Homicide Hunter Premiered ‘Rest in Peace’ on ID: Kenda Investigates Suspicious Death of Air Force Retiree Willy Jackson (September 25, 2019)

When an Air Force veteran dies unexpectedly, Kenda and his team must determine if it was a tragic accident or premeditated murder. But before long, they discover that their clean-cut victim had a secret life. -Rest in Peace, Homicide Hunter (S9,E5)

Editor’s note: With a cable subscription, you can download the free ID Go app and watch Investigation Discovery programming at your convenience. And for those who do not have cable, you can watch “unlocked” episodes on the ID Go app including the latest premieres. For those who prefer commercial free programming during your binge session, Prime Video has an ID channel: ‘True Crime Files by Investigation Discovery” available for $3.99 a month. It’s a compilation of older seasons but totally worth the cost if you are a true crime addict. Download the ID Go app or purchase ID True Crime Files & binge away.

Related Links:
Rest in Peace | Homicide Hunter | Investigation Discovery (S9,E5)
Rest in Peace | Homicide Hunter | Investigation Discovery (website)
Rest in Peace | Homicide Hunter | Investigation Discovery (Amazon)
Rest in Peace | Homicide Hunter | Investigation Discovery (Hulu)
Air Force Retiree Willy Jackson Found Dead in Colorado Springs Home; Wife Tony Jackson Confessed to Stabbing, DA Ruled Self-Defense (June 24, 1994)
Homicide Hunter: 20 Active Duty Military and Veteran Murder Cases Featured on Investigation Discovery

Valley of the Damned Premiered ‘The Second Shot’ on ID: Brian Hood Used Lover & Army Spouse Jennifer Reali As Murder Weapon (September 24, 2019)

When Dianne Hood is gunned down outside a community center in Prison Valley, no one can understand why anyone would want to murder the well-liked housewife. The answer involves betrayal, greed and obsession, in an infamous love-triangle murder plot. -The Second Shot, Valley of the Damned (S1,E4)

Editor’s note: With a cable subscription, you can download the free ID Go app and watch Investigation Discovery programming at your convenience. And for those who do not have cable, you can watch “unlocked” episodes on the ID Go app including the latest premieres. For those who prefer commercial free programming during your binge session, Prime Video has an ID channel: ‘True Crime Files by Investigation Discovery” available for $3.99 a month. It’s a compilation of older seasons but totally worth the cost if you are a true crime addict. Download the ID Go app or purchase ID True Crime Files & binge away.

Related Links:
The Second Shot | Valley of the Damned | Investigation Discovery (S1,E4)
The Second Shot | Valley of the Damned | Investigation Discovery (website)
The Second Shot | Valley of the Damned | Investigation Discovery (Amazon)
Army Spouse Jennifer Reali Shot & Killed Lover’s Wife; Sentenced to Life in Prison, Paroled in 2017 & Died of Cancer Three Months Later (September 12, 1990)
Deadly Women Premiered ‘Under His Control’ on Investigation Discovery: Brian Hood Used Lover Jennifer Reali to Kill Wife (October 19, 2010)
Facing Evil with Candice DeLong Premiered ‘Love Before Life’ on Investigation Discovery: Jennifer Reali Fatally Shot Lover’s Wife in Colorado (November 26, 2010)
Homicide Hunter Premiered ‘I Now Pronounce You Dead’ on ID: Jennifer Reali Killed Lover’s Wife Dianne Hood in Colorado Springs (October 2, 2012)
Deadly Women: 30 Military and Veteran Homicide Cases Featured on Investigation Discovery
Homicide Hunter: 15 Active Duty Military and Veteran Murder Cases Featured on Investigation Discovery
Violent Crime, Suicide, and Non Combat Death at Fort Carson, Colorado

Grave Mysteries Premiered ‘Murder Behind Closed Doors’ on ID: Ashley Melnyczok Found Murdered in Colorado Springs Home (February 25, 2019)

