Weapons Experts in Murder Mysteries | "48 Hours" Full Episodes | Forensic Files

[Music] [Music] what do you think the most striking part of her young personality was to you her
confidence her confidence in who she was she could bring light to any situation she was just full of beauty
she was just like H I'm unstoppable she stood out cheerful caring down for Adventures she had hopes and dreams and
aspirations for her life that there was a big future ahead for her I was getting ready to go into work
someone text me call the police Nikki's gone in the first week I figured she was
just hanging out somewhere lost her phone or something we start making pliers and putting up
pliers I just knew that she was being held against her will or or Worse one of the first clues in this
case came from 17 y- old Nikki kousen herself when investigators discovered messages on Snapchat a social media
platform about someone she had met that night a man named David bonov all right this is detective David
Jensen with Vancouver Police and I have with me uh David bogdanov do I have your
consent to record this conversation y I saw her walking I walked up to her asked her why is she walking alone in
the middle of the night and she said that she had some big fight with her boyfriend and she's really upset and uh
I was just trying to be a nice guy you know so so you're the last person to ever see
her after she left with you no one ever saw her again I don't know what I what I
can tell you David is kind David is caring they had made everyone laugh he was everyone's
friend I try to keep my hopes high but after 6 months it's a little hard for that when you heard that her remains
were found what was your initial reaction it was devastating stand up for me please
investigators say David boganov killed 17-year-old Nikki kunh after suspected killer David bogdanov
made his first court appearance by the time we got to trial now we had three different versions of
what [Music] happened Mr banov will testify to what happened that night the whole time I was just yelling
for her to stop he was lying and he was full of anger she's trying to fight me and just reaching back and scratching at
my face he had no regard for her life at all there's a struggle going on here trying to gouge my eyes there's a life
or death struggle going on his actions and his words show that he intended to kill Nikki and he intended to kill her
because of who she was a transgender young woman this is a narrative and a story
that plays out all the time when trans people go missing they're usually found deceased
[Music] [Music] Lisa Woods will never forget the day her life changed forever it was June 6 2019
that's when her daughter Nikki kousen seemingly vanished Lisa says they talked daily before work I would call her every
day and talk to her before my shift she stopped answering immediately her mother's
intuition kicked in Lisa had a bad feeling that first day I took her sweatshirt and I made it into a
pillowcase and I slept with her picture and my Bible did you fear that something
had happened I knew something had happened Lisa filed a missing person's report at
first friend Ariel Fox wasn't too concerned lost her phone or something classic Nikki
move Ariel knew all about Nikki's moves after all they'd been best friends since
childhood she's like the Lively friend that's just always high energy when I first met Nikki she was
still going by Nick but she was definitely still Nikki at heart we lived across straight from each
other I want to say third and fourth grade Taylor Watts was a childhood friend as well she stood out you know
she was like cheerful was caring she was just Nikki becoming Nikki would be something
of an evolution but Lisa says she and her large family always knew very r did anybody call her Nicholas Nikki began
life as Nicholas but from a young age Lisa says Nikki had a strong sense of self there's this one picture with a
blonde wig on because the babysitter was a hairdresser and she snuck into her wigs so she always knew who she was MH
yeah she broke her arm and she had a pink cast her brothers were so mad that I let her get a pink cast I'm like she
picked the color it's her broken arm it was around sixth grade that Nikki made her gender identity public she
decided that she was going to be Nikki all the time not just at home so she started dressing as herself as a woman
young woman as a young woman Lisa says Nikki was widely accepted for who she was especially among a certain In Crowd
the cheerleaders loved the way that she did her makeup and they wanted her to do
their makeup as well and she hoped that passion would one day turned into her dream job she
wanted to be Nikki Minaj's hair makeup artist so that was her goal like Most teens Nikki loved to Post
online one day she came home and told me Mom I'm Facebook famous especially tributes to her Idol that other
[Music] Nikki how important do you think social media was to Nikki it was pretty
important she loved doing selfies she loved how many likes she got Lisa says Nikki also like fighting for
the underdog I was called to the school on many occasions because she had been suspended for hitting someone but it was
always a situation where she was defending someone else Nikki's parents had divorced when
she was young mother and daughter remained close as Nikki became a teen we would go get our nails done we would
just drive around and go by the water and walk by the water but in high school they things
would begin to change Nikki was going to school but she wouldn't make it all the
time and she'd be hard to get a hold of sometimes she just wouldn't wake up she'd miss the bus Lisa says she knew
what was wrong Nikki had started abusing drugs she said to me Mommy I don't think
I can do my homework without being high and she was 16 friends say Nikki had started using
methan phetamine that's when I realized I was was talking to an addict instead of my daughter Lisa says there were many
attempts to get Nikki into rehab to help her kick drugs for good but nothing seemed to stick for months Nikki
continued to struggle just how dangerous Nikki's addiction was became app parent
to Lisa in 2018 I got a call at work from a detective Lisa was told Nikki had been shot six times
Lisa raced to the hospital expecting the worst but when she arrived she's so excited two of her
girlfriends were there and she had her makeup all done she was sitting up laughing and they were doing selfies and
I looked at the detective and I'm like I thought you said she was shot six times it was a miracle says Lisa none of
Nikki's injuries were life-threatening it missed every major artery in her neck in her thigh
twice in the stomach in her leg in the back of her calf Lisa says Nikki told her she was shot during a dispute over
drugs what do you think it says about Nikki she was able to survive being shot six times she was a tough cookie
yeah very tough the man responsible for Nikki's shooting was never apprehended Lisa
hoped Nikki's brush with death would serve as the inspiration ation for Nikki to turn her life around and did you
think okay you know we're on a different path now I did I mean she knew it was a miracle she
knew now a year later Nikki was missing and Lisa was hoping for another miracle [Music]
the mother of a missing Vancouver teenager not giving up hope that her child will be found safe in June 2019
Lisa Woods had just one goal finding her daughter Nikki coonen all of Nikki's social media accounts had gone
silent we start making fers I remember there are Flyers everywhere Clark County prosecutor Kristen Arno you couldn't go
to the grocery store with without seeing that flyer news of Nikki's Disappearance
in Vancouver Washington started to get more attention she vanished more than 2 weeks ago and today was listed on the
national Center for missing and exploited children website police talked to Nicki's
roommates and learned the last time they'd seen her was the day she vanished Nikki was heading out the door to meet a
man she'd met just hours before but who was he Clark County prosecutor Colin Haye says her social media messages
provided investigators with their first clue about who Nikki was seeing that night we have their Snapchat messages so
we know that he picked her up would have been somewhere 5:00 a.m. is or so he doesn't want to pick up the crumbs he
was this man 25-year-old David bonov who worked at his family-owned construction
business their exchanges gave police their first glimpse of a timeline when he and and Nikki met that was the last
time she was seen Alive by anyone else so detectives were looking to talk to him within a couple weeks of Nikki going
missing the investigators tried his home they left cards I think they also tried
calling him weren't able to get a hold of him they also sent Snapchat messages but bogdanov did not reply it seemed he
had vanished just like Nikki weeks grew into months without any leads I just knew that she was being
held against her will or worse in late September nearly 4 months after Nikki went missing investigators
