Dateline NBC: Has Ken Jeudes' murder case been solved?

The horrific murder of Ken Jeudes in August 2006 shocked the small community of Hull and the case remained unsolved for 15 years. Ken Jeudes' murder case went cold for four years before a handwriting expert determined that Ken's wife, Cindy Schulz-Jeudes, had allegedly forged his signature on his will.

While Cindy Schulz-Juedes was arrested on murder charges, she was suspected of killing her pharmacist husband for financial gain. As she awaited trial, Cindy had filed a motion suggesting an alternate murder plot with five suspects from a local racetrack. Cindy was convicted in October 2021 and sentenced to life in prison, finally solving the case after 15 long years.

The Dateline NBC episode The Trouble at Dill Creek Farm chronicles the long-unsolved murder of Ken Jeudes as it aired on July 19, 2024, at 9 p.m. EST on NBC exclusively. The official synopsis reads,

"When a pharmacist is found shot to death in his Wisconsin farmhouse, investigators embark on a 15 year hunt for his elusive killer."

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Who was the suspect in Ken Jeudes' murder case?

Episode 9 of Season 31 of Dateline showcases the murder of Kenneth E. Jeudes as he was shot to death in his home in Hull. The 58-year-old father of four was shot twice with a .20 gauge shotgun - a murder weapon that was never found.

The crime took place under mysterious circumstances as Ken Juedes’ second wife, Cindy Schulz-Juedes, had been allegedly asleep in a camper next to the house as she had been suffering from headaches due to a sinus infection. As she was the last person to see Ken before his murder, she was considered a person of interest in the case.

Cindy denied her involvement for years and offered a $25,000 reward for any information regarding the tragedy. As reports claimed that she had a financial motive for the killing, she asserted to the Wausau Daily Herald in 2013,

"I don't feel I am a person of interest in my husband's death. Most of the money went to the kids. Moneywise, my husband and I together would have earned more in two years than I ever would have gotten from his death, and I still would have had my husband."

According to The US Sun, Schulz-Juedes named five men as suspects including the actor, Butch Patrick Lilley, who played Eddie Munster in the CBS show The Munsters. The alternate suspects were believed to have been hired by the local Monster Hall Raceway and campground owner.

According to the Central Wisconsin News, Cindy and her attorney, Earl Gray, suggested the motive was to cover up the securities fraud that the racetrack owner had committed against Juedes and another investor. One man out of the five suspects, Brian Demler, allegedly went around the campfires in Monster Hall campground saying that he had been the getaway driver in the murder plot, per WAOW News.

Cindy and Gray mentioned that she and Ken had been in the middle of a contentious lawsuit wherein the owner of the racetrack had allegedly stolen $300,000. The motion surrounding the five suspects had been filed by Earl Gray while Cindy Schulz-Jeudes had been awaiting trial for Ken Jeudes' murder.

The Central Wisconsin News reported that in addition to securities fraud, there had been issues with drugs as well. The outlet reported the issue as,

“Substantial amount of drug dealing in the area of Marathon County with these five men.”

Cindy Schulz-Jeudes was convicted of first-degree intentional homicide in October 2021 and was sentenced to life in prison in 2022.

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Catch all the details of Ken Jeudes' murder as Dateline's new episode streams on NBC.