Jurors deliberating La Crosse County homicide case

UPDATE: Todd Kendhammer has been found guilty of murdering his wife Barbara.

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—-BEFORE VERDICT—-

Before a guilty verdict, jurors in La Crosse County were deciding the fate of a man accused of fatally beating his wife and trying to conceal her death by staging a car accident.

Todd Kendhammer’s attorney, Stephen Hurley, told jurors in closing arguments Thursday the evidence does not support the prosecution’s contention that his client caused fatal injuries to his wife, Barbara. Hurley also said there’s no motive in her death and that no one ever saw the couple argue in 25 years of marriage.

La Crosse County District Attorney Tim Gruenke told jurors Kendhammer lied repeatedly about the circumstances surrounding his wife’s death and that he lost control and fatally beat his wife for a reason he has not explained.

Kendhammer told investigators his wife was killed when a pipe from a passing truck flew through their vehicle’s windshield.