finally heard from David bogdanov he said he had had phone problems and had just gotten their messages detectives
asked him to come in for questioning hoping he could help the investigation until you talk to him and get the story
you don't necessarily know if there might be maybe there was someone else after that may have seen her so on
October 2nd bdon voluntarily met with Detective David Jensen of The Vancouver Police Department David were you aware
that this is recording yep in their recorded interview bogdanov told Jensen he was out drinking with his brothers on
June 6th when he noticed a young woman it was on this Vancouver block around 3:00 a.m. that David bogdanov claims he
first spotted Nikki alone he says he walked over to her to check to see if she was okay they started
talking I offered her my jacket cuz it was really cold outside bonov also offered Nikki a drink I said do you want
some vodka cuz I got some if you want to have a drink just to relax a little bit
and she said sure So I just gave her that bottle to take with her he also gave Nikki his contact information I did
give her my Snapchat name I wanted to just exchange Snapchat since she didn't have a phone with her
bogd donov says he and Nikki then parted ways a few hours later Nikki sent him the address where she was staying with
friends bonov drove over and picked her up he said he was going to help her find
her phone cuz her phone was missing later that morning bonov says he and Nikki found themselves alone in his car
kind of just parked there in the driveway chitchatting a little bit and then she told me that she's not
she bonov says that's when Nikki revealed she was transgender I was shocked to find that out and just
uncomfortable and really really Disturbed and I asked her to please get out of the car cuz this is just really
weird for me she just got out of the car and I took off he's pretty vague about the details at that point and just says
that was the last I saw ever while he was uncertain about some details of that night Arno says bonov
was clear on one topic he went out of his way to make sure that they knew that he found that anyone who was part of the
lgbtqi community that he found them disgusting lgbtqi is an abbreviation to refer to
lesbian gay bisexual transgender queer and intersects people and communities for me it's even disturbing
when I'm around gay person or somebody by or transsexual or something you know so I just got disgusted and I asked her
to just get out bonov offered up another piece of information though he was never
asked I wish I could help you more but it's I don't know I'm not a kind of person to I'm not even a violent person
you know at all nothing bdon of's interview ended and he left the police station then on December 7th
2019 6 months after Nikki vanished a man walking on nearby by Larch Mountain found something that
would change this case forever nobody goes about their day expecting that they're going to find a
[Music] body I had made her a Christmas card that morning because I had hoped that
she was coming home it was nearly Christmas 2019 and Lisa Woods was aching for one miraculous gift
the safe return of her 17-year-old daughter Nikki kousen she'd been missing for six unbearable months and I prayed
and I prayed to bring my baby home just bring my baby home to me but the unsettling discovery of a
human skull on December 7th 2019 brought a swarm of local authorities to thickly
wooded Larch Mountain including Detective Joe Swenson from the Clark County Sheriff's Office this was the
trail that we actually entered into the area and there were items found immediately inside the tree line
underneath the dense canopy of trees the remnants of a human life had been scattered by animals down a Steep Ravine
there were a bunch of clothing items found down there specifically like a green jacket some underwear there was a
bandana there were more bones jewelry you also found a phone cord correct what's the significance of that when we
found the the phone charging cord it was tied in a knot but it was in a circle about 4 in in diameter Tangled inside
the knotted cord were artificial multicolored hair extensions so looking at the cord in conjunction with the hair
it seemed pretty obvious that if it were placed around somebody's neck that's how
the the hair would have gotten caught up in it after combing the rugged terrain for 2 days detectiv suspected someone
had been murdered you know we had a couple of missing persons cases that were kind of on our mind we started
talking with more detectives and other agencies and learning hey this could be Nikki kousen and oh come to find out
she's been missing for six months that's when The Vancouver Police began another exhaustive search says
Swenson comparing evidence photos taken on the mountain to Nikki's personal photos found online looking for
matches and actually found a lot of images of her wearing the exact items that we had found up
here and so it was a good confirmation initially to be able to say yeah we're pretty sure this is Nikki about a week
later dental records verified the victim's identity it was Nikki kousen and it was murder
the medical examiner determined that Nikki had been strangled to death with that cell phone charger
cord sorry for interrupting your commute this morning um December 17th 2019 Vancouver police detective David Jensen
once again questioned the last known person to see Nikki alive David bagdanov sound like you said that you were going
to go your job side went to work yeah he went to work bonov stuck to his story on
the morning of June 6th after Nikki devold she was transgender he said he was shocked and Disturbed and that's
when you're like I'm not basically kicked her out I'm not into this and kicked her out of the van sent her on
her way bonov said he then drove straight to work in nearby Portland Oregon so at the
time that we talked I didn't have uh the benefit of all of your your phone records okay but but now there's been
some initial analysis done so you left your phone left and then went East out past large
mountain what happened on that trip his cell phone record suggested he had never driven to work
that morning but actually traveled in the opposite direction to Larch Mountain that trip took about an hour
round trip up some logging roads and then back again I think I want to to with the
Lord okay all right so you were being arrested today for the murder of Nikki whose remains have been
discovered who was strangled to death okay stand up for me please a few hours later detective David Jensen told
Lisa they had found Nikki and I fell on my knees and start screaming and he came
in and held me until I could gain my composure after I calmed down Dave told me I want you to know that I arrested
David this morning I wanted to make sure he was charged and behind bars before I came and told
you charges were murder in the second degree and malicious harassment which is now called hate crime in
Washington what were your First Reactions when you heard he had been arrested I mean truthfully I was pretty
surprised clinical social worker Devin Davis Williamson and Lynden walls are transgender activists they launched the
justice for Nikki task force most of the time in our culture in our country if a
trans person is killed there is not an arrest made we think it's right around 30% of trans people who are murdered
have someone arrested and fully prosecuted having someone held accountable I think only that can start
the healing and also bring attention to some of the things that the trans Community
is burdened with part of their burden says Lyndon is living with fear fear of being
misunderstood fear of being attacked a recent UCLA law school study concluded that transgender people are
four times more likely than non-transgender people to become victims of violent crime and explosion of hate
the American Medical Association has called an epidemic of [Applause] violence a transgender woman was found
shot and killed over the weekend we need this to [Applause] stop there was a vigil for
her it was um really overwhelming to see how much love that the trans Community had come together
for my daughter and that's where I met Devon she helped me find Focus then purpose she told me that she was going
to make sure that nobody forgot Nikki's name and it was going to make a difference with help from her new
friends Lisa's Focus slowly shifted from the horror of facing her daughter's violent death to the hope of finding
Justice for her murder Lisa was so driven to see Justice and to do right for her child and I think that's given
Lisa purpose and drive to stay alive she was a rainbow of light she was so confident in who she was at a press
conference just days after bogdanov's arrest Lisa Woods became activist she was I believe this man I believe he
killed her because she was a transgender I believe that with all my heart by August 2021 David bogdanov's Day of