27 year-old Ashley Melnyczok is a single mother. Her daughter is her life’s joy. In June 2015, Ashley is murdered in her Colorado Springs home. While hunting for clues, police hunt down a cast of dangerous characters and uncover a heinous plot. -Murder Behind Closed Doors, Grave Mysteries (S2,E3)

Editor’s note: With a cable subscription, you can download the free ID Go app and watch Investigation Discovery programming at your convenience. And for those who do not have cable, you can watch “unlocked” episodes on the ID Go app including the latest premieres. For those who prefer commercial free programming during your binge session, Prime Video has an ID channel: ‘True Crime Files by Investigation Discovery” available for $3.99 a month. It’s a compilation of older seasons but totally worth the cost if you are a true crime addict. Download the ID Go app or purchase ID True Crime Files & binge away.

Related Links:
Murder of Ashley Melnyczok by Joseph Kimsey and Jonathon Nelson — Grave Mysteries spotlights the case
Murder Behind Closed Doors | Grave Mysteries | Investigation Discovery (S2,E3)
Murder Behind Closed Doors | Grave Mysteries | Investigation Discovery (website)
Murder Behind Closed Doors | Grave Mysteries | Investigation Discovery (Prime Video)
Ashley Melnyczok Found Murdered in Colorado Home; Army Soldier Joseph Kimsey & Jonathon Nelson Sentenced to Life in Prison (June 3, 2015)
What the DoD Doesn’t Want You to Know: 50 Shocking Military Homicides in the Last 30 Years (March 23, 2018)
Violent Crime, Suicide, and Non Combat Death at Fort Carson, Colorado (US Army)
A Month in Review: In the News on Military Justice for All (June 2018)

Peterson Air Force Base Staff Sgt. Austin Bieren Died of a Non Combat Death in Syria; Suspected Natural Causes, USAF Would Not Elaborate (March 28, 2017)

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a security forces airman who was supporting Operation Inherent Resolve. Staff Sgt. Austin Bieren, 25, of Umatilla, Oregon, died March 28 in northern Syria in a non-combat-related incident while deployed in support of combat operations. He was assigned to the 21st Space Wing at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado. AP said in a statement from the base, Bieren died from “suspected natural causes.” Wing commander Col. Douglas Schiess says Bieren was “a beloved member of the team and will be sorely missed.” Bieren graduated from Umatilla High School in 2010 and entered the Air Force that November. He had been stationed at Peterson since June 2014.

According to the Burns Mortuary of Hermiston obituary, Austin Leo Bieren, 25, “was born on January 7, 1992 in Pendleton, Oregon to John Timothy Bieren and Tracy Ann (Gibson) Finck. Austin loved to hunt, fish, and hunt some more. He enjoyed anything and everything outdoors, the true definition of a mountain man. He avidly worked out and did everything to stay healthy and active. After basic training, he married his wife, Rachel (Kennedy) Bieren, and they both moved to Minot, North Dakota and were there for three years, and then moved to Colorado Springs where Austin worked at Peterson AFB. He was deployed three times.”

Notable Quotes:

“The Air Force did not elaborate on Bieren’s cause of death.”Denver Post (March 30, 2017)

“It’s tragic that we lost that young man in kind of a strange way for a 25-year-old, but nonetheless space is embedded in everything we do. So anywhere you have American military people, you’re going to have space.” (Air Force Gen. John Hyten)Fox News (March 31, 2017)

Col. Doug Schiess, 21st Space Wing commander mentioned Staff Sgt. Austin Bieren, a member of the 21st SW who died while serving in Syria. “We brought him home to his family, took care of his family and still are.”21st Space Wing, USAF (June 21, 2017)

