When Homicide Hunter Lt. Joe Kenda Follows You, You Stay Followed!

Lt. Joe Kenda is one of the most interesting, and important, people on television and — just as love and fate would have it — he’s also one of the kindest guys you’d ever want to meet… when he isn’t chasing down killers and murderers and putting them in jail.

Lt. Joe Kenda is a retired Colorado Springs homicide detective — where he solved 92% of 387 murder cases — and he’s the star of the Investigation Discovery channel’s “Homicide Hunter” series, where the fifth season will soon debut.

One of my favorite episodes from Season 4 — Bump in the Night — concerns Lt. Kenda solving the murder of Ruby, an old family friend.

That episode is rare because Kenda is exposed in emotion and raw in wanting revenge for his dead friend.  Lt. Kenda is usually really tough and cold-to-the-bone when it comes to dealing with the nefarious:

When I arrested somebody, I’d have a gun in one hand and a badge in the other. I say very quietly: “My name is Kenda. I’m with the police department, and you’re under arrest for murder. If you don’t do what I say, I’m going to kill you right here and right now.”

Janna and I like watching the DiscoveryID channel because real things happen and meaningful things get solved.  Lt. Kenda’s show is our favorite because his biting, no nonsense, style echoes with how we were raised in Iowa and Nebraska — you live a moral life and you are dutiful to the community around you. Few shows on TV today address that core homily of Midwestern living: You care for your neighbors, not kill them, and if you do kill them, you will be hunted down and punished without hesitation or mercy.

The Discovery ID channel was running some sort of promotion where fans were to pose with a photo of their favorite network star and send in a new, paired, photo. Janna is a fan of Lt. Kenda and she had me take this photo of her for Investigation Discovery.

Unfortunately, when I tried to find the place to submit her photo — what appeared to be IDaddicts.com — the whole fansite was dead then, and is still dead today!

I knew I had to do something to help Janna celebrate Kenda, so I went to my @DavidBoles Twitter account and found @LtJoeKenda and @DiscoveryID and Followed them.  I thought I might get an update for the best way to submit fan photos.  Before I could make contact, I received a Twitter notification that Lt. Joe Kenda was Following me back!

Hey, that’s neat, and just how social media is support to work in the warp and woof of the experience!

I decided to send Joe Kenda a Tweet that included Janna’s photo with his photo — that would satisfy her, I thought, because at least Kenda would know she appreciated his show.

To my delight and surprise, Joe Kenda sent me a Direct Message on Twitter!

Lt. Kenda was incredibly friendly and kind — and he writes just the way he talks on TV, so you know you’re talking to the real guy and not a PR Hack — and he invited me to email him and give him our address so he could autograph a card and poster and send it to Janna!

Janna was over the moon, and I Tweeted my Followers the lucky, good news:

Joe and I exchanged pleasantries and contact information in email and, a few days later, Janna had her card and poster in the mail!

Janna and I have great respect and adoration for Lt. Joe Kenda, and the fact that he’s now more than just our Tuesday night matinee idol — he’s become our friend — we are comforted to know, that in a prefectorial world, this is just how Social Media is supposed to act and behave.

I was fortunate because Joe also sent me a signed card — and I’m delighted with it to no end!

Be sure to watch Lt. Joe Kenda on Investigation Discovery’s Homicide Hunter — Tuesdays at 10pm, 9pm Central — to gnaw down on the brittle bones of the human experience and find ultimate joy in the Kenda reckoning.