Family Pleads For Tips In Oakland County Cold Case Double Killing
WATERFORD TWP. (WWJ) - A dozen years later, the family of a murdered Waterford Township couple is still seeking answers in the case.
There have been no arrests in connection with the killings of 39-year-old Kenneth Kanehl, Jr. and 41-year-old Pamela Barnes — found dead in their Waterford Township home at 5 p.m. on July 6, 2005.
Announced at a news conference Friday, Crime Stoppers and Michigan Legacy Credit Union are now offering a reward of up to $3,250 for information that will solve this case.
Kanehl's stepmother, Jessie Kanehl, refuses to believe that no one out there knows anything about it.
"How someone could sneak into someone's home and walk into a bedroom and shoot two people and walk back out and carry on their lives for twelve years without every speaking to one person what they have done, I find completely incomprehensible and incredibly evil," she told WWJ's Zahra Huber and other reporters.
Nothing was stolen from the home and there was no forced entry.
Jessie Kanehl said the family is convinced that the person who committed these murderer had ties to Barnes, adding that she believes that it was a crime of "greed, jealousy and probably rage."
She said a tip leading to the killer might help the family find some peace.
"I don't know where anybody every said you can get closure if something is solved; there is no such thing as closure," she said. "But at least you know that somebody has been held accountable for their actions in this."
Kenneth Kanehl, who has a daughter who was 15 years old at the time of the murders, grew up in Waterford where he graduated for Waterfod Mott High School. He went on to work for Minacs Corp. as a troubleshooter technician for GM cars.
Barnes, who has a daughter who was 13 at the time, graduated from Walled Lake Western High School before attending Baker College in Flint where she earned a Bachelor's degree in Occupational therapy. She worked at Evergreen Health and Living Rehab Center in Southfield.
Anyone who has any information is asked to call the Crime Stoppers anonymous tip line at 1-800-SPEAK-UP or text CSM and your tip to 274637. You will not be asked your name, to speak to police or to testify in court.