Related Links:
Obituary: Staff Sgt. Austin Bieren
DoD Identifies Air Force Casualty
Staff Sgt. Austin Bieren | Military Times
Umatilla airman dies in Syria
DOD Identifies Airman Who Died in Syria
DoD identifies airman who died in non-combat incident in Syria
Airman from Oregon Dies in Non-Combat Incident in Syria
Airman from Oregon dies in non-combat incident in Syria
Airman from Oregon dies in non-combat incident in Syria
U.S. Air Force staff sergeant from Oregon dies in Syria
U.S. Air Force staff sergeant from Oregon dies in Syria
U.S. Air Force staff sergeant from Oregon dies in Syria
Airman’s Death in Syria Highlights Role of Space Command Downrange
Peterson Air Force Base airman died of “suspected natural causes” while deployed in northern Syria
Peterson Airman dies of suspected natural causes while deployed in Syria
Peterson airman, 25, dies of natural causes while serving in Syria
U.S. Air Force staff sergeant dies of ‘natural causes’ in Syria
Staff Sgt. Austin Bieren dignified transfer
Memories of fallen airman Bieren shared at service
Gov. Brown orders flags flown at half-staff to honor Oregon native killed in Syria
Flags at half-staff for Syria casualty from Oregon
Honoring Staff Sgt. Bieren’s memory
One last time: Col. Schiess presents final Commander’s Call
Anniversary of Staff Sgt. Austin Bieren’s passing
Inside America’s Secret War with ISIS
The Incident is Under Investigation
The state of US military involvement in Syria as Trump orders withdrawal
What you need to know about US military involvement in Syria as Trump orders withdrawal
Trump offers condolences to families of American service members killed in Syria blast
A look at deaths of US troops in Syria
A look at deaths of US troops in Syria
CJTF-OIR reflects on significant military gains, fighting ISIS in 2018
Department of Defense Casualty Status (March 22, 2021)
DoD Instruction: Criminal Investigations of Noncombat Deaths
State of Oregon: Oregon’s Most Honorable

Homicide Hunter Premiered ‘The Line Goes Dead’ on ID: Army Veteran Murdered Estranged Wife’s Boyfriend Danny Richmond (November 30, 2016)

When the severed head of a wife and mother is found, Lt. Joe Kenda uses forensics and interrogation to find both her body and her killer. Then… a young man’s murder looks like a robbery gone wrong until Kenda learns the odd reason he’s living there. -The Line Goes Dead, Homicide Hunter (S6,E13)

Editor’s note: With a cable subscription, you can download the free ID Go app and watch Investigation Discovery programming at your convenience. And for those who do not have cable, you can watch “unlocked” episodes on the ID Go app including the latest premieres. For those who prefer commercial free programming during your binge session, Prime Video has an ID channel: ‘True Crime Files by Investigation Discovery” available for $3.99 a month. It’s a compilation of older seasons but totally worth the cost if you are a true crime addict. Download the ID Go app or purchase ID True Crime Files & binge away.

Related Links:
The Line Goes Dead | Homicide Hunter | Investigation Discovery (S6,E13)
The Line Goes Dead | Homicide Hunter | Investigation Discovery (website)
The Line Goes Dead | Homicide Hunter | Investigation Discovery (Amazon)
The Line Goes Dead | Homicide Hunter | Investigation Discovery (Hulu)
Army Veteran James Neal Broke Into Estranged Wife’s Colorado Springs Home & Fatally Shot Danny Richmond; Sentenced to 45 Years in Prison (July 9, 1996)
Violent Crime, Suicide & Non Combat Death at Fort Carson, Colorado (US Army)

Homicide Hunter Premiered ‘The Line Goes Dead’ on ID: Army Spouse Diane Pelkey Reported Missing in Colorado, Found Dead (November 30, 2016)

When the severed head of a wife and mother is found, Lt. Joe Kenda uses forensics and interrogation to find both her body and her killer. Then… a young man’s murder looks like a robbery gone wrong until Kenda learns the odd reason he’s living there. -The Line Goes Dead, Homicide Hunter (S6,E13)

Editor’s note: With a cable subscription, you can download the free ID Go app and watch Investigation Discovery programming at your convenience. And for those who do not have cable, you can watch “unlocked” episodes on the ID Go app including the latest premieres. For those who prefer commercial free programming during your binge session, Prime Video has an ID channel: ‘True Crime Files by Investigation Discovery” available for $3.99 a month. It’s a compilation of older seasons but totally worth the cost if you are a true crime addict. Download the ID Go app or purchase ID True Crime Files & binge away.

