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Thoughts on Lt. Joe Kenda

The Discovery TV network has a channel called Discovery ID.  It is all about the dark underbelly of human life.  They have shows about famous murders, serial killers and homicides.  One such show is called Homicide Hunter with Lt. Joe Kenda.  Joe Kinda was a homicide detective in Colorado Springs, Colorado in the 1980s and 1990s.  He claims to have solved 400 homicides.  This is easily my favorite show on TV.

I like it because each hour episode is a mini-documentary on a single homicide in Colorado Springs.  It is narrated by Lt. Joe Kenda, who looks to be in his 60s and is retired.  He takes the audience through the initial homicide report all the way through to the end.  Usually the show ends with discovering who the killer is. The outcome of the arrest and trial is stated as an epilogue.  To see into the mind of a detective is fascinating and to see how people lie and hide to avoid police involvement.  Kinda is also a snarky smart-ass and I enjoy that.

We live in a society where morals and sins are determine by what is legal and illegal.  People who claim to follow Christ can live self-centered evil lives, but believe they are doing just fine, because they have not broken any laws.  For the most part, murder is still seen as taboo.  Things are getting murky with police shooting and ANTIFA violence and there are no arrests.  So today, it seems that if someone is on the correct political side,  they can kill and maim and loot and steal and set things on fire, and there is no Lt. Joseph Kenda to investigate and find the criminals.

Another reason I like Homicide Hunter is for nostalgia.  More than 20 years ago police relied on interviews and knocking on door and footwork.  Kenda, in his narration, tells who he believes and who he does not believes and why.  One recent episode starts with Kenda telling the audience that he trust no one.  A good idea when there are 15 suspects all point their fingers at one another.

Homicide Hunters shows the real, although edited, scripted and reenacted nature of homicide.  People hurt each other and people kill each other.  Kenda talks his way through the investigation, explains each step as he goes.  He is methodical, thorough and dedicated.  It clearly shows that murderers act in a split-second and police have all the time in the world to catch them.

Not all episodes end with a conviction.  One episode, the murderer left the country and had never been seen again.  Another moved to California and was eventually found and brough back to Colorado.  Sometimes the police see the evidence but it cannot be explained to a jury and they don’t get a conviction.  One such episode consisted of family members lying for and sticking up for one another, so that the killer, their father, was never convicted.

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