Joe Kenda facts for kids

Joseph Patrick Kenda (born November 14, 1946) is a retired police detective lieutenant. He worked for the Colorado Springs Police Department for 23 years. During his career, he investigated 387 serious crime cases and successfully solved 356 of them. This means he had a very high success rate of 92%!

Joe Kenda became famous for sharing his experiences on the Investigation Discovery TV show Homicide Hunter. On this show, he told stories about the cases he had solved. He also hosts another show called American Detective With Lt. Joe Kenda on Discovery+.

Joe Kenda's Early Life

Joe Kenda was born on November 14, 1946, in Herminie, Pennsylvania. His family came from Slovenia. His dad, William, was an intelligence officer in the United States Army during World War II and ran a trucking business. His mom, Virginia, was from Colorado Springs.

Joe Kenda went to Greensburg Central Catholic High School and graduated in 1964. He then studied at the University of Pittsburgh. In 1967, he married his high school sweetheart, Mary Kathleen Mohler. After college, he earned a master's degree from Ohio State University in 1970.

He thought about working for the government overseas, but decided it wasn't for him. After helping with his father's business, Joe Kenda joined the Colorado Springs Police Department in 1973.

His Police Career

Joe Kenda started working for the Colorado Springs Police Department in 1973. In 1977, he became a detective and worked in the burglary division.

Later in 1977, Kenda offered to take on a difficult case that other experienced detectives thought couldn't be solved. Kenda managed to solve it! Because of this success, he was moved to the police department's homicide unit, which deals with very serious crimes. He was promoted to sergeant in 1980 and returned to the homicide unit in 1984.

As a homicide detective, Joe Kenda solved 356 out of 387 cases. This amazing success rate of 92% was due to his skill in understanding people and knowing when they were not telling the truth. His job was often very challenging and could be emotionally tough.

Kenda worked as a homicide detective from 1977 to 1981, and again from 1984 to 1996. The TV show Homicide Hunter showed how his work affected him personally. It also covered his retirement and his later work as a bus driver for students with special needs.

Joe Kenda's TV Shows

In 2008, a TV editor named Patrick Bryant contacted Joe Kenda. They talked about creating a TV show based on Kenda's career as a detective. This show, Homicide Hunter: Lt Joe Kenda, started airing in September 2011 on the Investigation Discovery network. The show became very popular, with millions of viewers each week. The final episode aired on January 29, 2020.

In December 2020, Kenda started a new series called American Detective with Lt. Joe Kenda. In this show, Kenda discusses cases solved by other detectives across the United States. It began on January 4, 2021, when the Discovery+ streaming service launched.

His Family Life

Joe Kenda married his high school girlfriend, Mary Kathleen Mohler, on December 26, 1967. They have two children, Dan and Kris. Kenda's family appeared in two episodes of Homicide Hunter, including the series finale.

Today, Joe Kenda lives in the Tidewater region of Virginia.

Solved Cold Cases

Even after Joe Kenda retired, two unsolved cases he had investigated were finally solved in 2021. These were the cases of Darlene Krashoc from 1987 and Mary Lynn Vialpando from 1988. DNA evidence helped solve these old cases.

Joe Kenda as an Author

On July 25, 2023, Joe Kenda released his first book, a novel called All Is Not Forgiven. It's a fictional story about a new detective named Kenda investigating a case in 1975.