Related Links:
The Line Goes Dead | Homicide Hunter | Investigation Discovery (S6,E13)
The Line Goes Dead | Homicide Hunter | Investigation Discovery (website)
The Line Goes Dead | Homicide Hunter | Investigation Discovery (Amazon)
The Line Goes Dead | Homicide Hunter | Investigation Discovery (Hulu)
Army Spouse Diane Pelkey Reported Missing; Fort Carson Soldier Michael Pelkey Convicted of Murder at Court Martial, Sentenced to Life in Prison (October 8, 1993)
Violent Crime, Suicide & Non Combat Death at Fort Carson, Colorado (US Army)

Homicide Hunter Premiered ‘Point of No Return’ on ID: Estevan Maestas Killed By Live Hand Grenade Left Behind in Rental Garage (December 1, 2015)

When a mysterious explosion rocks a sleepy suburb, it’s up to Kenda to ID a pile of charred remains and find the killer who triggered the blast. Then…a young mother’s murder leads the CSPD on a harrowing car chase that ends in a violent showdown. -Point of No Return, Homicide Hunter (S5,E13)

Editor’s note: With a cable subscription, you can download the free ID Go app and watch Investigation Discovery programming at your convenience. And for those who do not have cable, you can watch “unlocked” episodes on the ID Go app including the latest premieres. For those who prefer commercial free programming during your binge session, Prime Video has an ID channel: ‘True Crime Files by Investigation Discovery” available for $3.99 a month. It’s a compilation of older seasons but totally worth the cost if you are a true crime addict. Download the ID Go app or purchase ID True Crime Files & binge away.

Related Links:
Point of No Return | Homicide Hunter | Investigation Discovery (S5,E13)
Point of No Return | Homicide Hunter | Investigation Discovery (website)
Point of No Return | Homicide Hunter | Investigation Discovery (Amazon)
Point of No Return | Homicide Hunter | Investigation Discovery (Hulu)
Estevan Maestas Killed After Live Hand Grenade Detonated; Colorado Springs PD Believes Explosive Device Stolen from Fort Carson (November 12, 1978)
Lessons Learned from a Military Ammunitions Explosion in Colorado Springs
Homicide Hunter: 20 Active Duty Military and Veteran Murder Cases Featured on Investigation Discovery

Homicide Hunter Premiered ‘Pop Goes the Witness’ on ID: Fort Carson Army Officer Convicted of Attempted Murder of Wife (November 3, 2015)

When the lifeless body of Willie McCarty is found at the base of a staircase, neighbors direct Kenda to a mysterious truck spotted fleeing the scene. Then… Kenda must solve a bizarre case of poisoning at a busy downtown hospital. -Pop Goes the Witness, Homicide Hunter (S5,E10)

Lt Joe Kenda of Homicide Hunter featured another case where he was tasked with investigating what hospital officials suspected was an attempted murder. Upon arrival at the hospital, he was bombarded by the press because they heard the call for service over the scanner. The hospital was secure and police officers were on the scene. Upon an initial briefing, Lt Kenda discovered that a nurse suspected that someone had tampered with one of their patient’s IVs. Lt Kenda then interviewed Carol Taylor, the wife of an Army officer also present at the hospital with their two children.

Lt Kenda learned that Carol had broken her leg and had developed some blood clots. She was simply visiting with her husband and children when all of a sudden the alarm on the IV infusion machine went off. And somehow the IV had been pulled from her arm. Lt Kenda immediately began to suspect that someone was trying to kill her because it looked like someone had either tampered with or inserted something into the IV line. Because the crime lab was not proficient in the hospital’s medical equipment, they called in a hospital employee who was considered an expert. This person determined that someone had injected something into the line. The only other people in the room were her husband and children.

