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Dateline: Mystery on Birdle Path revisited the 2008 brutal murder of 53-year-old Carol Kennedy, a mother of two, counselor, and artist from Arizona. Carol Kennedy's murder just weeks after her divorce from her husband, Steve, sent shockwaves through the small community of Prescott, in Arizona.
As the investigation began, all the evidence pointed towards her then-ex-husband and father of two, Steve DeMocker, who soon became the prime suspect in the case. In 2015, Steve DeMocker was finally sentenced to lifetime imprisonment without parole; however, even after a decade, his conviction remains a topic of heated debate.
Here's what happened to Carol Kennedy as shown in the Dateline episode
From divorce to death: Here's the complete timeline of Carol Kennedy's murder case as shown by Dateline
1) May 1998 to May 2008 - The end of Carol Kennedy and Steve DeMocker's marriage
As per NBC's Dateline, Carol and Steve built a life in Arizona after marrying on October 10, 1982, and had two daughters. However, by 2003, they decided to live separately, and in 2006, Steve filed for a divorce. After years of strain, in May 2008, the divorce was finalized. Carol rejected any further talk of reconciliation. Unfortunately, just days later, after Steve failed to give her alimony worth $6000, Carol was found dead in her Arizona home.
2) July 2, 2008 - Carol Kennedy was found dead in her Arizona home
On July 2, 2008, when Carol was talking over the phone with her aged mother Ruth, she was heard screaming, "Oh, no!" before the call was disrupted midway and the phone turned dead. Ruth grew anxious and contacted 911 operators. When the police arrived at Carol's house, they found her dead body on the floor with blood all over the place. It seemed like Carrol was badly beaten to death and her head was smashed.
What followed is a series of interrogations where most of Carol's friends pointed out that their marriage did not end on a good note, and Steve had also been cheating on his wife for several years. However, Steve's relatives, including his daughters, defended him.
3) October 2008 - Carol Kennedy's former husband, Steve DeMocker arrested
After months of investigations, Steve DeMocker was arrested in October 2008. A known cyclist, DeMocker, was linked to rare shoe prints found behind Carol's home. However, the crucial DNA evidence remained missing.
As per autopsy reports, the DNA found in Carol's fingernails did not match that of Steve. However, the report also suggested that she was hit on her head by a golf club, and when investigators searched for the club in DeMocker's home, they found that one of the clubs was missing from a stack, which could be the murder weapon. However, they were unable to recover it.
Additionally, another crucial piece of evidence that indicated Steve DeMocker was involved in the foul play was that his phone was switched off for five hours in the evening, which was quite unusual for him. Steve told the authorities that he went for a cycling trial near his wife's house and his phone died midway. The investigators found it weird for Steve to go bike riding near his wife's house, which is around eight miles away, on the same evening that she was killed.
Moreover, Steve's recent computer searches were aligned to the murder case. For instance, one of his searches was, "how to kill someone and make it look like a suicide." Additionally, Steve's sports shoes' mark was found near Carol Kennedy's house, raising suspicion.
4) January 2009 - Jim Knapp, Carol's friend and tenant, dies by suicide
Knapp, Carol's friend and tenant, soon arrived at the crime scene after Carol's murder and pointed out that Steve DeMocker might have been involved in the brutal murder of Carol Kennedy. He told the investigators that their divorce had taken a nasty turn.
Additionally, as per the Dateline episode, Jim Knapp had an alibi, too, that saved him from the allegations. What was bizarre was that Jim Knapp was found dead around five months later, after Carol's death. Jim Knapp's death was ruled a suicide.
5) June 2009 to September 2010 - A hoax mail linked Carol's death to a drug ring
Similar to most cases, someone tried to rig Carol Kennedy's murder investigation. In July 2009, an anonymous email linking Carol's death to a drug ring circulated. However, the investigators soon found that it was a hoax. In September 2010, Steve's ex-girlfriend, Renee, came forward, naming the person responsible for it. However, after hitting multiple roadblocks, including a judge passing out mid-trial, the email was declared a hoax.
6) October 4, 2014 - Steve DeMocker found guilty of killing his ex-wife, Carol Kennedy
Finally, after half a decade of investigation, trials, and mistrials, Steve DeMocker was found guilty of the second-degree murder of Carol Kennedy. The jury cited his shoe print, suspicious internet searches, inconsistent alibi, and missing gold club as proof.
7) January 14, 2015 - Stev DeMocker sentenced to life imprisonment without parole
Steve DeMocker was sentenced to life imprisonment without the chance of parole as per the Dateline episode. However, his immediate family, including his mother and daughters, supported Steve throughout; they were not ready to accept that Steve was capable of such a gruesome crime. Similarly, Steve DeMocker to till day, claims that he is innocent.
Dateline: Mystery on Birdle Path: A case that still divides
The evidence against DeMocker was almost entirely circumstantial. No blood. No DNA. No direct witness. Just search histories, footprints, and motive. That's why more than a decade later, the case continues to draw questions.
Did the system get it right? Or did they close the book on a mystery too soon?
Currently, Steve DeMocker is serving his prison time at the Arizona State Prison Complex, Douglas-Mohave unit in Cochise County, as per Dateline.
More about the case: Dateline: Mystery On Bridle Path - 5 harrowing details about Carol Kennedy's murder, explored
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