Reckoning was fast approaching his murder trial was just 2 weeks away when prosecutors learned he had changed his
story dramatically you solemnly swear or affirm the and he would take the stand to tell it himself she's jumping from my
gun and all I can think is oh my God I'm going to get shot right [Music] [Music]
now always there for everyone no matter what Vicky matsuk David bogdanov's niece
does not believe her uncle is capable of the murder he's accused of committing he
would always get along with everyone just days before the trial he reassured his sister Lily I just remember him
telling us not to worry he was ready to just face whatever is coming and Lisa was also ready I just
prayed I prayed for God to have his hands it the red light is the microphone the court supplied a zoom feed as the
trial got underway in August 2021 each day family and friends rallied around Lisa wearing pink masks to court
Le have a seat I think sitting in a room with the man that murdered your kid is hard impossibly
hard Now ladies and Gentlemen please give your attention opening statements began with a bold claim from the defense
our client did not strangle Nikki kousen causing her death because she's transgendered Nikki kousen is now
deceased because Mr bogdanov had to defend himself against her attacking him and possibly killing him but the
prosecution argued that was not the case defendant murdered Nikki after finding out she was
transgender they insisted Nikki was the victim of a hate crime the defendant murdered Nikki because his respect for
human life was outweighed by his hatred for those who are gay and those who are transgender the prosecution laid out its
case with experts testifying about those Snapchat exchanges leading up to the murder and cell phone records placing
bogdanov's phone at Larch Mountain just hours later jurors were shown evidence found at the scene including that phone
charging cord the defense called just one witness the defense calls David BOGO bogdanov
himself attorney Aaron melier questioned bogdanov about his religious upbringing
and his views about lgbtqi people yeah I was I was taught that um it is a sin and it's not okay it's not David's
lifestyle but if David comes across anybody whoever it is there's no hate bonov told the jury what happened when
he and Nikki were alone in his car and what was Nikki doing at that point she was smoking something out of a pipe
bonov said Nikki asked him to join her in the back seat before he did he said he wedged the gun he carried between the
driver's seat and center console that transitioned into us making out is there touching or anything
else is okay who was touching who was a a little bit of both at first um where was she touching
you [Music] her she started touching me um my private area bonov said the sexual encounter
escalated quickly and that's when he realized Nikki was transgender bogdanov's testimony may be
disturbing to some viewers I was in shock I just been deceived I freak out and I
uh push her push her back and start freaking out saying you didn't tell me you're a dude and it started yelling at
her to I said she's a disgusting disgusting piece of piece of crap he said he told
Nikki to get out of his car and he said she reacted with violence she got picked
up her foot and tried to just kick me with her foot from the passenger side and she just jumps up and goes towards
the center console towards my gun I'm thinking you know I just was deceived by this person and
this person's high on meth and all I can think is oh my God I'm going to get shot
right now the suggestion that Nikki might have gone for the gun kind of defies logic bonov said he
tried to restrain Nikki by grabbing her jacket but the material was too slippery
to get a good grip he claims in a desperate attempt to save himself he reached for a cell phone charging cord I
grabbed that cable and put it around her and pull her back like that and hold her
hold her from from going keep going forward with the gun bonov said he placed the phone cord
around Nikki's arms and chest during their struggle but as he pulled the cord slipped up to her neck the whole time
she's trying to fight me and just reaching back and scratching at my face trying to gouge my eyes so at some point
does she stop struggling yes the ligature that was used to kill Nikki was a phone
cord that was tied to a space of 3.97 in which ends up being about like this and if you can imagine the physical
sensation of having your throat constricted to a space this size and then have it triple
knoted after realizing Nikki was dead bonov said he panicked first thing I think is I need to call the
police and and then I think that they're not going to believe me you know I've been
up all night not sober um there's drugs in the car there's a dead person's in the back seat
at that point I thought I need to get rid over the body this was a very humiliating thing
that happened to me I just wanted to put this behind me like wishing it was it never happened BD donov said that's when
he drove Nikki's body to Larch Mountain hey pulled her out of the car and there was that spot by the road the hill just
went down really steep I just kind of pushed her pushed her down that then can you tell the jury why why
you left the country bonov told the court he left the country just hours after killing Nikki
buying a last minute ticket to Ukraine I was scared emotional wreck I was thinking I need to I need to quit my
drinking and that I likely would have not have been in this situation if I hadn't been drinking and just wanted to
get away the fact that he had multiple different stories that he had had at least two opportunities to give this
explanation to detectives and hadn't the fact that he dumped the body the fact that he ran from the country all things
kind of point to a guilty conscious and not someone who thinks that their actions are Justified good
afternoon both sides made their case one last time during closing arguments his motivations his entire time have been
about his hate his rage and his shame for for finding out that Nikki was transgender it's not about fear this
case is not about self-defense I want to start by saying defense attorney Matthew Hoff strongly
disagreed Nikki kousen is not here today not because she was transgendered but because Mr bnov was put in a life and
death situation [Music] [Music] she just loved the camera you know seemed like the camera liked her
back mhm Nikki was just Nikki she kind of led the way I just followed she was very empowered and very
steadfast in her identity and I think very strong probably in a way that Society struggles to handle
after 2 weeks of an emotional trial and more than 2 years after Nikki Ken's death would jurors believe David
bogdanov's claim of self-defense David is not the person that they made him out to be David is
kind David is caring or the prosecution's case that he murdered Nicki after he learned she was
transgender she was so strong in our identity and that's ultimately why she was killed the jury deliberated for more
than 2 days we weren't sure how it was going to go there was possibility of a hung jury finally on day
[Music] three they informed the judge they had reached a unanimous decision we the jury find the above
named defendent guilty of the crime of Murder in the second degree as charged in count one verdict Forum count two we
the jury find the above named defendant guilty of the crime of malicious harassment a hate crime in Washington
it's a win it's a really big win I'm just happy to get Justice for Nikki's family two weeks later Lisa would ask
the judge to impose the maximum sentence or see her style watch her graduate see
her married or watch her parents I wanted to show how Nikki could have been and so many things that were stolen
from us so many Milestones that she'll never get to do and I miss her every [Music]
day before handing down the sentence Judge David Gregerson addressed the court saying he was quote struck by the
darker nature of this crime it conjures up old childhood Legends of the boogeyman of trust gone terribly wrong
fighting back tears the judge continued for almost 15 minutes and the movement towards something resembling Justice may
be seen as a step in the greater overall movement from Darkness toward light in this Court's view that can and should be
Nikki kon's Legacy bonov was sentenced to the maximum 19 1/2 years for Nikki's murder
with 12 concurrent months for the malicious harassment charge I think it was appropriate in
this case doesn't necessarily seem like a long amount of time when you think about what he took from Nikki and
Nikki's family after sentencing family friends and supporters gathered outside the
courtroom she was just a baby she was just a teenager he took her life and you know he he got the maximum and that's
what he deserves Nikki's story has allowed us to take a giant leap forward Lisa and
Nikki's supporters have tried to find a way for her Legacy to help and protect others finding a way to memorialize