Lt Kenda started his next line of questioning with the husband. He learned that Lt Col Dennis Taylor served in the US Army for 27 years and was currently working as the Chief of Oral Surgery at the Fitzsimmons Army Medical Center in Aurora, Colorado. Lt Kenda observed that the doctor was unusually calm and appeared to be minimizing the event and brushing it off as a mistake. So then Lt Kenda went back to the wife and asked her if she thought that maybe her husband did this. The wife claimed she was fine and that everyone was making a big deal out of it and she just wanted it to go away. She claimed that they had a great marriage and life. Lt Joe Kenda had a hard time believing that her marriage was as perfect as she made it out to be and moved forward with the investigation because there was in fact liquid in the IV pump that was not supposed to be there.

Kenda reached out to a family friend who worked alongside the doctor over the years. He learned from Stan that the doctor had confided in him that Carol was verbally abusive, demeaning him, telling him he is pathetic, and even punched him. She also was upset about his drinking and knew that he had been having extra-marital affairs. Stan told Kenda that the doctor wanted to leave Carol but she had threatened to go to his commander and report him for the drinking and adultery (both considered UCMJ infractions and punishable under military law) if he left her. Carol enjoyed the privileges of being a military wife too much to lose them to divorce. He felt trapped in his current abusive marriage and was drinking more and having affairs as a way to cope with his current situation. In the civilian world, Carol would not be able to get away with threatening her husband because it is not illegal to drink and have affairs.

As it turns out, the results of the pump came back and they found Diazinon, which is a poison used to kill ants, spiders, cockroaches, etc. She would have been dead in a matter of minutes and would have been in excruciating pain, as the poison would have burned her from the inside out. As a result, Kenda arrested the doctor for attempted murder. During the arrest he found a plunged hypodermic in his pocket. The doctor told him he didn’t need an attorney and admitted his guilt. He told Kenda that earlier that morning while he was out shopping, the idea came to him that this was the only way out. Because he is a doctor, he knew how to do it. He inserted the poison and the alarm went off so he pulled the IV out of her arm for fear of arrest.

Instead of the civilians pressing forward with a case, the Army decided that they were going to court martial the doctor. They claimed they wanted to make an example of the disgraced colonel in front of a jury of his peers. He was sentenced to 18 months hard labor and he and his family were stripped of all Army privileges. And this may be why Carol Taylor protected her husband despite the fact that he just tried to kill her. Why would the Army doctor rather kill his wife then report the domestic violence to the commander? Why would the doctor feel that going to the commander was not an option and his only way out of this abusive situation was to murder his wife? Why was the doctor so intimidated by the threat of his wife reporting what would be considered minor infractions, even under UCMJ standards?

We need to evaluate why the doctor felt that he was not able to report the abuse and threatening to the Commander. Would he automatically be in trouble with military leadership if he admitted that he had been drinking and having affairs? Was he concerned about losing his career, his retirement, or facing disciplinary action? Why did he feel that he had to choose murder over reporting the threats and abuse to his commander? These are all things that we must ponder. We are seeing a pattern over and over. Our military men do not feel that reporting to the commander is an option when they are the victim of a crime. If that is the case, how can we help our military men, who find themselves the victim of threats, domestic violence, or sexual assault, report to a safe place? Right now, some would rather resort to murder then report the crimes to their commander. There must be a better way.

Source: Pop Goes the Witness, Homicide Hunter, Investigation Discovery

Editor’s note: With a cable subscription, you can download the free ID Go app and watch Investigation Discovery programming at your convenience. And for those who do not have cable, you can watch “unlocked” episodes on the ID Go app including the latest premieres. For those who prefer commercial free programming during your binge session, Prime Video has an ID channel: ‘True Crime Files by Investigation Discovery” available for $3.99 a month. It’s a compilation of older seasons but totally worth the cost if you are a true crime addict. Download the ID Go app or purchase ID True Crime Files & binge away.

