Thread by @TheHubbyDidIt

The Fire Marshal came to the conclusion that the vehicle had started on fire in several different areas, which would not be found in an accidental fire, "There's no question in my mind, this fire was not an accident. This fire was intentionally set."
14/

Three weeks later Byram requested that Kathy's body be exhumed for an autopsy, but Allmaras refuses to consent until he's threatened with legal action. Allmaras says the doctor in MN who conducted the autopsy could find no cause of death.
15/

Byram said the most important finding from the autopsy was that Kathy had been dead prior to her car starting on fire. According to the findings, there was no carbon monoxide found in her lungs.
16/

The doctor conducting the autopsy agreed that Kathy could have been killed from a blow to the head from bouncing around after her accident.
17/

Tests conducted on Kathy's clothing & traces of carpet found evidence of gasoline. A few days after Kathy's death, an empty gasoline jug was found 300 yards away from where the car was found burning. Despite the evidence, Allmaras refused to change his findings.
18/

Allmaras said that no proof had been offered & that nothing in his investigation brought up the question of foul play. Byram said there are many facts that make him think Kathy was murdered. He said someone killed her & set the car on fire to make it look like an accident.
19/

The original episode aired in 1992 & did not name any suspects. In 2006 the episode included an update. 18 years after her death, police scheduled an interview with her ex husband Robert. He killed himself before the meeting.
20/

"Based on interviews & a review of the evidence, authorities concluded that Robert Bonderson murdered his wife. The case was finally closed."
21/

Updated information on the case & details not included in the original broadcast.
22/
#UnsolvedMysteries #Update

The son that Kathy went out looking for was named Jamie. Her husband was Robert. Some supporters of Robert say that Kathy was out looking for Jamie because he had started using drugs. They say Jamie had something to do with her death.
23/

At the time of Kathy's death, Robert had given a statement to Highway Patrol, but he was never interviewed as part of a homicide investigation. Robert Bonderson pictured below.
24/

Investigators say that Robert began a relationship with a woman named Nanette Wobbema the June or July before Kathy's death. He also took out an insurance policy in her name in August of that year. Police do not suspect Wobbema was involved. The two married in May 1991.
25/

Nan says that they didn't start dating until after Kathy's death, but Roberts brother & sister in law say that Kathy told them that she had thought Robert was involved with Nan. They say his taking out a policy in Kathy's name was normal because he was "great" with policies.
24/

Authorities say "Robert played the part of a grieving husband, but not well enough. Eventually his lies were unraveled--& that proved to be too much for him to live with."
25/

The timeline according to police:
▪8 or 9pm, Jamie snuck out of the house.
▪Around this same time Kathy is seen at Wobbema's apartment.
▪Between midnight & 3am Kathy called a coworker & said she wouldn't be in to work.
26/

▪The Bonderson's other son, Jason, woke up to what he thought was his parents fighting.
▪Jamie reported seeing his father driving the family's Ford Torino north of the family home. His gf was with him & remembers him remarking "there's my dad."
27/

▪Jamie had spotted his father as he was driving Kathy's already dead body to the railroad tracks.
▪Around 3:30am, hunters remember seeing headlights in the area of the tracks where the vehicle was found, & one heard a fire whistle blow shortly after returning home.
28/

▪The car fire was reported at 3:30am.
29/

Investigators say that the autopsy revealed that Kathy had neck & throat injuries inconsistent with a car crash & there was no evidence of carbon monoxide in her blood stream. Both facts indicated foul play. The doctor conducting the autopsy ruled her death a homicide.
30/

Kathy's exact cause of death was never determined & nothing else was ever done to determine who was responsible.
31/

Investigators scheduled an interview with Robert for Feb 22, 2006, but he never showed. On April 22, his body was found near his vehicle in Montana. He had tried to asphyxiation & then shot himself with a handgun. He left a note that said "I didn't kill my ex wife, Kathy."
32/

Police believe that they would have had enough evidence to charge Robert with murder if he had not killed himself. "We are now confident that sometime during the early morning hours of Oct 25, 1987, Kathy was murdered by her husband, Robert Bonderson."
33/

Roberts wife Nan & stepson Travis Pahl say that he could not have been responsible for killing Kathy & that he wouldn't have hurt anyone unless it was to protect his family. They think he killed himself over the stress of the investigation being reopened.
34/

Robert had always claimed innocence. Pahl says that from his understanding of the case, the crime scene was terribly mishandled & that there were 2 other men who were suspects. Pahl, "It's pretty clear who's at fault, but both of those guys are dead."
35/

Jason Bonderson, Kathy's son, believes the investigators' conclusion that his father killed his mother.
36/

The investigators of the cold case introduced DNA technology to the old evidence, but they didn't actually use DNA to solve the crime. They blame incompetence of the previous Eddy County Sheriff, Allmaras, for botching the investigation.
37/37
#DomesticViolence #TheHusbandDidIt