at 8:00 a.m. that morning Todd had just five minutes to Stage the crime before he called 911 at
805 so in that short period of time he had the presence of mind to go get the pipe out of the trunk go around break it
twice and call 911 and Minister CPR yes you can do a lot of damage in two or three minutes so it's more time than
people think Mr hurle you'll be finding your next witness yesmer with so much at stake the defense
decided to gamble by putting Todd kendhammer himself on the stand did you ever strike Barbara kenam no Todd tried
to explain to the why during the police interrogation he told investigators conflicting stories about where he was
going that morning when I watch that video it's me in the picture but it's not me talking it's not right state of
mind talking in that I wasn't thinking of where I was going or what I was doing I was thinking of Barb Todd seemed to be
doing well Mr grink you may begin your cross-examination until he had trouble remembering details about that day I
don't recall if I said that or not I don't remember that I can't recall for sure but his most damaging testimony may
have been when he changed his story yet again he told the jury about a third person he was supposedly going to see on
the day of the incident Jared Logan and today you say that you were trying to find the house of Mr loggan
correct that's another kind of odd statement to make that that's why you're were going that way and why you couldn't
have told the police that the first time or the second time or in the year before
the trial and just like the others Todd said he was going to visit that morning Lin said he had never arranged for Todd
to replace a windshield did you change your story for trial because you knew the police had figured out your lies
no we the jury find the defendant Todd Ken Hammer guilty of first degree in the jury was out just 9 hours before they
reached their verdict 3 months later today is time set for sentencing this matter everyone was back in the
courtroom the conviction had an automatic life sentence but it was up to the judge to decide if Tod Ken Hammer
would be eligible for parole I am here today I do not stand alone Jessica and Jordan were stunned when Jeran bner
wetstein their mom's cousin spoke out against Todd and read a letter signed by several other cousins I just remember
thinking like wow Barbara Found the courage that day to fight back therefore we stand here today United with that
same courage asking you to sentence her killer to the maximum penalty possible Jessica says jerianne had been as
stranged from their mother she basically painted the scene that she just feels so
bad about my mom and her big blue eyes even though her eyes are green my mom hates her we reached out to Jeran and
she denies Jessica's claims that she was as strange from Barbara but her testimony wasn't the only surprise that
day grinkie had some harsh words for the kendhammer family who had to sell Todd and Barbara's Home and Jessica's house
to pay Todd's legal bills pardon my language but to be perfectly Frank they they need to get their head out of their
ass they need to start looking at this in reality I don't think you should be able to talk that way in the courtroom
if you can think that to yourself and that's fine cuz I also think you're an ass but at I'm not going to say that out
at least word it different don't you think you might have added to their pain at that sentencing by saying that I
think I have to try to open their eyes in some way I think they're giving him false
hope and I think he's dragging them down with him by using all their money to continue in his
lies the judge ruled Todd kendhammer would be eligible for FR after 30 years but Todd's case is far from over
[Music] [Music] we the jury find the defendant toad Ken Hammer [Music] guilty Todd Ken Hammer's verdict was
guilty but Jess and Jordan are determined to clear his name cuz he didn't do it and he doesn't lie
so when he says he didn't do it we believe him that belief is why Barbara and Todd's children brought on beting
and stilling so this is Todds who understand that undoing a murder conviction is an immense challenge it's
very difficult to reverse a judgment that's become final it's kind of like trying to turn an aircraft carrier it's
slow and difficult to do the defense could have argued still they overcame a big first hurdle getting back in court
good morning judge morning attorneys Jerome buing and Kathleen steing Todd kendhammer was granted an evidentiary
hearing it was a chance to argue that his original defense team had been ineffective and that there was critical
new evidence so we were grateful that the judge was taking the time to see what we had come up with and four years
after his conviction for the intentional homicide of his wife Barbara inmate kendhammer was back in front of Judge
Todd Beery so presid is Mr kendhammer in custody it opened the courthouse doors a
crack to the possibility of a new trial is this the most hopeful you have felt that your dad may have a chance to walk
out of prison yeah the burden is now on the defense Jerry butin starts by calling a forensic
pathologist something Todd's First Defense team had elected not to do they chose to go a different route and I
think that was a a serious mistake that really damaged Todd's ability to defend himself but now Dr shaku tez Who has
performed some 6,000 autopsies would examine Barbara Ken Hammer's medical records and autopsy photos Did You
observe anything on her body that was consistent with Barbara K dammer having been beaten with fists no
or that she was a woman who had been in a fight no Dr teas contradicted the findings of
the medical examiner who had performed the autopsy and testified a trial Dr mccubbin yes her in some of her injuries
certainly could be consistent with an assault or beating as well yes consistent with strangulation it could
be yes but for Dr teas the Stark photos and Silent sketches tell a different story I
don't see any any injuries on Barbara that I would say are suggestive or are consistent with strangulation and Dr T
suggests that the injury to Barbara's CID could be due to that large travel mug so if she had that in her lap when
she's moving forward could that have caused the the CID fracture it could be the mug as for the injuries to the back
of her head if the pipe is coming in how would she get severe injuries in the back of her head because she ducked and
the pipe came through like that and and grazed the back of her [Music] head Barbara Ken Hammer died as a result
of an automobile accident and teas believes some injuries seen in the autopsy came from the Final
