On the night of November 8, 1983, David Hendricks returned home from a business trip to find his wife, Susan, and their three young children brutally murdered in their beds. They had been killed with an axe and a butcher knife—both from the family home. Investigators quickly turned their focus to David. There were no signs of forced entry, the burglary attempt seemed staged, and there were no other viable suspects. It was called the “cleanest bloody crime scene”. David’s unemotional demeanor, strange midnight business trip, and seemingly rehearsed account raised suspicions, and the coroner’s estimate of the time of death—based on the children’s stomach contents—suggested the murders occurred before David left for his trip. Prosecutors theorized he was growing restless in his strict religious life and may have killed his family to escape it. Did David Hendricks kill his family or was it an intruder?

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