Nikki and Empower other trans teenagers to pursue their dreams um I think is is the next step I want to thank Nikki's
family and that happened with the passing of legislation in Washington state known as Nikki's law I am happy to
sign this bill it's designed to prevent defendants charged with violent crimes from relying on a victim's gender
identity or sexual orientation the so-called gay or trans Panic defense Nikki's law makes it impossible to use
What's called the trans Panic defense in court where someone says that they were
so out of control when they found out that someone was trans that you essentially aren't
culpable for your actions Washington is one of 16 states to pass similar legislation Nikki's supporters hope her
law will inspire even more states to follow suit what's it like to know that your daughter's legacy there's a law
named after her I'm glad it will help other people I want her death to mean something to someone who may
contemplate hurting another transgender person Deon and Lyndon are proud of what they achieved with the
justice for Nikki task force and hope Nikki's story will help the transgender Community My Hope Is that this work has
has created a domino effect and this will hopefully lead to other trans kids and teens having a
different life outcome as Lisa moves forward without Nikki she carries a special reminder of
her daughter a necklace she wears every day I just got this for my birthday from my son
Alex and he made it to put Nikki sashes in you always have Nikki close to your heart
[Music] yes how do you want Nikki remembered for her loyalty to what she believed in
staying true to who she was staying true to her her family and friends no matter
what unconditional love for [Music] everyone 48 hours to miss it would be a crime were you at all prepared for what
happened in this case [Music] [Music] The Story begins with an American couple Dr Larry Rudolph and his wife
Bianca Larry Rudolph is a well-known dentist in the Pittsburgh area Larry and Bianca got married after
he graduated from dental school and they were both Avid Hunters they traveled several times a year internationally
Lawrence and Bianca Rudolph traveled from the US here to Zambia in 2016 heading to a safari hunting trip no one
would have imagined Bianca would never make it home and that that Journey would end years later with allegations of
coverups infidelity fraud and murder on the morning of October 11th 2016 Lawrence Rudolph and his wife
Bianca were preparing to return to the United States and just just after 5:00 in the morning Lawrence was in the
bathroom when he heard a shotgun and his wife scream and came out to find her on
the floor as he says with a shotgun blast that killed her almost instantly Larry Rudolph told police that his wife
Bianca was packing up and she was trying to put the shotgun into the soft shell case that's when he said he heard that
gunshot the Zambian officials did rule that it was an accident they said that it appeared that it was an accidental
discharge from the weapon once the hunting trip was ended the weapon should have been rendered
safe it boggles the mind that two experienced hunters for this to have been an accident people trusted him I'm Dr Larry
Rudolph and they knew of him they knew his face they knew his commercials well help you overcome your fears if he was
in the office they all felt like they were meeting a celebrity you know the man on TV the dast on TV no sights no
sounds and no fear years we had people come to the office and asked about Bianca and asked if she really did pass
away you know what happened and we had to say we didn't know there was a friend of Bianca who called the FBI and said
that she was suspicious that her friend accidental death was not really accidental Lawrence Rudolph made sure
Bianca's body was cremated within 3 days the friend suggested that there were a number of troubling things M Rudolph was
a about Catholic and it expressed to her explicitly that she would never consider
being cremated there were some certain things that just did not seem to add up well-known local dentist is in jail
in Colorado tonight FBI agents believe their investigation will prove he killed his wife while on
vacation this case is about whether Lawrence Rudolph killed his wife with a shotgun or did his wife accidentally
shoot herself while packing the shotgun to leave why did he want to kill his wife there's a financial motive we're
talking about almost $5 million in life insurance proceeds and he's had a long-term apparently affair with the
manager of his [Music] office was it an accident or did he do this nobody knows what happened truly to
Bianca but Dr Rudolph [Music] [Music] nearly 2 weeks after Bianca Rudolph's death while on a hunting trip in Zambia
family and friends in Arizona gathered to remember her at her funeral but at husband Larry Rudolph's
Pennsylvania dental practice there was a hush in the air Larry never talked about Bianca's death
ever he was saying to everyone not to talk about it and it made it sort of suspicious Sher hul worked as a dental
assistant in Dr Rudolph's Three Rivers Dental Group for nearly 8 years the lucrative practice with five officers in
the Pittsburgh area specializes in sedation dentistry providing anesthesia for fearful patients I liked everything
about how we treated our patients and I really believed in everything we did and
how he did it after years building his successful Practice Dr Rudolph says Sherry was now
spending limited time in the office he and Bianca had lived in homes in both Pittsburgh and Arizona the couple had
met while Larry was in dental school and Bianca was at the University of Pittsburgh Larry and Bianca got married
in the early 80s shortly after she graduated from college Megan Schiller is a reporter at Pittsburgh CBS television
station KD Ka they proceeded to have two kids they had Julian who's their son who's now an attorney in Florida and
they had a daughter Anna who is now following in her Father's Footsteps Anna a friend of sher's is
also a dentist at the practice Anna described her mom as like an angel she loved her mom
people that knew Bianca Rudolph described her as a very kind caring person Sher never met Bianca and there
may have been a reason why she says Larry was having an affair with the woman who managed the offices lorri
Mard Larry and Lor's Affair just seemed like it was just very open as far as I know it was probably going on for 20
years it was just uncomfortable and you just didn't talk about it in the office Sherry saw different sides of Larry
Larry could be very nice and he could change attitude within a matter of minutes that erratic Behavior Sher says
was one of the reasons she left her job he could throw tempers and we' sort of just call it like he was going
Rudolph something Larry did enjoy talking about in the office and took pride in was his hobby big game
hunting Larry Rudolph and Bianca Rudolph for Avid Hunters that was a huge part of
their life they were both like very well known for it hi my name is Dr Larry Rudolph and it's my privilege to be
serving as your president of Safari Club International Rudolph served for several
years as the president of Safari Club International a group that promotes hunting we are first for hunters period
first for hunters he traveled the world recording messages for members I'm here on the banks of the curri river in
Zambia I've been doing some lion hunting and just having a great adventure his term though would be tainted by claims
he damaged the club's reputation through alleged misconduct including supposed adultery Larry denied the claims and
sued for defamation the case was ultimately settled but Larry was aled as a club
member but his passion for hunting endured and in 2016 he and Bianca headed to a favorite location cfu National Park
in Zambia kafui National Park is considered a big game Paradise the oldest and the most prestigious national
park in that area of southern Africa just to put it in scale it's the SI of New Jersey the park has one section that
is a protected wildlife sanctuary and an adjacent area referred to as game management that allows hunting on the
trip the Rudolph stayed in this two room cabin consisting of a bedroom and a bathroom Bianca wants to finally hunt a
leopard she's been trying for years to hunt a leopard the trip lasted about 10 days
time that was happy according to Spencer kakoma the local game Scout accompanying
the couple they were laughing at each other kissing each other hugging each other did you think they were a happily
married couple I I was even ad admiring that because I'm also married and did you see any tension between Larry and
Bianca Rudolph no I didn't see any tension Bianca never did shoot a leopard and on the final day of the Safari
before the Rudolph went to their cabin Spencer says as his daily protocol the guns were emptied of all ammunition and
you saw Bianca Rudolph cleaning her gun of I saw bian Rudolph doing that it was cleaned or it was C there was no an
