“48 Hours” Investigates in “Mystery on County Road M”

Saturday, Jan. 29

(L-R) Todd and Barbara Kendhammer; Erin Moriarty and La Crosse Wisconsin prosecutor Tim Gruenke

Watch a Preview

Todd Kendhammer said his wife Barbara was killed in a freak accident when a pipe smashed into the windshield of their car in 2016. A Wisconsin jury didn’t believe him. He was sentenced to life in prison. Their children believe he’s innocent. Now, his new legal team says there is evidence the jury never heard. Will a judge grant a new trial?

48 HOURS and Erin Moriarty investigate the death of Barbara Kendhammer and the case against her husband in “Mystery on County Road M,” to be broadcast Saturday, Jan. 29 (10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network and streaming on Paramount+. The broadcast features the first television interviews with the couple’s children, who believe their father is innocent.

“He didn’t do this, and he deserves to come home,” says Jessica Servais, their daughter.

“He did not hurt my mom, ever,” she adds.

Todd Kendhammer told investigators his wife was injured when a pipe flew off a truck and pierced the windshield of their car. She later died at the hospital. But the story didn’t make sense to La Crosse, Wisc., prosecutor Tim Gruenke. Amongst other things, investigators were never able to find the truck, and Todd Kendhammer gave police different accounts of where he was going that morning.

“It only makes sense one way, that he caused her injuries, caused her death and tried to cover it up,” Gruenke says.

Kendhammer’s new legal team is Jerry Buting and Kathleen Stilling. They maintain there is crucial evidence in the case that the jury never heard, and they presented their findings at an evidentiary hearing this past summer. The judge in the case is expected to render a decision in the spring of 2022 on whether Todd Kendhammer will get a new trial.

“If this could happen to Todd Kendhammer, it could happen to anybody,” says Buting.

Did Kendhammer get a fair trial? 48 HOURS and Moriarty have the latest on the case.

48 HOURS: “Mystery on County Road M” is produced by Chris Young Ritzen, Jamie Stolz and Dena Goldstein. The development producers are Charlotte Fuller and Julie Kramer. The editors are Gary Winter, Doreen Schechter, Joan Adelman and Marcus Balsam. Lourdes Aguiar is the senior producer. Nancy Kramer is the executive story editor. Judy Tygard is the executive producer.

48 HOURS is broadcast Saturdays at 10:00 PM, ET/PT, on CBS, and streams anytime on Paramount+ There’s also a new way to watch 48 HOURS. You’ll find us on the CBS News Streaming Network Wednesdays at 8:00 PM, ET. Download the CBS News app on your cellphone or connected TV. Follow 48 HOURS on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Listen to podcasts at CBSAudio.

* * *

Press Contact: