Joe Kenda

Born: 1946-08-28

Joseph Patrick Kenda (born August 28, 1946) is a retired homicide detective Lieutenant from the Colorado Springs Police Department as well as a TV personality, actor and author. Throughout his police career (1973-1996), he was involved in 387 homicide cases over a 23-year career, solving 356, a closure rate of 92%. Kenda was unhappy with retirement and went through a withdrawal stage. He then worked as a special needs school bus operator for a decade starting in 1998. In 2011, he became the host and is featured on the Investigation Discovery true crime series Homicide Hunter, where he recounts stories of cases he has solved. He worked without a script for the entire series which ran for 9 seasons. In each episode, Kenda's present-day recollections are interspersed with reenactments, as well as additional commentary from police officers, journalists, victims' families and others who were involved in the cases. Both his resignation from the CSPD and period as a bus driver are shown in The End, the final episode of Homicide Hunter. He has also hosted the spinoff specials from the show. In January 2021, he became the host of the true crime series American Detective with Lt. Joe Kenda on discovery+, with each episode featuring Kenda discussing the cases of different homicide detectives in the United States. In August 2022, he hosted an ID special titled Homicide Hunter: Never Give Up, featuring a cold case he wasn't able to solve about the murder of a Fort Carson female soldier. He is an actor and writer, known for Handsome: A Netflix Mystery Movie (2017). He is the author of two books titled, I Will Find You (2017) and Killer Triggers (2021).


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Handsome: A Netflix Mystery Movie

as Joe Kenda
Released: 2017-05-05

LA homicide detective Gene Handsome's knack for solving mysteries is matched only by his...

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Homicide Hunter: Never Give Up

as Self - Host
Released: 2022-08-17

The unsolved rape, mutilation and murder of young G.I. Darlene Krashoc has haunted Joe Kenda in...

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Homicide Hunter: The Man With No Face

as Host / Lt., Colorado Springs PD
Released: 2023-03-08

Joe Kenda's investigation into the brutal rape and murder of 24-year-old wife and mother Mary...

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Homicide Hunter: Devil in the Mountains

as Host
Released: 2022-11-27

A man found stabbed and burned launches Lt. Joe Kenda on a manhunt. When the trail goes cold,...

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Homicide Hunter: Lt Joe Kenda

as Self - Host
First aired: 2011-10-25

A non-fiction investigative series of murder cases told through the personal experience of...

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American Detective with Lt. Joe Kenda

as Self - Host
First aired: 2021-01-04

In American Detective, Kenda trades in his own case files to bring viewers astounding...

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