Joe Kenda: The Homicide Hunter on Real Murders, Hollywood, and "Killer Triggers"
Things Police See: Firsthand Accounts
Steven D Gould
4.9 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 15 April 2026
⏱️ 68 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this intense episode of Things Police See, host Steve Gould sits down with the "Homicide Hunter" himself, Lieutenant Joe Kenda. With a career spanning 23 years at the Colorado Springs Police Department and a staggering 92% solve rate over 387 murder cases, Kenda shares firsthand accounts of the cases that defined his career and the transition from the streets to stardom on Investigation Discovery.
Joe dives deep into his early days as a patrolman in the 1970s, recounting his first "hot call" and the chilling reality of investigating nearly 400 murders. We discuss the psychological toll of the job, his take on PTSD, and why he finds storytelling to be his greatest form of therapy. Plus, Joe gives us a preview of his book, Killer Triggers, exploring the "why" behind violent crimes, including a shocking case involving dementia-induced psychosis.
Whether you're a fan of Homicide Hunter, American Detective, or a law enforcement professional looking for veteran advice, this interview offers a raw, unfiltered look at the reality of police work and the "greatest show on earth."
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to the Things Police Seed podcast where I sit down and interview the men and women of law enforcement about their most intense, bizarre, and sometimes humorous moments on the job. |
| 0:10.6 | Thank you for being here, guys. This is a throwback episode way back to 2021 when I had the great Joe Kenda on for the first time. |
| 0:20.3 | It was a total shock to me to have him on. |
| 0:23.4 | Discovery Channel just reached out randomly and he had something going on. I think he had a new |
| 0:27.7 | book and they wanted, he was doing the podcast circuit, I guess, and they wanted to know if I |
| 0:34.7 | had any interest. And I was of course like, yes, of course, that'd be amazing. So he came on, and I have to say about Joe, he is the nicest, kindest, most gracious gracious guest you could ever imagine. In the beginning, while communicating with like agents and stuff from discovery, I couldn't, I didn't have access to him. |
| 0:54.7 | I couldn't really talk to him. |
| 0:55.7 | I was kind of just talking to his handlers. |
| 0:57.2 | He doesn't do social media. |
| 0:58.4 | He doesn't book his own events, anything like that. |
| 1:01.7 | He has people that do that stuff for him. |
| 1:05.4 | So, but when I finally got to Joe, he gave me his personal cell phone number, his email, said, |
| 1:12.8 | reach out any time I want, and I have. I've texted him before. He doesn't have any social |
| 1:17.9 | media. So like when he gets a bunch of, inevitably gets a bunch of really positive comments about |
| 1:24.3 | one of the episodes he did of Things Please see i'll send him the comments he's |
| 1:28.0 | always appreciative you know he's just a knight such a nice and humble guy and i don't know if he |
| 1:32.9 | said it on this episode or if he said it off air but he said the most amazing thing about doing |
| 1:37.7 | homicide hunter and getting to be so well known is like he's been in airports like around the world |
| 1:43.1 | and people will just come up with a big smile and want to meet him and he's been in airports like around the world and people will just come up |
| 1:45.0 | with a big smile and want to meet him and he's just is really appreciative of that and he's just |
| 1:49.7 | just a great guy it was a really fun interview i think i sound too excited uh for my own liking i kind |
| 1:57.8 | of previewed it a little bit i touched up the audio because back then I didn't have |
... |
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