Unpopular opinion here, but I watched most of this trial online and did not think he was guilty. Or, at a minimum, I did not think it was proved beyond a reasonable doubt.
From my perspective, the gist of the attitude from those who thought him guilty seemed to be "no one's life could be as peaceful and perfect as he described, therefore he must have made it up/be guilty."
Obviously I am in the minority with this opinion and I'm no expert in assessing people so I could well be wrong. Very glad I did not have to be on his jury.
I do know people with lives that appear to have no drama. It's possible. Of course that doesn't make him innocent if he's guilty. But every time I see that he continues to fight the conviction, I wonder all over again whether it's possible an innocent man was convicted.
MOO
I think it's important for people to call out the 'norm opinion'. It's easy to get into group think, so thank you.
But here is my analysis about Mr Kendhammer:
Key points in the case where Todd's story doesn't make sense:
The story about going to get a truck to fix the windshield:
- the person (Justin) says he didn't ask him to and didn't expect him to pick up a vehicle
- Todd hadn't spoken to Justin in over a month; the only conversation that had even broached on windshields had been 4 months prior
- Todd didn't know where the vehicle was that he was going to pick up (he was vague about where and changed his story!!)
The timing of the trip to get the truck:
- Todd was going to be too late for work so would have to call in sick
- Barb would be late for work and hadn't called in to say so. She always called in if late.
- the family was heading straight to camping after work and had to get ready. When were they going to replace the windshield? Why was that such an urgent matter on such a busy day?
- Barb called her mother around 7:45am each weekday. She didn't call her the morning of the "accident".
The accident:
- occurred on a flat, straight stretch of road. What would have suddenly have cause something to fly off the back of the truck on an angle that would carry it straight toward the passenger side of the Kendhammer's vehicle?
- no vehicle matching the description was seen on video heading down that road around the time of the accident.
- Todd originally thought it was a bird. How could a long pipe, travelling at an angle, look like a bird?
- Todd said he lunged at the object as it was coming to/through the windshield. It was his left hand that suffered the most damage, but Todd is right handed and his right hand would have been closest and most natural to reach out.
- Todd didn't pull over to the side of the road. Instead he turned up a smaller road and ultimately ended up in a ditch. Why would he turn up that road? (There is very little traffic on that road and they would be much less likely to be noticed. With the car backed into the ditch, Barb's body was blocked from view from the larger road.)
- a car drove along the small road and saw the car in the ditch, but didn't see anyone around the vehicle. (Where were they?) Todd said no vehicles passed by before the EMS arrived.
- A pipe travelling at that speed would "impale" someone or something, or else continue right through the vehicle.
- BK didn't have wounds consistent with a pipe coming through the windshield. She had lacerations on the back of her head that were more serious than injuries on the front of her head.
- Todd had what appeared to be scratch marks on both sides of his neck and on his chest. Todd's DNA was found under Barb's nails.
There are lots more inconsistencies, but it's difficult to imagine that he didn't kill her.
One thing that raised a red flag for me was that he said they were never apart. That they spend all of their time together (other than during work). He said that he would go on an annual deer hunt weekend with relatives, but would drive home each night to eat with Barb before heading back to the camp. No one else went home to their spouses. This just sounds a little over the top controlling or lacking in trust.
I'm sorry that their children have had to go through this.
