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Defendant

Date of Crime

Kenneth Hudson was convicted of the murder of Shanna Van Dyn Hoven, a 19-year-old UW-Madison student.  Police alleged that Hudson, then 31, was caught with blood on his hands, chest, and legs after leading them on a high-speed chase.  They also said he confessed to the crime.  Prosecutors said Hudson stabbed Van Dyn Hoven, a stranger, in a fit of misplaced rage, and then tried to put her in his truck.

Hudson said he tried to help the woman when she fled from the woods, covered in blood.  She sat briefly in his truck, but fled when David Carnot, a retired police detective's son, came out from the woods.  Hudson drove off because he feared Carnot would attack him, and fled from police because he had marijuana on him, had an expired license, and had been drinking.  After he was pulled over and arrested, Hudson fell asleep in the back of a police cruiser but awoke to find a Kaukauna police officer pouring a red liquid on him that appeared to be blood.  After telling the officer to stop, Hudson was moved to a second police cruiser where another officer smeared something on his chest and hands.  Hudson has maintained this story from the hours following his arrest.  He also denied making any confession.

Despite Hudson's bloody hands, no blood was found on his steering wheel or gearshift.  Tests revealed animal blood was on Hudson's foot.  Other tests revealed no DNA in blood samples.  A lab analyst suggested the samples could have been chemically contaminated so that the DNA in the material could not be tested.  Transcripts and a tape of the 911 communications that day omit nearly all transmissions mentioning the murder and chase.  A recently uncovered dispatch log and 911 tape shows that two Grand Chute police officers who said they were involved in Hudson's chase and arrest, did not arrive until 90 minutes afterward.  Other evidence discrepancies exist with a knife, vials of Van Dyn Hoven's blood, and a missing window crank from Hudson's truck, allegedly found next to the victim's body.  The DA in the case, Vince Biskupic, had been cited for a number of unrelated ethics violations, as was his former boss, Joe Paulus, who was sent to prison on bribery related convictions.  (TruthInJustice)  (TIJ2)  [9/06]

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