David Hendricks is an American businessman convicted of killing his wife and three children in 1984, but
acquit
In common law jurisdictions, an acquittal certifies that the accused is free from the charge of an offense, as far as criminal law is concerned. The finality of an acquittal is dependent on the jurisdiction. In some countries, such as the ...
ted in a
retrial
A new trial or retrial is a recurrence of a court case. A new trial may potentially be ordered for some or all of the matters at issue in the original trial. Depending upon the rules of the jurisdiction and the decision of the court that ordered ...
in 1991.
Life
David James Hendricks was born in Morton Grove and raised in Oak Park, Illinois. He was a member of the
Exclusive branch of the
Plymouth Brethren
The Plymouth Brethren or Assemblies of Brethren are a low church and non-conformist Christian movement whose history can be traced back to Dublin, Ireland, in the mid to late 1820s, where they originated from Anglicanism. The group emphasizes ...
, a
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
denomination. He started and ran a highly successful business in
Bloomington, Illinois
Bloomington is a city and the county seat of McLean County, Illinois, United States. It is adjacent to the town of Normal, and is the more populous of the two principal municipalities of the Bloomington–Normal metropolitan area. Bloomington ...
, selling an orthopedic back-brace he had patented. He later bought a large house at a then-new development in Bloomington and moved his family there.
On November 7, 1983, while Hendricks was out of state on a business trip, his wife Susan, 30, and the couple's three children — Rebekah, 9; Grace, 7; and Benjamin, 5 — were found murdered in that home by a police officer performing a welfare check, requested after Hendricks was unable to reach them by phone. An
axe
An axe ( sometimes ax in American English; see spelling differences) is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood, to harvest timber, as a weapon, and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol. The axe has many for ...
and a butcher's
knife
A knife ( : knives; from Old Norse 'knife, dirk') is a tool or weapon with a cutting edge or blade, usually attached to a handle or hilt. One of the earliest tools used by humanity, knives appeared at least 2.5 million years ago, as evidenced ...
were the murder weapons and had been left at the scene. Hendricks was interviewed immediately on return from his trip and became the primary suspect due to his relationship with the victims and the police detectives' initial dissatisfaction with his demeanor.
Trial and afterward
Hendricks was tried the following year. The trial was moved from Bloomington to
Rockford, Illinois
Rockford is a city in Winnebago County, Illinois, located in the far northern part of the state. Situated on the banks of the Rock River, Rockford is the county seat of Winnebago County (a small portion of the city is located in Ogle County). ...
, away, where he was found guilty in a jury trial. The judge took the unusual step of indicating publicly that while he was not criticizing the jury for performing their duty, he was not personally convinced beyond reasonable doubt.
Hendricks' guilt was questioned due to the prosecution's reliance on
circumstantial evidence
Circumstantial evidence is evidence that relies on an inference to connect it to a conclusion of fact—such as a fingerprint at the scene of a crime. By contrast, direct evidence supports the truth of an assertion directly—i.e., without need ...
and the possible
prejudicial effect of statements made about his religious beliefs. Among other factors, the prosecution attempted to link the
murders
Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the c ...
to Hendricks' belief that
divorce
Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...
was a
sin
In a religious context, sin is a transgression against divine law. Each culture has its own interpretation of what it means to commit a sin. While sins are generally considered actions, any thought, word, or act considered immoral, selfish, s ...
. Hendricks had recently hired female models to demonstrate his product for marketing materials. Some of these women gave testimony for the prosecution that Hendricks asked them to remove clothing and made intimate contact with their upper bodies during private test-fittings. Since the brace was normally worn externally, expert witnesses were called to testify that regular clothing and a brief fitting time were more typical, emphasized with an in-court demonstration. The prosecution used these to form a circumstantial case for Hendricks being dissatisfied with his marriage and argued that since Hendricks did not believe in divorce, he had a motive to kill his wife and children.
The prosecution argued for Hendricks' sole guilt, although no direct evidence of guilt was found on Hendricks, including a lack of blood contamination. His lawyers failed to challenge some other key pieces of the prosecution's evidence, such as how the order of killings was dubious for a sole killer acting on Hendricks' schedule that evening, and that the weapons and blood spatter suggested two perpetrators. There were signs of carelessly-handled evidence by the investigating team, such as containers identified as the children's stomach contents containing material inconsistent with their known preferences. The contents had been used by an expert witness to establish a time of death prior to Hendricks leaving on his business trip.
Hendricks was sentenced to four consecutive
life sentence
Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...
s. He served seven years in
Menard Correctional Center
Menard Correctional Center, known prior to 1970 as Southern Illinois Penitentiary, is an Illinois state prison located in the town of Chester in Randolph County, Illinois. It houses maximum-security and high medium-security adult males. The ave ...
in Illinois. While incarcerated Hendrick befriended his cellmate, convicted murderer and prison fugitive Henry Hillenbrand. Using a tape recorder and with Hillenbrand's blessing Hendricks used his jail time to pen a novel about Hillenbrand's life. Hendricks married a second time while in prison.
In 1991, the Illinois Supreme Court overturned the conviction and Hendricks was granted a retrial at the
McLean County Law and Justice Center in Bloomington. A surprise prison witness for the prosecution claimed Hendricks had confessed the crime while incarcerated, but a jury was unconvinced and he was acquitted and released. Shortly afterward he renounced his fundamentalist religious ties and moved to
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
to start another orthopedic business. He presently lives in Orlando, Florida with his fourth wife, Gazel. He recently sold his last business and is presumed retired.
In popular culture
A true-crime book about the family, religious background, murders and trial was written by journalist Steve Vogel, entitled "Reasonable Doubt." Originally published in hardcover by Contemporary Books, it was a New York Times best-seller as a paperback published by St. Martin's Press, was re-issued as part of St. Martin's True Crime Classics, and re-published in 2018 with additional photos and new content as a paperback and e-book ). Also available as an audio book.
Jessica Snyder Sachs references the case in "Corpse: Nature, Forensics, and the Struggle to Pinpoint Time of Death", published by Basic Books in 2001 (, ).
In 2018, interest in the case was revived by an Investigation Discovery television episode focusing on the crime and its aftermath. The episode also attracted the attention of Champaign, Illinois columnist Jim Dey writing in the News-Gazette, who summarized the major points of the trial and the criticisms levied against it.
Decades-old murder mystery back before public
Jim Dey, Champaign News-Gazette, April 5, 2018.
On October 4, 2021, Crime Junkie Podcast released a full episode about the murders called: ''MURDERED: The Hendricks Family''.
See also
* Roger Panes
Roger Panes (1933 – 4 March 1974) was a British member of the Exclusive branch of the Plymouth Brethren. In 1974 he killed his wife and three children with an axe before hanging himself.
Life
Panes was a cattle dealer in Andover, Hampshire ...
- Brethren member who killed his wife and three children with an axe in 1974.
References
https://crimejunkiepodcast.com/murdered-hendricks-family/
External links
*http://www.pantagraph.com/news/hendricks-nov-the-day-that-changed-bloomington/article_16451c8c-6eb9-598a-887e-30421254cbd9.html
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hendricks, David
American Plymouth Brethren
People acquitted of murder
People from Bloomington, Illinois
Mass murder in 1984
1984 murders in the United States
Unsolved mass murders in the United States
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people