ammunition which was there you saw it with your own eyes yes it was the end of the Rudolph Zambian hunting trip they
were supposedly packing up and getting ready to fly home but then Bianca Rudolph suffered a fatal gunshot wound
Spencer was working about 30 yards away when he heard the gunshot and ran to the
cabin finding 56-year-old Bianca Rudolph dead on the floor shot in the heart the
weapon was a 12 gauge shotgun similar to this Spencer says the gun partially in a
softsided case was next to her and Larry Rudolph seemed inconsolable sobbing bu a
crying PR let me just kill myself because my wife she has committed suicide she has killed herself want to
kill myself also Spencer says Larry first claimed Bianca died by suicide shooting herself intentionally while he
was in the bathroom and he says Larry was so distraught that he ran to a nearby River saying he wanted to jump in
and kill himself Spencer says he calmed Larry down and they went back to the cabin but
now Larry had a different version of events it was no longer a suicide but that Bianca accidentally shot herself
packing up the gun were you surprised that a shot had gone off yeah that's one of the thing which made me to suspect I
saw Bianca Rudolph removing the ammunition from the the or Gans so how do you think ammunition got into the
shotgun I think there's must be just someone who loaded it somebody loaded that gun yes things were not adding up
for space he and Larry Rudolph went to the local police station Rudolph was interviewed
for about 30 minutes by now retired police Commander Roston yena and Larry told him Bianca accidentally shot
herself while packing the gun he had a gun shot and he scream weide he rushed to the
bedroom and then he found the wife lying down in a poor blood did you believe him
I believed him because I wasn't there I wasn't there Commander yenga sent his investigators to the scene who
told him it matched Dr Rudolph's description of events they believe the shotgun found approximately 3 ft from
Bianca's body was discharged while inside its case and reported that Dr Rudolph had tried to resuscitate his
wife it was decided that this was an accident yes this is the report that we received the police report dated 2 days
after Bianca's death concluded Dr Lawrence Rudolph rushed to the bedroom only to find his wife lying on the floor
bleeding the findings further suggested the firearm was loaded from the previous
hunting activities causing the firearm to accidentally fire this is to me a little bit astounding that they would
have made that conclusive declarative statement that uh this was absolutely an accident so soon after uh Miss Rudolph
[Music] died Bianca Rudolph's death in Zambia was devastating for her daughter Anna
Anna always said Bianca was like the best mom and just did everything was like a very good person and was very
wholesome and kind dentler assistant Sheri hul says Larry Rudolph didn't tell Anna or her
brother Julian about their mother's passing for nearly a week Anna had troubling questions about what had
happened she had no idea whether her mom got shot in the face or the chest or anywhere she just would say I want to
know what happened to my mom mom and at the cfu national park there were doubts too from the moment The
Gunshot rang out early that October morning it's a loud boom David Catz is a ballistics expert
and former special agent at the drug enforcement agency we asked him to review documents in this case he says
the blast from the Rudolph's 12 gauge shotgun would have been ferocious Bianca rudov screamed after
The Gunshot game Scout Spencer kakoma instantly knew that sound meant trouble she didn't scream help or she screamed
ah then that's how we rushed there within 15 seconds we reached there she was dead already from the beginning
Spencer said he had questions about Larry's version of events including when Larry told him he was in the bath when
he heard the gunshot and raced out to find Bianca dead but when you saw him he was fully dressed dressed with with
shoes it confused me 15 seconds to be fully clothed with shoes is pretty quick exactly but local police say Larry told
them he was wrapped in a towel when Spencer arrived cfu National Park investigator masu Muses also had
questions about what he saw in the couple's cabin he says he observed the wound on Bianca's chest the gun nearby
and wondered how she could have accidentally shot herself in the heart while handling the long barreled weapon
what did you think what was your theory um to me I suspect that this should be a
foul play because the way the firearm was lying the way the deceased was lying the way the bullet went through because
to me to say that she shot herself I I doubt it so Mr Mesi did you ever voice your suspicions of Foul Play to the
Zambian police I voiced my suspicion to the police and what did they say in response in response the Zambia police
told me that the police will really investigate up the bottom of the issue but did
they ah they didn't within days says reporter Megan Schiller local officials allowed
Bianca's remains to be crated in Zambia even the paper over there reported what had happened as an accidental shooting
and the comments on social media were people saying that it seems suspicious to them one reader suggested this
doesn't sound right something fishy here and it was suspicious to one of Bianca's friends certain Bianca was
opposed to cremation for religious reasons the friend made a call about 2 weeks later and said a change of events
in motion there's one point when this case became an active International investigation and that is when Bianca's
friend called the atache of the FBI in South Africa and said that she suspected Foul Play Mary fenti is a former Federal
prosecutor and CBS News consultant she says Bianca's friend told the FBI about Larry's Affair said Larry had been
verbally abusive to Bianca and reported that har and Bianca had fights about money she opened a Pandora's Box as to
why Lawrence would want to kill his wife even the consulate Chief at the US Embassy in Zambia had suspicions he
spoke on the phone with Larry Rudolph just hours after Bianca's death the counselor Chief had a bad feeling Isa
because Lawrence quickly turned into cremation and getting out of the country which he thought was highly
suspect the consulate Chief was a former Marine with Decades of experience with weapons unbeknownst to Larry he decided
to inspect Bianca's body before it was cremated he measured the shotgun wound and took photos the conselor chief said
based on looking at Bianca's body he didn't think there was any way that she could have done this to herself that she
could have been leaning on the shotgun he said it looked like someone was holding the shotgun several feet away
and fired it at her the con Chief turned his photos into notes over to the FBI an
inquiry into Bianca's death was underway retired FBI supervisory special agent and CBS News consultant James gallano
says International investigations take time this case is being investigated outside of the United States it presents
a ton of different problems that you have to deal with back home life went on for Larry
the FBI kept working the case both in the US and in Zambia and investigators eventually made their way back to game
Scout Spencer kakoma so 5 years later that's when they you heard from the FBI yes that's when they called me were you
surprised yes I was surprised over the course of 5 years FBI investigators interviewed numerous
people reviewed documents photos and conducted forensic tests eventually filing a complaint listing evidence of
possible Foul Play in Bianca Rudolph's death the complaint lays out a neat road map of a lot of circumstantial evidence
that points in the direction of Lawrence Rudolph as the murder of his wife Bianca
[Music] [Music] Zambia's cfu National Park vast stunning Serene but retired police Commander
Roston yena will never forget the day back in 2016 when that gunshot rang out from this cabin killing Bianca
Rudolph when your officers went to the scene what did they see yeah what they told me was that they found the dead
board line facing upwards and years later he still recalls his conversation with Dr Rudolph
he seemed to be sorrowful you know he was very sorrowful yeah you know when you lose your beloved one you can't be
in that mood I could even see some tears in his eyes yena says the initial investigation
was not rushed and says at the time no one told him they suspected had anything to do with his wife's death what was the
most powerful thing that he said to you that convinced you this man is innocent to say he
innocent that was his story you're so easily convinced I just have to tell you a story and you believe me it's coming
from your own mouth I can believe you whatever story will tell me I can believe it but could
an experienced Hunter like Bianca accidentally shoot herself in the heart while placing a long barreled shotgun
into a gun case for the for the shooters out in the audience everyone's going to
