Kendhammer murder appeal could get summer hearing

Lawyers on both sides of the Todd Kendhammer homicide case are making plans for a court hearing to review evidence for an appeal. 

Kendhammer was convicted of 1st degree murder in the 2016 death of his wife Barbara, which prosecutors argued was the result of a fatal beating. 

The West Salem man says Barbara was killed by a metal pipe that crashed through their windshield while they were traveling in rural La Crosse County. Kendhammer claimed the pipe fell off a passing truck.

In 2018, Kendhammer was sentenced to life in prison, and he’s not allowed to apply for release until 2048.

Jerome Buting, Kendhammer’s current attorney, says the hearing to appeal the conviction or sentence might take more than one day.