Act of Barbara Ken Hammer's generosity the harvesting of her donated organs but da grinkie doesn't buy the
theories of Dr teas I don't put a lot of faith in her testimon but when it comes to Todd Ken Hammer's
Guild or inocence beauty and stilling say there is more than just physical evidence to consider something very
traumatic and attention grabbing had occurred which would likely obliterate any short-term memory that Mr Kent
Hammer would have had the the defense hired another expert this time in human memory Dr Jeffrey ofst testified that
Todd Ken Hammer's various stories could be a result of stress from a terrible accident would you say that this was a
situation that was ripe for an inaccurate memory yes still the most controversial aspect
of this story is about that pipe that Todd claims crashed through his windshield and killed Barbara
as part of their initial investigation local authorities had attempted to reconstruct Todd's story of the deadly
incident on County Road M they tested and taped dropping a similar pipe off a truck to see if it
could in fact bounce the idea to determine if a pipe might have bounced high enough to hit the windshield of
Todd's oncoming car but Ken Hammer's lawyers thought the pipe test was inconclusive they never
shared the investigator's video with judge or jury and neither did the state I didn't think we needed it the defense
didn't want it we disagreed not to use it it was only at the new evidentiary hearing that the pipe test was finally
presented in court the first time the judge ever even heard of those experiments is in our motion Beauty
instilling shared the pipe test video with 48 Hours what you're showing me is that the state's own experts did an
experiment that if in fact the pipe bounc like this it could have done exactly what Todd said it did that's
right now that one hits on its end and look how it bounces and comes up really high comes
up high in your mind those videos show it could have happened that's the point yes which contradicts State
investigators who from the beginning had suggested said that a pipe slamming through Todd's windshield was next to
Impossible what are the odds that that would happen to a guy that changes windshields I mean what he suppos was
out there one in a trillion if at all Beauty instilling introduced evidence from across America to prove it's more
common than you think this one is in near Bakersville California a pipe that looks remarkably Sim SAR that went right
through this person's vehicle here's another one this one's Houston okay um and it goes right through and hits would
have killed a passenger and it turns out you don't have to be an expert to find a
piece of pipe along a country road there was another pipe on the road up the ways
that someone found there was a pipe and when was that pipe found shortly after and it was very
similar to the one that went through the Dy material what do you think happened I
believe a pipe came through and hit mom that belief in their father would not waver still how could the experts at
trial see a case so differently we decided to ask another forensic pathologist to take a fresh look at the
evidence the more I looked at it the more I understood why it's so complicated if it didn't happen the way Todd says it
happened then how did it happen Dr Lindsay Thomas is a forensic pathologist who has performed about 5,000 autopsies
this is the kind of case where it isn't that clearcut 48 Hours asked her to review the medical evidence in this case
including Dr mccubbins autopsy report the original autopsy was very well done and the conclusions that they reached
were very reasonable still Dr Thomas says she wouldn't have reached some of the same conclusions and that's what
makes this case so challenging the most troubling injury for her is that CID fracture on
Barbara's neck she agrees with Dr teas the forensic pathologist who testified for the defense in the evidentiary
hearing and does not believe that Barbara was strangled I've never seen a fractured Cid in strangulation I
wouldn't say it absolutely can't happen but certainly I haven't seen it I haven't read about it I haven't heard
about it it seems more consistent with the kind of thing that would happen in a weird car crash and she believes the
injuries to the back of Barbara's head were too severe to have been caused by Todd's fist but says Barbara could have
been hit with a heavy object like her mug yeah it would have to be a pretty substantial coffee cup but I understand
there was a pretty substantial coffee cup in the car ultimately Dr Thomas can't say for sure how Barbara sustained
her injuries based on just the medical evidence alone it wouldn't be one where you could definitely say oh this is
clearly a homicide or clearly an [Music] accident the idea that a man is sitting
in prison does that concern you well it always does when you have a case like this that isn't clearcut you just worry
a little that the evidence was given too much weight one way or the other or the
jury wasn't given all of the relevant materials had you ever served on a murder trial before as a jury member no
no never Tim Brennan the jury Foreman says he found Dr mccubbin testimony very convincing we shared with him some of
the new information from the evidentiary hearing including Dr T's conclusions if
you had heard a medical examiner disagree with Dr mccubbin would that have made a difference without hearing
the full extent of of that it's hard to say still he stands by the jury verdict when Todd Ken Hammer gave his testimony
he just came across as a person with a lot of falsehoods when you say falsehoods did you feel he was lying
definitely I'm very confident that we got it right as the kendhammer family awaits the
judge's ruling Todd is serving his life sentence more than two hours away from his kids what do you miss the most about
your mom and having your dad around I used to be annoyed that he would call me all the time and like always come over
but I can't miss it [Music] now I just miss having them around all the time and Jessica's daughter Carlin is growing
up without her grandparents their dream was always to do stuff with their grandkids so it's just really hard to
not have him with her now Jess Jordan and all those who believe in Todd kendhammer continue to
wait hoping he gets another shot at what they believe is Justice do you think your dad will be
coming home yeah we aren't going to stop until he can be home prosecutor grinkie believes justice
has already been sered for Barbara kendhammer do you have any concerns at all that you might have convicted an
innocent man not in this case no [Music] 48 hours to miss it would be a crime were you at all prepared for what
happened in this case [Music] n [Music]