Related Links:
Pop Goes the Witness | Homicide Hunter | Investigation Discovery (S5,E10)
Pop Goes the Witness | Homicide Hunter | Investigation Discovery (website)
Pop Goes the Witness | Homicide Hunter | Investigation Discovery (Amazon)
Pop Goes the Witness | Homicide Hunter | Investigation Discovery (Hulu)
Violent Crime, Suicide & Non Combat Death at Fort Carson, Colorado
Only Way Out: Army Wife Threatens to Report Doctor to Commander if He Leaves Her
Homicide Hunter: 20 Active Duty Military and Veteran Murder Cases Featured on Investigation Discovery

Homicide Hunter Premiered ‘Bad Blood’ on ID: Army Veteran Brandin Penza Found Stabbed to Death in Colorado Springs Parking Lot (August 18, 2015)

Every Body Tells Its Own Story -Bad Blood, Homicide Hunter (Preview)

A popular army vet is found bleeding to death on the cold asphalt of a shadowy parking lot -his chest littered with too many knife wounds to count. A gruesome clue leads Kenda’s team to an unlikely killer whose motive for murder is as heartless. -Bad Blood, Homicide Hunter (S5,E1)

Editor’s note: With a cable subscription, you can download the free ID Go app and watch Investigation Discovery programming at your convenience. And for those who do not have cable, you can watch “unlocked” episodes on the ID Go app including the latest premieres. For those who prefer commercial free programming during your binge session, Prime Video has an ID channel: ‘True Crime Files by Investigation Discovery” available for $3.99 a month. It’s a compilation of older seasons but totally worth the cost if you are a true crime addict. Download the ID Go app or purchase ID True Crime Files & binge away.

Related Links:
Life is Random
Every Body Tells Its Own Story | Homicide Hunter | Investigation Discovery
Bad Blood | Homicide Hunter | Investigation Discovery (S5,E1)
Bad Blood | Homicide Hunter | Investigation Discovery (website)
Bad Blood | Homicide Hunter | Investigation Discovery (Amazon)
Bad Blood | Homicide Hunter | Investigation Discovery (Hulu)
Army Veteran Brandin Penza Stabbed 74 Times in Colorado Springs Parking Lot by Stranger; Kevin Gooley Sentenced to 32 Years in Prison (September 23, 1994)
Violent Crime, Suicide & Non Combat Death at Fort Carson, Colorado

Homicide Hunter Premiered ‘#1 Suspect’ on ID: Lt. Joe Kenda Investigates Murder of Military Retiree Frank Kovaleski in Colorado (October 21, 2014)

When a mother is killed, Lt Joe Kenda wonders if it’s a robbery gone wrong, until a slew of hateful messages surface. Then, patrols discover a body on a roadway after an evident hit-and-run, but the victim’s true cause of death turns the case on its head. -#1 Suspect, Homicide Hunter (S4,E9)

Editor’s note: With a cable subscription, you can download the free ID Go app and watch Investigation Discovery programming at your convenience. And for those who do not have cable, you can watch “unlocked” episodes on the ID Go app including the latest premieres. For those who prefer commercial free programming during your binge session, Prime Video has an ID channel: ‘True Crime Files by Investigation Discovery” available for $3.99 a month. It’s a compilation of older seasons but totally worth the cost if you are a true crime addict. Download the ID Go app or purchase ID True Crime Files & binge away.

Related Links:
#1 Suspect | Homicide Hunter | Investigation Discovery (S4,E9)
#1 Suspect | Homicide Hunter | Investigation Discovery (website)
#1 Suspect | Homicide Hunter | Investigation Discovery (Amazon)
#1 Suspect | Homicide Hunter | Investigation Discovery (Hulu)
Military Retiree Frank Kovaleski Found Dead in Middle of Street; Mike Murphy Sentenced to 40 Years in Prison for Murder (September 3, 1985)
Homicide Hunter: 20 Active Duty Military and Veteran Murder Cases Featured on Investigation Discovery