MURDERED: The Hendricks Family
For years, David Hendricks was the walking embodiment of the true crime trope “The Husband Did It.” After his family was brutally murdered in their Illinois home back in 1983, police were quick to zero in on him as their main suspect despite the lack of evidence and mostly because… nothing else made any sense. Decades later some still believe in his guilt but knowing what we know now can you still be so sure?
The Hendricks family on the front porch of their home in May 1983
Photo Source: Reasonable Doubt: A Shocking Story of Lust and Murder in the American Heartland (p. 227)
Becky, Grace and Benjy Hendricks in a department store photo taken three weeks before they were murdered
Photo Source: Reasonable Doubt: A Shocking Story of Lust and Murder in the American Heartland (p. 229)
Susan and David Hendricks on their wedding day, July 28, 1973
Photo Source: Reasonable Doubt: A Shocking Story of Lust and Murder in the American Heartland (p. 230)
Hendricks breaks down at the graveside service for his wife and three children. His mother, Laverne Hendricks, is on the left. His mother-in-law, Nadine Palmer, is on the right. Hendricks was charged with the killings a month later. (AP/Wide World Photos)
Photo Source: Reasonable Doubt: A Shocking Story of Lust and Murder in the American Heartland (p. 244)
Hendricks as he appeared in a television interview the afternoon after the murders were discovered
Photo Source: Reasonable Doubt: A Shocking Story of Lust and Murder in the American Heartland (p. 2436)
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Episode Source Material
- Reasonable Doubt: A Shocking Story of Lust and Murder in the American Heartland. By Steve Vogel
- The Argus – 1983 Bloomington quadruple-homicide remains unsolved. By Samira Kassem
- Steve Vogel Website – The Hendricks phone calls. By admin
- IOSR Journal of Dental and Medical Sciences (IOSR-JDMS) e-ISSN: 2279-0853, p-ISSN: 2279-0861.Volume 16, Issue 10 Ver. X (Oct. 2017), PP 26-35
- People v. Hendricks. No. 63803. July 3, 1990
- Chicago Tribune – Hendricks is happy but bitter man. By Wes Smith
- Chicago Tribune – ‘Upright’ dad or ax murderer? By Wes Smith
- Journal Gazette – Convicted killer David Hendricks says ex-brother-in-law murderer. By N/A
- The Pantagraph – Testimony on Hendricks’ ex-brother-in-law barred. By Scott Richardson
- The Pantagraph – Hendricks flunked polygraph. By Randy Gleason
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