understand immediately there's a visceral feeling no don't do it ballistics expert David Kat says if that
happened Bianca would have been pointing the muzzle at herself ignoring safety protocol whether the gun is loaded or
unloaded if you know your way around guns you would never under any circumstances point that weapon towards
you or another human being cats often works with fire arms at the company he owns Global Security Group at our
request he reviewed the initial FBI complaint the complaint In fairness to to Larry Rudolph it's it's it's just a
government's version of events it's a one-sided document so I want I want to be completely fair to to Larry Rudolph
in the complaint the FBI interviewed a Zambian ballistics expert who performed what's called a drop test to determine
if the gun could have accidentally misfired if Bianca dropped it on the ground the question is if you slam the
weapon hard enough if you drop it if you bang it on the on the ground will that weapon discharge the Zambian ballistics
expert repeatedly dropped the Rudolph's gun most likely loaded with a dummy round about 4 and 1/2 ft onto cement and
reported the gun did not misfire the complaint lists some of the other FBI findings including the results of a
series of tests using a 12 gauge shotgun of the same make and model as the gun that killed bianor and a softsided gun
case like the Rudolphs they did gun tests they did a study with people who were about the same height as Bianca and
had similar arm lengths the FBI performed a reach study which cat says would determine if Bianca could have
reached the trigger while packing the shotgun into a gun bag 15 women who were near Bianca's height were tested none
was able to reach the trigger of the shotgun while zipping the case this is not a live weapon we asked cats to
demonstrate how the test might have been done with the help of this woman who is
5' 4 1/2 in Bianca was 5' 4 in so I'm going to measure your arm FBI analysts used a photo of Bianca to measure her
arm length they estimated Bianca's longest possible right arm length at 28.7 25 in 29 in so your reach is
slightly longer than the maximum reach as estimated by the FBI the gun used in this demonstration is not the same Mak
model as the Rudolph's gun it is not a weapon it just looks like one it's a prop gun nonfunctional and not capable
of holding a bullet according to the FBI the model of gun the Rudolphs had was approximately
31.875 in from trigger to muzzle we attached a wooden dowel to the barrel of the prop gun to make it match that
length so I'm going to take this weapon I'm going to point it at your chest right where the wound on the victim was
placed the idea is that somehow the weapon could be discharged accidentally as if it was being pushed
into a gun case so let's bend over keep going keep going can you even if you can
touch the ground even with it now try to stretch out and touch the trigger you're
not on the trigger you're close to the trigger okay next cats added a gun case similar to the one the Rudolph's owned
all right let's say you were zipping can you reach your hand in and touch the trigger the woman in our demonstration
was able to reach the trigger just about just about difficulty yeah I guess what
I'm left with is this conclusion possible unlikely but you know with sufficient leaning
forward but that would then suggest without without any doubt a contact shot a contact shot is a gunshot wound
occurring when the muzzle of the gun is in direct contact with the body at the moment the gun fires this is a 12 gauge
shotgun shell it contains pellets of double art buck shot in a contact shot there is no time for the pellets to
spread instead they go straight into the tissue in one tight group the same diameter as the gun barrel contact shot
you're going to get this further away you're going to get this further away you're going to get this cat says those
photos of Bianca's body taken by the consul Chief in Zambia May rule out death by a contact shot the most
critically important issue in this case is how far from her body was the muzzle of that shotgun when the rounds were
fired when the consulate Chief took those photos he also measured Bianca's shotgun wound and noted the pellets
covered approximately six cm in diameter roughly 2 and A2 in that pattern would be impossible if the muzzle had been
pressed against the victim's body so from what distance would a weapon have to be fired to cause a 2 and 1/2 in
wound shot we ask cats to use this real shotgun to show us how rounds fired from
different distances can make different sized wounds we didn't have access to key information about Rudolph's gun but
the long barrel of this gun measures the same distance from trigger to muzzle approximately
31.875 in fire cats fired into a block made of ballistic gelatin designed to simulate the effects of bullet wounds in
human tissue fire when I fired the last round that was from 10 ft there are discernable
pellet wounds here here here here this is why the Consular Chief was suspicious when
he saw the wound because he saw wound that was more like this FBI investigators also compared
shot patterns created by firing from various distances and estimated that Bianca's wound depicted in the
photographs was created by a shot from a distance of between 2 and 3 and 1/2 ft the complaints conclusion Bianca rudol
was not killed by an accidental discharge and it wasn't just ballistics catching the attention of the
FBI this is a case that's going to be made on the totality of the circumstances Anna always said how she wish she had
more time with her mom Sher haul says Bianca's death continues to haunt the Rudolph's daughter
Anna she was devastated that she couldn't even say goodbye door it appears Larry Rudolph wasted no
time setting up house with his longtime rumored girlfriend lri milon in Paradise
Valley within weeks she had moved into their home in Arizona Rudolph's business continued to
thrive no sights no sounds and no fears only at Three Rivers Den he and Lori split their time between Pittsburgh
Arizona and a vacation home in Cabo San Lucas Mexico after a while I thought well if it wasn't an accident wouldn't
he have been arrested by now nothing's really happened but in December 2021 more than 5 years after Bianca's death
Rudolph's new life with Lori was about to change and that FBI complaint would turn out to be the key the federal
prosecutors and the FBI agents had decided that they had enough information to essentially charge Larry with
crimes Lui milon's Attorney John Dill says the PIR was at the Cabo home they were going down there for vacation and
having a return flight he wasn't fleeing or disappearing or anything like that but their holiday came to a sudden and
surprising end when local authorities arrested Rudolph Lor's reaction when he was
arrested obviously she was shocked Mexican police executed a warrant for Lawrence Rudolph's arrest for the
foreign murder of Bianca Rudolph and for male fraud relating to Rudolph collecting Bianca's life insurance
the FBI said the insurance never should have been paid because it believed Rudolph murdered Bianca Larry Rudolph
was the beneficiary and he was the recipient of nearly $5 million of insurance money those billions were spread out
over nine separate policies one of the insurance companies where Larry mailed a claim is located in
Colorado so that's where the case would be tried Bianca died on October 11th and the
first claim was submitted on October 31st I'm not sure if there's a time period when there's an accidental death
that somebody's supposed to wait so it doesn't look wrong in a court filing the defense claimed there was no Financial
motive for the alleged crime asserting that Rudolph's dental practice alone was worth $8
million what's more Dill says the fact that all nine policies were paid proves be an's death was as Rudolph described
and Zambian officials ruled an accident you'll see insurance companies went through a full investigation
including going to Africa but Mary fanti says not so fast for one thing the FBI's resources would
have allowed for a much more thorough investigation into Bianca's cause of death they just have access to more
things they have ballistic experts access to the counselor Chief and other Witnesses in Africa that I'm not sure
the insurance firm had access to to talk to within days of his arrest Rudolph was
extradited to Denver a grand jury was convened there to hear evidence about his case everyone in Pittsburgh was
talking about how this dentist who was a well-known respected dentist could possibly be accused by the FBI Sher says
word of Rudolph's erase hit Anna hard she was just devastated I called to check on her and she would not talk
about her dad being arrested she just talked to me about anything but that Lori Millar followed Rudolph to Denver
she was about to become involved in the cas as well by way of a subpoena she was
called to go before the grand jury and she was in town for his bond hearing and went and
testified about 2 weeks after Rudolph's eras that B jury handed down their indictment FBI agents believe their
