Detective now shares cases with viewers
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — Now that he’s gone from retired police detective to star of an Investigation Discovery series, Joe Kenda hears from viewers all the time who want his help solving an unsolved crime. And why not, viewers see him catch criminals on a weekly basis in a just-the-facts-ma’am, blunt style. But he can’t bring his skills to bear offscreen.
“If I lived another 100 years, I could not help all the people who need help,” he said in an interview
late last month. “I have no jurisdiction. … I’m retired. I am no longer an officer of the court. Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t do it.”
Instead, the star of ID’s “Homicide Hunter: Lt. Joe Kenda” (10 tonight) advises those seeking help to consult the original investigating agency and politely inquire about what’s happening with the case. And then accept whatever explanation they get.
“What often happens — understandably so, emotion is a terrible thing — people get distressed,” he said. “They express that to someone in an unkind way, and human nature being what it is, they tend not to get much response. If they approach someone … and ask for a legitimate explanation, they would probably be given one. But they tend not to do that. Somebody starts screaming, somebody screams back, and it doesn’t go very well.”
Now in its fifth season, “Homicide Hunter” has expanded to 20 new episodes all culled from Mr. Kenda’s case files working as a homicide detective in Colorado Springs. Mr. Kenda, who grew up in Herminie near Irwin before attending the University of Pittsburgh, now lives in Hampton Roads, Va., and travels back to Colorado Springs to film his segments for the series.
“I don’t have a script. I say whatever I want. They edit what I say to take out the profanity and insulting remarks I might make — not that I would do that, but one never knows,” Mr. Kenda said. “I talk about why I think the way I did, why I pursued one person over another, why someone was more interesting to me than someone else. My primary skill in doing the work was to let the facts drive the theory as opposed to the other way around. Many policemen get themselves in trouble when they establish a theory of a case and they beat up the facts until it matches their theory. And I never did that.”
In addition to the TV show, Mr. Kenda contributes to ID’s “Detective,” a biweekly podcast where he reveals details from one of his cases. It’s available at iTunes and CrimeFeed.com.
Mr. Kenda said working as a homicide detective requires just a few skills.
“You need a knowledge of the law. You need to know what you can do, and, more importantly, you must know what you may not do,” he said. “And the only other thing you require is an undying sense of curiosity: ‘Somebody made this happen. Who might that be? Well, we certainly don’t know, but we’re here to find out.’”
Crime re-enactments for “Homicide Hunter” are filmed in Knoxville, Tenn., and then the whole thing is edited together to retell the story of a case Mr. Kenda solved.
He retired from the Colorado Springs police force in 1996, took two years off and then drove a special needs school bus until 2008. He doesn’t miss police work.
“I’d reached my emotional limit,” he said. “Everything became white noise at the end. I couldn’t tell another mother her child wasn’t coming home. My wife was done as well. We’ve been together since high school, and I’d put her through the paces of me never being home, wondering if I was going to come home.”
While on the police force, Mr. Kenda got his first taste of fame. Local TV news reporters would breeze past the police department’s public information officer and seek out Mr. Kenda for comment at crime scenes because, Mr. Kenda said, he was always up front about what was going on.
Now he’s recognized on a daily basis. Last month on a train from New York to Virginia he was asked to sign one autograph, which led to signing 49 more as word spread through the coaches. “Homicide Hunter” airs in France, so he was recognized last year while dining at a Paris restaurant.
“Odd” is how he succinctly describes that feeling. “I’m always nice to people because I would be offended if somebody wasn’t nice to me. I pose for pictures, give autographs, pet the dog, do whatever we have to do. I don’t see myself as famous. I’m a policeman, I’m not an actor. I’m just like anybody else. At the moment I just have a different job. It doesn’t make me famous, it makes me recognizable, I suppose, but I don’t equate that with fame.”