An unidentified assailant shot and killed a dentist, sparking a MURDER probe.
Further investigation by the police led to the discovery of not one, but three suspects in Kendra Hatcher’s murder.
Who was Kendra Hatcher?
The late Kendra Hatcher was an Illinois paediatric dentist from Springfield who was born on February 3, 1980. She was 35 years old.
Kendra relocated to Dallas, Texas, after her first divorce in 2010, where she started working at a dental practise called Smile Zone.
She started dating doctor Ricky Paniagua on May 24, 2015.
Ricky and Kendra remained together until the latter’s passing.
Her love of “travelling, working with children, and her family, especially her nieces and nephews,” according to her obituary, are remembered.
Her interests include “doing charitable work in Spain and Ecuador, Bikram yoga, leading an active lifestyle, shopping, and running,” according to the loved ones of the young woman.
How she was killed?
Kendra was shot in the back of the head on September 2, 2015, and she was later declared dead.
On a Wednesday night, the evening before she and Ricky were supposed to leave for their vacation in Cancun, Mexico, the unfortunate tragedy took place.
The deceased woman’s pocketbook and personal items were taken from the crime site.
This initially led law authorities to think that the incident was a botched heist.
The shooter’s Jeep was spotted on surveillance footage leaving the Gables Park 17 apartment complex where the victim lived.
On Friday, September 4, two days later, Jose Luis-Ortiz phoned the police to let them know that the Jeep belonged to him.
He admitted that his acquaintance Brenda Delgado had requested to borrow his car on that particular Wednesday, but claimed he was not the murderer in issue.
Brenda happened to be Ricky’s ex-girlfriend, who was Kendra’s boyfriend.
From 2012 to 2015, Brenda dated Ricky; after their relationship ended, she pursued both Kendra and him.
When Kendra’s murder was finally solved, Brenda and her accomplices Kristopher Love and Crystal Cortes were identified as the perpetrators.
Cortes was the getaway driver, and Love was the one who shot Kendra.
Love was found guilty of murder-for-profit and given a fatal injection death sentence on October 31, 2018.
Brenda was found guilty of capital murder on June 7 and given a life sentence without the possibility of release.
For her role in the murder, Cortes received a 35-year prison term.
How can I watch Kendra’s Dateline episode?
In the Dateline NBC episode 10 Minutes to Sunset, the tragic conclusion to the late Kendra’s life is recounted.
In the documentary 10 Minutes to Sunset, detectives and people involved in the victim’s homicide case recount what occurred to anchor Keith Harrison.
The episode has already been shown on November 13, 2020.
The programme will be shown once more on December 16, 2022, at 9 p.m. EST.
There are streaming choices if you missed the special’s first Friday night broadcast.
Those who missed the initial broadcast can watch Kendra’s episode on Hulu or Peacock.