investigation will prove he killed his wife while on vacation before allegedly collecting millions in insurance money
it seemed that the multi-million dollar windfall of insurance money Rudolph received wasn't the only motive the FBI
believes was behind Bianca's murder in the complaint it says lorri mil iron had given Rudolph an
ultimatum you have one year to get rid of the practice and leave your wife Dill says there was no
ultimatum that allegation came from a disgruntled employee according to a defense motion all we can just say is
that's not what the evidence is going to be as for the speed of Bianca's cremation Rudolph's attorney says that's
no attempt at a cover up that both he and Bianca had expressed their final Wishes the defense is going to argue
well they have a will and in the will it was the directive of both parties to be
cremated as Mary fulan explained before the trial murders on foreign soil are difficult to prove and the length of the
investigation might actually be a liability what the defense is going to do is try to make it look like this case
which is five plus years old has stale testimony stale Witnesses stale everything but it turns out that years
after Bianca Rudolph died there would be something new after all another arrest that no one saw
[Music] [Music] coming the truth about the death of Bianca Rudolph wife and mother has
remained as elusive as the Zambian leopard she Hunted Ed her husband stood charged with murder and male
[Music] fraud then come February 2022 this case would grow even more complex when Lori milon was
charged as if the story couldn't get any stranger now we know that his alleged longtime girlfriend Lori mil iron is now
facing federal charges seven Federal counts alleging she provided false and misleading
testimony to a grand jury sitting in the district of Colorado just over a month after that testimony Lori milon was
arrested She's accused of lying about her relationship with Larry She's accused of lying about what Larry said
in the days and months following Bianca's sudden death I think she was shocked she did not expect this to
happen a 64 yearold woman she faces as much as 30 years in prison for those charges but
her attorney John Dill emphasizes there's no allegations by the government that she was somehow involved or had
anything to do with what happened to Bianca Rudolph in 2016 Dill says that the speculation and the charges against
his client are all false I the truth is Lori M iron is not a criminal she didn't
purer herself didn't lie to the grand jury but former prosecutor Mary fanti says there may be another reason the
government filed those seven counts against Lori milon they might have also charged her because they would like to
put some pressure on her to cooperate pressuring Rudolph's longtime girlfriend to be the star witness
against him well if I was the prosecutor in this case I would absolutely be h in that she
was going to come forward and and possibly cooperate against him and she's the one witness that could possibly do
him in hi I'm Dr Larry Rudolph president of Safari Club International meanwhile from home
detention in Arizona Lori mil iron was still connected with Rudolph running his multi-million dollar Dentistry practice
but forbidden to contact him still attempting to work yeah from where she is it's a lot more difficult
obviously the government plan to try them together in the same courtroom an outcome their lawyers fought against and
lost the two on trial together was a powerful image that could impact lri millon lorri Miller does not want to be
sitting next to Lawrence rol at trial because he's charged with murder and she wants nothing to do with that and she
doesn't want any of that prejudice to spill over to her which will ultimately say oh well she was a part of it I mean
if she's she's the lover and in a pre-trial effort David filed by Rudolph's attorneys and signed by lri
she wrote that Larry and I were romantically involved and Mrs Bianca Rudolph was aware of that the suggestion
the affair was an Open Secret not a motive for murder but the prosecution would soon taste the loyalties of lri
Millar and Larry Rudolph and see if they stay aligned or if at the end of the day
she does timely cooperate our defense is basically that what their government is
saying not only can't they prove it that's not the facts over the years and across an ocean
facts have been hard to come by in this case retired FBI special agent James gallano knows time can be a
prosecution's toughest challenge memories get rusty and cloudy documents get lost or destroyed with every day
that passes it gets more and more difficult to close a loop here get the evidence you need and make a conviction
there's a lot of hurdles that have to be overcome here so it it it's by no means
an easy prosecution 7,000 miles and a world away Bianca Rudolph's death has impacted
those who barely knew her former police Commander Roston yena still thinks it was all a terrible accident there will
be no evidence connecting to the Mur there'll be no evidence connecting Dr Rudolph to the murder I don't think
so from the experience that I had know but one time Scout SP spener kakoma was so shaken by this experience that he
quit his job he believes that in his beautiful country as Bianca Rudolph hunted she became the prey yes just
happy with the American investigation you wanted to escape but they have managed to Corner you Larry Rudolph's
Leal team provided 48 hours with the following statement Dr Rudolph is innocent the Zambian authorities who
were there and investigated said so the insurance companies who paid the claim after they investigated said so
strangely 5 years later the feds brought charges without any real evidence no eyewitness wies no forensics no anything
except for some speculation sprinkled into a Chasm of conjecture Anna and Julian have lost
their mother sources tell us they have expressed support for their father and next what really happened in the country
Bianca Rudolph cherished would be decided in a Colorado courtroom [Music] 48 Hours don't miss an episode
[Music] I'd like to make a to to Todd and bar hope you live a long and happy life
here's the Todd and bar all right Jessica I be girl I always said when I was younger you know God I 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 did it ever occur to
you that your dad would be blamed for the death of your mother Mr Ken hmer if you please rise absolutely not we 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 time11 what is the emergency I have an emergency Todd K never called 911 at 806
a.m. on a Friday morning it was in a car accident no a pipe or something came through a windsh he reported that there
was an accident where a truck lost a pipe and it hit his wife and he needed help she's got blood coming out of her
nose and mouth he tried to do CPR while she bled all over 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 she no I don't want to go [Music] the injuries on Barbara 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 know what 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 windshield 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 there was a sensational narrative the way the state wanted to present it a man
kills his wife stages it accident the jury was given a very narrow view of what really happened and what the
evidence really showed love 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 a tide 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 saw 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 Todd kand Hammer's appeals team says his murder conviction is the true Injustice that
occurred in this controversial case do you believe that Todd Cammer 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 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 their 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 old-fashioned love story that ended in a tragic accident I want to talk to about bar
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 AUST 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 or 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 live
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 Jordan threw their parents a surprised 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 it was early that
morning Jordan home from college says he heard the garage door open and his parents' car leave no arguing nothing
unusual 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 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 thinking Ed something at the scene Todd began to tell his version of what happened there was a pipe in the
ground no come on that tree off a 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 minute I seen it said it was a
pipe s 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
serious ly your mom was 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 allight 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 was just very upset 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 suspicious
