Absolutely Perfect: Miss Mensa's Theory on the Case of Convicted Murderer Todd Kendhammer: 6 (Miss Mensa's Theory on True Crime Cases)

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After the conviction, the Kendhammer family hired attorney Jerry Buting, of "Making a Murderer" fame, to handle the appeal, along with his wife and co-counsel Kathleen Stilling.

INVESTIGATOR: Yeah, that's fine. As investigators began to question Todd Kendhammer, he appeared confused and forgetful of details. 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. DR. SHAKU TEAS: I don't see any injuries on Barbara that I would say are suggestive or consistent with strangulation.

How Did Barbara Kendhammer Die?

Jessica Servais: He was trying to help. Like he thought they were trying to help him find the cause of the accident. Jessica Servais: Every day I was in a constant state of anxiety and couldn't eat and couldn't sleep. Gruenke asked, “Your memory fades in some areas and is clear in others. Is it possible you’re making up your story?” Kendhammer said, “No.” Gruenke accused Kendhammer of “lying,” failing to keep his “story straight,” of “making up facts,” and of lying in an attempt to keep his facts straight. Jessica hoped a jury would believe her father when Todd took the stand to tell his side of the story at his trial.

Kathleen Stilling: Their relationship was really special. … 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 accident, it just seems so implausible to me. On the morning of September 16, 2016, Todd Kendhammer called 911 reporting he and his wife, Barbara, had been in a car accident on a rural road near La Crosse, Wisconsin. INVESTIGATOR [during interrogation]: What are the odds that that would happen to a guy that changes out windshields? I mean, what do you suppose those odds are? One in a trillion if at all?I believe Todd had been planning to murder Barbara for quite some time, as evidenced by him scheduling himself for work on the days he and Barbara were supposed to be out of town camping. I also believe Todd was too stupid AND too egotistical to properly sort out the details of his crime. He assumed everyone would unquestioningly believe “the good and aggrieved husband” and that no one would snoop so closely as to find any evidence askew. After all, in his mind, Barbara deserved it. Gruenke accused Kendhammer of lying to the police about when his wife was scheduled to begin work. He originally told the police his wife was supposed to start work at 8:30 a.m. Her work schedule was to report at 8:00 a.m., and if she was going to be late, she’d have to call in, the state asked the defendant. The defendant admitted she needed to be at work at 8:00 a.m., that five minutes before that, he was driving away from where she worked with her in the car, and that she never called in to work. 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. If you look these up, these are not one in a trillion events, this happens...this is not an uncommon occurrence,” Jason said while showcasing other instances of pipes crashing through windshields across the country. Heim testified that he did not plan to replace a broken windshield on a vehicle he owned and that he did not expect Kendhammer to be visiting him on September 16, the date Kendhammer said he was driving with his wife to visit Heim.

Lawyer Jerry Buting is best known for defending Steven Avery, on Netflix's "Making a Murderer." 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.Todd Kendhammer was arrested and charged with murder . The trial began December 5, 2017. The defense team made the case that Todd was telling the truth, and his inconsistencies were tied to the stress of losing his wife.