On Thursday, a La Crosse, Wisconsin jury convicted Todd Kendhammer of first-degree intentional homicide for the death of his wife, Barbara Kendhammer. The verdict came down shortly after 9:00 p.m. Central time. The jury chose to deliberate into the night. Had the jury not arrived at a verdict, it would have been sequestered. Evidence recovered from the car indicates Barbara was assaulted and the windshield smashed when she was not in the car, prosecutors said in court. Where they were headed later that week: The couple planned to go on a camping trip later that week. Yet, Todd scheduled himself for work. Verdict: toss-up. Maybe it was just a scheduling oversight, human error. Todd insisted he did nothing to hurt Barbara. After a nearly four-hour interview, investigators were unable to get a confession and let Todd go.

Jerry Butting: They chose to go a different route. And I think that was serious mistake that really damaged Todd's ability to defend himself. The first paramedic at the scene found Kendhammer kneeling at his wife’s feet. Her head was toward the road and her blood was on the rear passenger tire. Emergency responders did not find glass shards on Barbara, according to a sheriff’s department report. Both were just 16. Friends at first, they began dating in 1989. And in August 1991, they sealed the deal.Dr. Lindsey Thomas: Yeah, it would have to be a substantial coffee cup. But I understand there was a pretty substantial coffee cup in the car. GPS information retrieved from Google show the couple’s cellphones at a neighbor’s house from 7:30 to 7:50 a.m., according to a La Crosse County Sheriff’s Department report. The neighbor, who lives in Seattle, said Kendhammer cared for the 80-acre property that he planned to buy.

Todd Kendhammer says his wife Barbara died in a freak car accident. But authorities questioned his story from the beginning, and he was tried and convicted of intentional homicide. Todd and Barbara Kendhammer 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. Todd’s coworkers claim he generally appeared to not like women and frequently made disparaging comments about women. Domestic violence experts know that a chauvinistic world view underlies most domestic abuse — not a short tempter or addiction problems as many believe. While alcohol and substance abuse, as well as anger management problems, can exacerbate domestic abuse and make acute incidents even more violent or lethal, it is the fundamental underlying belief that men are superior and entitled which fuels the cycle of abuse. Given that Todd let slip at work, of all places, that he believed women to be an inferior species, I don’t think it is a far stretch to assume he generally held a chauvinistic and patriarchal world view at home with his wife. 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 burden is now on the defense. Jerry Buting starts by calling a forensic pathologist, something Todd's first defense team had elected not to do. Those) circumstances would have lead Mr. Kendhammer to try to fill in the likely gaps in his initial memory,” Loftus explained. “When you’re trying to fill in gaps in your memory, you often do so based on inferences or suggestions from elsewhere that result in information being added that is not necessarily accurate.” Tim Gruenke: I think he just looked like somebody who was trying to explain away his lies. EXAMINING THE EVIDENCE Erin Moriarty: 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 administer CPR. I will respect your opinion, however please watch it again. Evidently, he had no idea he was being taped and recorded, throughout the entire process. There is no question he had lied many times. Lied about her work schedule, where he is going, he never mentioned he was going to work that night.