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 blooded 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 Cammer 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 on 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 flat bed truck like a pickup truck with a flatb
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's 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 Kent Hammer car pass by at approximately 757 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 Kathleen
mccubbin conducted an autopsy on Barbara she didn't understand when 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 troid is the ring-shaped Bony cartilage
structure that's located in the lower neck what do you believe caused the broken CID 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 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 seemed consistent like someone who was in a fight uh a really bad fight police had also 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
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 correct 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 going to put a
windshield in a truck for for a guy this is what Todd canhammer told investigators on the drive to the
hospital the windshield you're going to replace somebody drier in his truck I was going to take it to my Todd told
police that on the way to drive Barbara 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 Heim we do that no I didn't call I was just going to sing over and if it was
there grab it 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 roof that they had some leads on trucks
that may have dropped the pipe that day are you okay if I take up 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 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 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 on 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 Todd canhammer changed his story he told a story that he wasn't going to Justin
heim's house it was actually friend of juson 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 3 and 1 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 a in a constant state of anxiety 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 re 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 caused some of the injuries 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
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 defense has 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 stocky said the impacts didn't occur in the order that mesim said they did De
grinkie argues this is more evidence showing that Tod kendhammer intentionally damaged the windshield and
it was not from a pipe falling off a truck it couldn't have done what he said it did the crime lab found 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 Cruise 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 Hurley you'll be finding your next
witness yes kmer with so much at stake the defense decided to gamble by putting Tod Ken
Hammer himself on the stand did you ever strike Barbara kenam no Todd tried to explain to the jurors why during the
police interrogation he told investigators conflicting stories about where he was going that morning when I
watched 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 grinkie
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 going that way 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 loggin 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 mind the defendant toad Ken Hammer guilty of first degree in the
jury was out just n hours before they reach their verdict 3 months later today is time set for sentencing
and smatter everyone was back in the courtroom the conviction had an automatic life sentence but it was up to
the judge to decide if Todd kendhammer would be eligible for parole I am here today I do not stand alone Jessica and
Jordan were stunned when Jeran Bookner 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 estranged 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
jerianne and she denies Jessica's claims that she was a 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 in 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 to in a 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
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 and 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 PE after 30 years but Todd's case is far from over [Music]
[Music] we the jury find the defendant Tod canhammer [Music] guilty Todd Ken Hammer's verdict was
guilty but Jessica 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 Todd's 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 attorney's Jal buing and Kathleen stilling 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 beer president is Mr kendhammer in custody it opened the courthouse doors a crack to
the possibility of a new trial is this the most helpful you have felt that your dad may have a chance to walk out of
prison yeah the burden is now on the defense Jerry beatin starts by calling a forensic pathologist something Todd's
First Defense team had elected not 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 injuries on Barbara that I would say are suggestive or are
consistent with strangulation and dror 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 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 testimony but when it comes
to Todd Ken Hammer's Guild or inocence beauty instilling 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
Ken Hammer would have had the defense hired another expert this time in human memory
Dr Jeffrey Loftus 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 inacurate 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 just agreed 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
bounce 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 minds those videos show
it could have happened that's the point yes which contradicts State investigators who from the the beginning
had suggested that a pipe slamming through Todd's windshield was next to Impossible what are the ODS that that
would happen to a guy that changes windshields I mean what he suppos was that there one in a trillion at all
Beauty instilling introduced evidence from across America to prove its more common than you think this one is in
near Bakersville California a pipe looks remarkably similar 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 pass 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's 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 simp SAR to the one that went through the
wind Dam same 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 ated 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 CCO 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 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 mobin's 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 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 2 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 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 this just really hard to not have him with
her now Jess and 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 yes we aren't going to stop
until he can be home prosecutor griny believes justice has already been served 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 for you at all prepared for what happened in
this case [Music]

"48 Hours" reports on cases involving questions about weapons and crime scene issues in this YouTube mini-marathon. Binge-watch the full episodes, featuring "The Life and Death of Nikki Kuhnhausen," "Death on Safari" and "Mystery on County Road M."

00:01 The Life and Death of Nikki Kuhnhausen 41:20 Death on Safari 1:23:26 Mystery on County Road M

Crime. Social justice. Impact. "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.

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Brief Summary

Nikki Kousen, a transgender teen, was murdered by David Bogdanov, highlighting issues of hate crimes and the struggles of the transgender community.

Key points

Devastating Discovery. The discovery of Nikki's remains was a heartbreaking moment for her mother.
A Mother's Fight for Justice. Lisa Woods became an activist after her daughter's murder, determined to seek justice.
Trial Begins. The trial for Nikki's murder begins with emotional support from family and friends.
Guilty Verdict. The jury finds David Bogdanov guilty of second-degree murder and hate crime.
Nikki's Law Passed. Legislation named after Nikki is passed to prevent the use of the trans panic defense.
Bianca's Death Investigation. Bianca Rudolph's death is ruled an accident, but suspicions arise about foul play.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

It was devastating.

A mother's reaction to the discovery of her daughter's remains.

2:51WatchSep 28, 2024

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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