Joseph Patrick Kenda (born November 14, 1946) is a retired

Colorado Springs Police Department The Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) is the police department for the City of Colorado Springs, Colorado. CSPD was involved in the capture and surrender of several members of the Texas Seven. Organization The CSPD is headed by the chie ...

detective lieutenant who was involved in 387 homicide cases over a 23-year career. He solved 356 cases, a closure rate of 92%. He was featured on the

Investigation Discovery Investigation Discovery (stylized and branded on-air as ID since 2008) is an American multinational pay television network dedicated to true crime documentaries owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. As of February 2015, approximately 86 million Ameri ...

television show ''

Homicide Hunter ''Homicide Hunter'' (also known as ''Homicide Hunter: Lt. Joe Kenda'') is an American crime documentary television series which aired on the Investigation Discovery (ID) television network for nine seasons, totalling 144 episodes. The series show ...

'', where he recounted stories of cases he solved. Kenda hosts the

Discovery+ Discovery may refer to: * Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown * Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown * Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence Discovery, The Discover ...

show ''American Detective With Lt. Joe Kenda''.

Early life

Kenda was born and raised in

Herminie, Pennsylvania Herminie is a census-designated place (CDP) in Sewickley Township, Pennsylvania, Sewickley Township, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 856 at the 2000 census. History Hermini ...

on November 14, 1946. His paternal grandparents immigrated in 1913 from

Čezsoča Čezsoča (; it, Oltresonzia) is a settlement in the Municipality of Bovec in the Slovenian Littoral, Littoral region of Slovenia. It includes the hamlets of Gorenja Vas ( sl, Gorenja vas), Dolenja Vas (), Jablanica, Kršovec, and Na Glavi. Geogr ...

in what is now

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

. His father, William, served as an intelligence officer in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and ran a trucking business. His mother, Virginia (née Morrissey), was from

Colorado Springs Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...

. He graduated from

Greensburg Central Catholic High School , motto_translation = Glory to God alone , address = 911 Armory Dr , location = , region = , city = Greensburg , county = ( Westmoreland County) , state ...

in 1964. He attended the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...

, and married his high school girlfriend, Mary Kathleen Mohler, in 1967. After graduating with a B.A. in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

, Kenda earned a master's degree in

international relations International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such as ...

from

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

in 1970. Kenda considered a career with the

Foreign Service Diplomatic service is the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country to communicate with the governments of other countries. Diplomatic personnel obtains diplomatic immunity when they are accredited to o ...

, but after a classified briefing with the

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

decided it was not for him. After working at his father's trucking business, Kenda joined the

in 1973.

Law enforcement career

Kenda joined the Colorado Springs Police Department in 1973. In 1977, he was promoted to the rank of detective and assigned a role in the burglary division of the department. In 1977, Kenda volunteered to take over an

attempted murder Attempted murder is a crime of attempt in various jurisdictions. Canada Section 239 of the ''Criminal Code'' makes attempted murder punishable by a maximum of life imprisonment. If a gun is used, the minimum sentence is four, five or seven ye ...

case deemed unsolvable by veteran detectives. Kenda solved the case and was moved to the police department's homicide unit. He was promoted to sergeant in 1980, and returned to homicide in 1984. As a homicide detective, Kenda solved 356 of 387 homicide cases, a closure rate of 92%. Kenda credited his ability to close cases to being a student of human nature and being good at telling when people were lying. His claim of solving 356 cases between 1977-1996 has been called into question by his colleagues. Kenda retired in August 1996 after an interrogation with an accused sex offender pushed Kenda to react violently. Kenda had to be restrained from injuring the 74-year-old accused offender, who told Kenda he had abused his 5-year-old grandson because the boy had "come on to (him)". Kenda worked as a homicide detective with the Colorado Springs Police Department from 1977 to 1981, and 1984–1996. In the final episode of ''Homicide Hunter: Lt. Joe Kenda'', called "The End", the personal impact of his work in homicide is detailed, as is his retirement, work as a bus driver for special-needs students, and battle with

post-traumatic stress disorder Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats on ...

Television career

In 2008, Denver television series editor Patrick Bryant contacted Kenda to discuss a television series about Kenda's career as a homicide detective. The series, ''Homicide Hunter: Lt Joe Kenda'', aired in September 2011 on the

network. Scene reenactments were filmed in

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County, Tennessee, Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Di ...

. In its ninth season, ''Homicide Hunter'' was Investigation Discovery’s top show, averaging 1.7 million viewers each week in the third quarter of 2018. The series finale, ''"The End"'', aired on January 29, 2020. In December 2020, Kenda began a new series, ''American Detective with Lt. Joe Kenda'', with each episode featuring Kenda discussing the cases of different homicide detectives in the United States. It premiered on January 4, 2021 with the launch of the

streaming service.

Personal life

Kenda married his high school girlfriend, Mary Kathleen Kathy Mohler, on December 26, 1967. They have two children, Dan and Kris. Kenda's family appeared in two episodes of the ''Homicide Hunter,'' "Married to the Job", which aired on February 6, 2019, and in the series finale "The End" on January 29, 2020. Kenda lives in the

Tidewater region Tidewater refers to the north Atlantic coastal plain region of the United States of America. Definition Culturally, the Tidewater region usually includes the low-lying plains of southeast Virginia, northeastern North Carolina, southern Maryl ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

References

External links

*
Homicide Hunter
on Investigation Discovery {{DEFAULTSORT:Kenda 1946 births American police detectives Living people Ohio State University alumni People from Colorado Springs, Colorado University of Pittsburgh alumni American people of Slovenian descent