Todd Kendhammer says his wife was killed in an accident -- a pipe flew off a truck and crashed into their car. Authorities say the scene was staged. "48 Hours" correspondent Erin Moriarty reports. Watch more full episodes of "48 Hours" on Pluto TV.

True rime. Real justice. "48 Hours" investigates the most intriguing crime and justice cases that touch on all areas of the human experience including greed and passion. "48 Hours," which premiered in 1988, has developed a rich history of original reporting and impact journalism that has helped exonerate wrongly convicted people, caused cold cases to be reopened and solved, and along the way changed lives.

For video licensing inquiries, contact: licensing@veritone.com

Brief Summary

Todd Kendhammer was convicted of murdering his wife, but his family believes he is innocent and fights for his exoneration.

Key points

The Verdict is In. The jury finds Tad Ken Hammer guilty of first-degree intentional homicide.
A Tragic Accident or Murder?. The case revolves around whether Todd Kendhammer accidentally killed his wife or staged her death.
A Family's Heartbreak. The Kendhammer family faces tragedy as Barbara is fatally injured in an accident.
Conflicting Stories. Todd's account of the accident raises suspicions among investigators.
The Trial Begins. Todd Kendhammer's trial for his wife's murder begins amidst family support and anxiety.
Todd Ken Hammer's Conviction. The jury finds Todd Ken Hammer guilty of first-degree murder after just 9 hours of deliberation.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

It could happen to anybody.

A daughter reflects on her father's situation.

3:28WatchNov 19, 2024

Tension

75/ 100High tension

More from 48 Hours

Solve the Crime

Read a real case one clue at a time, then see how your call held up against the investigators.