'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Dateline's The Devil's in the Details explores the story of an American convicted killer and fraudster, Sante Kimes. She was married to Kenneth Kimes Sr., with whom she committed fraud and felony over the years, and hid the reason behind his mysterious death.
Over more than a decade, Sante committed a series of crimes with the assistance of her son, Kenneth Kimes Jr. The mother and son duo were prime suspects behind multiple murders, primarily behind the murder of Irene Silverman in July 1998.
Dateline's The Devil's in the Details documents the complete investigation into the series of crimes committed by Sante Kimes and her son. The episode was released on April 25, 2025, on NBC and is available for streaming on Peacock.
Trending
What is the story of Dateline subject Sante Kimes?
Born on July 24, 1934, Sante Kimes was born in Oklahoma City and was raised with three other siblings. In the Sante Kimes biography documentary by A&E Network, she claimed that her father left the family when she was three years old, and her mother started working as a prostitute.
As per Sante's younger sister Retha, the Dateline subject shared an incestuous relationship with her sibling Carl. Reportedly, Sante was diagnosed with pyromania, which led her to forcefully light matches on the hands of her siblings.
Additionally, as per the A&E documentary, Dateline subject Sante Kimes would mutilate the dogs and cattle in the family farmhouse. Sante had a reputation as a bully in her school.
As reported by People, it was in 1957 when Dateline subject Sante married her former high school boyfriend, Edward Walker. Reportedly, Walker worked as a contractor in Sacramento, California. Until their divorce in 1969, Sante and Edward carried out a series of insurance frauds.
Sante would set fire to a number of houses and collect the insurance money. Additionally, she had affairs with several wealthy businessmen. It was in 1981, when Sante got married to a business tycoon named Kenneth Keith Kimes Sr.
As reported by Vanity Fair, the couple had a son named Kenneth Kimes Jr. During the time of her marriage, Sante committed a series of felonies and real estate frauds, as reported by The New York Times.
As reported by Time, the Dateline episode's subject even went to the extent of forcefully imprisoning house workers and homeless people, threatening to report them to the authorities if they didn't follow her orders.
As reported by the Honolulu Star Bulletin, it was in August 1985, when Sante Kimes was arrested and sentenced to five years imprisonment, on charges of violating anti-slavery laws. She took a plea deal and was released from prison in 1989. It was in 1994 when Kenneth Keith Sr. died of a brain stroke.
The crimes of the Dateline episode subjects Sante Kimes and Kenneth Jr.
As per Crime Library, it was in September 1990, when Sante hired a lawyer named Elmer Holmgren in Honolulu. The following month, on October 24, Sante burned the entire office belonging to Holmgren to wipe out every piece of evidence that could have proved her involvement in the crimes.
As reported by New York Times, the next year on August 2, 1991, Holgren took a trip to Costa Rica accompanied by Sante and her husband Kenneth St. However, Holmgren was never seen alive, and in November 2000, Sante's son Kenneth Jr., revealed that Elmer Holmgren was killed in that trip.
As per the Washington Post, it was in September 1996, when Sante's son Kenneth Jr. confessed to killing a banker named Syed Bilal Ahmed in the city of Nassau, Bahamas. Syed was responsible for handling Sante's international bank accounts.
As reported by Associated Press, Kenneth Jr. revealed that he had killed Syed with the assistance of his mother. Reportedly, the victim was drugged and drowned in a bathtub until death. The body was dumped off the shore.
As per the Los Angeles Times, it was on March 9, 1998, when Sante's son, Kenneth Jr., shot a man named David Kazdin in Los Angeles. Reportedly, during the 1970s, Sante used Kazdin's name in the agreement of her Las Vegas residence.
She went on to use Kazdin's forged signature to take a loan of $280,000. When David Kazin threatened Sante to expose her to the police, she ordered her son to kill him. It was in March 1998 when the remains of David Kazin were found in a trash bin near Los Angeles International Airport.
The murder of Dateline episode's victim Irene Silverman
As per The Charley Project, Irene Zambelli Silverman was a wealthy elderly lady who owned a townhouse in New York City. The Dateline episode subject, Kenneth Jr. was a tenant at her residence. It was in June 1998 when he moved into one of her apartments.
Reportedly, Silverman was last seen at her residence on July 5, 1998. As reported by The Doe Network, the same day, Dateline subjects Sante and Kenneth Jr. were arrested on charges of check fraud in Utah. Reportedly, Sante would use Silverman's identity, as the owner of her estate, and would commit a series of mortgage frauds.
Upon the arrest, investigators found that Kenneth Jr. possessed the personal keys of Irene Silverman. Additionally, investigators found many crucial belongings, including masks, wigs, plastic handcuffs, a stun gun, drugs, and call recordings of Irene Silverman on cassettes.
Additionally, authorities discovered a forged deal that shifted Silverman's complete assets to a shell corporation belonging to Dateline's subject, Sante Kimes. As reported by The New York Times, Kenneth Jr. confessed to killing Irene Silverman with his mother.
Reportedly, the two shot her with a stun gun, strangled her to death, then disposed of her body inside a trash bag in Hoboken, New Jersey.
The investigation on the Dateline episode subjects Sante Kimes and Kenneth Kimes Jr.
As reported by Vanity Fair, the official investigation on Sante Kimes and Kenneth Kimes Jr. began when the remains of David Kazdin were found in a dumpster near the Los Angeles International Airport in March 1998.
The FBI and LAPD were soon appointed to the case. Detectives managed to find a man named Stan Peterson, who confessed of selling a gun to Kenneth Jr. which he used to kill Kezdin. It was in June 1998 when Peterson received a call from Sante Kimes.
She revealed she wanted to sell Dateline's victim Irene Silverman's townhouse and needed his assistance with the paperwork. Peterson agreed to lead the authorities to the criminals, and a meeting was scheduled on July 5, 1998.
The Dateline subjects, Sante Kimes and Kenneth Jr., arrived at the New York Hilton to meet Peterson. Authorities from the FBI and the New York Police Department were surrounding the area. The two culprits were soon arrested and taken into custody.
As reported by the Los Angeles Times, the initial trial of the Dateline culprits started in New York City. Authorities discovered crucial evidence in their car, which indicated they were responsible for the murder of Kezdin.
As reported by The New York Times, though the body of Irene Silverman was never found, the jury voted and charged Sante and Kenneth Jr. with murder and 117 other charges. As reported by The New York Times, Sante Kimes received a sentence of 120 years, while Kenneth Kimes Jr. received a sentence of 124 years.
Hence, both of them were sentenced to life in prison. As reported by the New York Daily News, it was on May 29, 2014, that Sante Kimes died at the age of 79, while serving her time at the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for Women. Kenneth Kimes, Jr., is currently spending his sentence at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility located in California.
Check other articles for recommendations on the best true-life crime documentaries.
