Testimony begins in Kendhammer appeal hearing

Attorneys from both sides of a 2017 murder trial in La Crosse talked in court on Monday about the case, during a hearing on whether a new trial will be ordered for Todd Kendhammer. 

The West Salem man was found guilty of murdering his wife Barbara, but Kendhammer says Barbara was killed by a flying pipe that broke through a car window. 

District attorney Tim Gruenke questioned defense attorney Jacob Bednarek on Monday about the police theory that the odds were against a pipe killing Mrs. Kendhammer.

“I’m not aware of (the officer’s) training, beyond what he was trained as a law enforcement officer, but beyond that I’m not aware of any training that he has,” said Bednarek. “He may have a Ph.D. in physics, for all I know. I kinda doubt it.”

Bednarek also claimed the state “scrambled” to find non-existent motives for a murder which he believes didn’t happen. 

“Todd Kendhammer didn’t kill his wife,” said Bednarek. “It’s a complicated case, but the theory is he didn’t commit the crime, period.”

He added that “they didn’t have a cohesive ‘this is why it happened.’ They just thought he lost his temper, I suppose.”

A jury decided that Barbara Kendhammer was beaten to death, instead of being killed accidentally by a pipe that broke a car window.   

The appeals hearing in La Crosse County court is scheduled to continue with new witnesses on Tuesday and Wednesday.