Hendricks Family Slaying
Authored by: Grant A. Bjork
November 4th, 1983, TGIF…or so it’s said. A seemingly normal day in the central Illinois city of Bloomington, family man, Dave Hendricks kissed his wife and three children goodbye as he departed for a weekend long business trip to Wisconsin. A rising businessman and inventor, Dave was promoting and distributing a neck brace that he designed. Susan, Dave’s wife, was off from her career at a publishing office and spending the weekend with the three children, Rebekah, Grace, and Benjamin.
Throughout the weekend, Mr.Hendricks made numerous attempts to phone Susan to check-in with the family. All attempts were unsuccessful. Worry and panic setting in, Dave contacted their neighbor on November 7th, 1983 to check on his family. Noone answered the door at the neighbor’s knock.
Frantic, a call was placed to local law enforcement for a welfare check. Upon entry of the Hendricks residence, police discovered Susan (30y.o.), Rebecca (9y.o.), Grace (7y.o.), and Benjamin (5y.o.0 all brutally murdered. Their images distorted and gruesome, the police could hardly recognize the four. During examination of the crime scene, it was determined that a butcher knife and an axe located at the Hendricks’s residence were the murder weapons.
Returning the evening of the 7th, Dave Hendricks had not heard the devastating news yet, or did he already know the truth?
Witnesses at the time of notification stated that Mr.Hendricks appeared to be emotionless and without distress upon the realization of his family being deceased. The family having strong religious connections, it is said that Dave’s only statement was, “they are with the Lord now and that’s all that matters.” Investigators were unsure if this was his unique way of grieving or a guilty husband and father.
Upon examination, investigators found no signs of blood or distress on any of Dave’s clothing. Further, he had a seemingly solid alibi by being out of state for business. Without any other leads to pursue, Hendricks became the main person of interest for police. The father’s last time seeing his family, according to his statement, was the night of the 4th. He stated that the family went out for pizza and games at approximately 7:30p.m. and returned home at 9:30p.m. He then departed for Wisconsin.
The medical examiner began the inspection of the four bodies. Upon dissection of the stomach contents, pizza toppings were found. This was deemed odd because, typically, food exits the stomach and begins the digestive journey through the small intestine after two hours. The finding of the food content in the stomachs placed the estimated time of death at 9:30p.m., when Dave was still home.
With only circumstantial evidence, investigators charged Dave Hendricks with the murders of his wife and three children. What was Dave’s motive?
Mr.Hendricks had hired multiple models to aid in the promotion and sales of his patented neck brace. Many of these models, upon questioning, stated that he acted inappropriately and seductively towards them. Asking one to strip “to her panties” and another “to a patient’s robe.” The model accused Dave began to touch her sexually. Prosecution speculated that Mr.Hendricks was not happy at home and wanted to begin a new life with a new family. With divorce not being an option, Dave’s only option was to murder his wife and children. Thus, the alleged motive.
Prosecution had three of Dave’s models attend the witness stand during the trial. The defense suggested that the two weapons, the knife and axe, led to the obvious assumption of multiple killers. However, prosecution stayed strong on Dave acting alone. The only physical evidence against Dave being the stomach contents, his defense attorney argued that severe stress and traumatic situations are capable of affecting the rate of digestion. Thus, making the two hour average for contents to move from the stomach to the small intestines inaccurate in this specific instance.
Ultimately, the state moved towards implicating the death penalty for Mr.Hendricks’s punishment. However, with seldom physical evidence, the judge denied the death penalty due to his own reasonable doubt. Dave Hendricks was found guilty on four counts of murder and sentenced to four consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole.
After numerous appeals, the Illinois Supreme Court decided to grant a retrial. This decision was made on the grounds that the prosecution’s motive of divorce and Dave’s religious beliefs bordered on the line of religious persecution and bias, the reasonable doubt in examination of the only physical evidence (stomach contents suggesting a time of death), and the dismissal of the models’ testimonies (seemingly due to the connection to the defendant’s religious beliefs and the speculative motive).
After serving eight years of his four life sentences, Dave Hendricks was acquitted of all charges in the 1991 retrial. As of today, the murders of Susan, Rebekah, Grace, and Benjamin remain classified as unsolved. With no other leads in the case, it is not being actively pursued.
The million dollar question we are left with, “Is Dave Hendricks guilty of slaughtering his family?”
Retired Judge Richard Baner, who resided over both trials, was asked in November 2018 what his formal opinion of guilt or no-guilt was. Baner stated, “In both trials, the jury got it correct. Their decisions were based on the evidence presented to them.” He continued to state, “Once you lose the motive evidence in that grotesque case…it’s hard for the state to continue with charges.”
Dave Hendricks now resides in Florida with his wife and two children. He is living a successful life. Famed news reporter, Steve Vogel, who followed the murder investigation and trials, stated, “All family members have stood by him and never doubted his innocence, and I believe that he could have lived a different lifestyle without murdering his family.”
The answer is yours to form, is Dave Hendricks guilty of his family’s slaughter? Or is he innocent?
For more information and in-depth knowledge on the investigation and trials, check out the book “Reasonable Doubt” by Steve Vogel or visit stevevogelauthor.com.
