Kimberly Anderson

Case record: Estate and Family of Brent Anderson v. Kimberly Anderson

Status and outcome

Kimberly Anderson was acquitted in criminal trial on October 17, 2002. In a civil lawsuit, a jury found her "liable for his death" and ordered her to pay $540,000 to the husband's family.

Timeline

• September 2001 — Brent Anderson was shot eight times by Kimberly Anderson at their home in Wapakoneta.
• October 2000 — Brent Anderson filed for divorce.
• December 2001 — Kimberly Anderson was indicted by an Auglaize County grand jury.
• March 2003 — A similar civil lawsuit was dismissed, citing personal reasons.
• August 29, 2003 — The family of Brent Anderson refiled a wrongful death civil lawsuit seeking monetary compensation for the shooting death.
• October 17, 2002 — A seven-day criminal trial ended with Kimberly Anderson’s acquittal of a trio of murder charges.
• October 12, 2002 — Testimony during the criminal trial described alleged child sexual abuse reporting and related evidence.
• October 30, 2002 — Kimberly Anderson spoke about the acquittal and the events leading to the shooting.
• May (year not specified) — Kimberly Anderson filed a motion to seal all records relating to the criminal case.
• August 8 (year not specified) — Auglaize County Common Pleas Judge Frederick Pepple denied the expungement of Kimberly Anderson’s records and upheld the right of public access to information in the high-profile case.
• November 19, 2004 — Kimberly S. Anderson is shown as "Date: 11/19/2004".

Background

Kimberly Anderson was 38 at the time she was acquitted during a seven-day criminal trial in Defiance County in October 2002. She had been married to two successful men by the time she was 34 and had given birth to two children by each. Her second husband was Brent Anderson, a successful divorce attorney from Celina. Shortly after the birth of her fourth child, her marriage to Brent began to falter. Brent filed for divorce in October of 2000, and a custody battle ensued shortly before the divorce was to be final.

The offence

Kimberly Anderson called 911 and told police that she had shot her husband shortly before the divorce was to be final. Police found Brent Anderson lying dead in a bedroom closet with eight bullets in him.

At trial, Kimberly Anderson said she confronted her husband about his alleged molestation of their son. She said he became enraged and lunged at her, and she claimed she instinctively picked up her handgun and shot. She testified that she confronted Brent Anderson about suspected child abuse during the Labor Day weekend afternoon. She said Brent chased her upstairs in a fit of rage to stop her from making the sexual abuse claims public and ruining his career. She said her children Ryan (3) and Erik (4) were present, that the children were on the first level of the home when Brent chased her upstairs to the master bedroom where she fired the first shot, and that after she fled the room she could not immediately find Erik who was hiding in the living room. She said, "I said, 'Run Erik,' and grabbed Ryan at the bottom of the steps," and then she found Erik and the three made their way outside where she called 911.

In additional trial testimony and related reporting, jurors heard that investigators were asked to retrieve a diaper 1-year-old Ryan Anderson had been wearing, but Anderson and her mother turned it in after investigators did not retrieve it. The child's diaper was found to contain a pubic hair. Detective Mike Eberle testified that a pubic hair was found in the diaper. Eberle also testified that he collected a full-size bed sheet from a crib in Brent Anderson's apartment 24 days after the shooting, and he said the sheet had semen stains on it. Another sheet that appeared to match the semen-stained sheet was found at the apartment but was not collected.

Kimberly Anderson also testified that she struggled with Brent Anderson as she shot him, but officers testified that Anderson never mentioned the struggle in her report to police that afternoon, and that she did not have blood stains, scratches, or other physical signs of a struggle at the scene.

Investigation

A Lima doctor, Dr. Wilfred Ellis, testified about a phone conversation with Kimberly Anderson the night before the shooting. Kimberly Anderson told Dr. Ellis that her 3-year-old son had told her that his dad put mustard on his penis and licked it off. Dr. Ellis advised Kimberly Anderson to take the child to his pediatrician on Tuesday after Labor Day and told her not to confront Brent Anderson on the issue. Under questioning by prosecutors, Dr. Ellis said he did not report what he heard from Kimberly Anderson because he argued he was not required to report the story since he heard it from Kimberly Anderson rather than the victim, her son, and because he was not the child's physician. Ellis said he was acting properly in referring Kimberly Anderson to the child’s pediatrician and that he did have an obligation to make sure the situation was properly worked up. Ellis also testified that, unbeknownst to Kimberly Anderson that night, Brent Anderson had been calling his office making insinuations that were not true, and Ellis said he did not want to get in the middle of their divorce situation.

Dr. Ellis, along with his housekeeper Jacqueline Parent, verified previous testimony that Brent Anderson once posed as a cable television repairman in an attempt to enter Ellis' house. Craig Oard, the son of Mike Oard who was a boyfriend of Kimberly Anderson at the time of the shooting, testified to verify other witness statements that Brent Anderson pretended to be interested in buying the Oard's house in order to gain entry. Oard said the house was for sale at the time. Oard, Ellis, and Parent said they recognized Brent Anderson as the intruder or would-be intruder when they saw his picture in the newspapers after his death.

After Kimberly Anderson’s relatives arrived at the house following the shooting, Patricia Nester testified that she lived about an eighth of a mile from the Anderson house and was the first family member to arrive. She testified that she asked what happened and that Kimberly Anderson looked at her and said, "I shot Brent." Patricia Nester, her daughter Kristin Ann Nester, and Anderson's mother Sue Allen testified that the Anderson children had been at the Nesters' house the evening after the shooting. Kristin Nester changed the diaper of 1-year-old Ryan, and that diaper was later retrieved at the request of a sexual assault nurse and given to the Auglaize County Sheriff's Office as evidence.

Patricia Knippen of Auglaize County Children Services testified that she interviewed Kimberly Anderson the night of the shooting and took her and her two boys to Joint Township District Memorial Hospital so the boys could be examined for signs of sexual abuse. She also said that the sexual assault nurse at the hospital recommended getting the diaper that Ryan was wearing as possible evidence. Sue Allen and Kimberly Anderson brought the diaper to Knippen several days after the shooting because investigators did not retrieve it. Ruth Baeumel, the hospital's sexual assault nurse, testified that she examined the Anderson children for signs of sexual abuse and no evidence was found.

Detective Mike Eberle, Detective Sgt. Dennis White, and Deputy Brent Henschen testified again during Friday testimony. Under questioning by defense attorney Alan Konop, the officers testified that Kimberly Anderson told each of them about alleged child abuse by Brent Anderson in statements made the day of the shooting. The Auglaize County officers did not mention Anderson reporting the abuse or saying she confronted her husband about it during testimony under prosecutors' questioning earlier in the week.

Arrest

Kimberly Anderson was indicted by an Auglaize County grand jury in December 2001. A safety plan put into place the day of the shooting was terminated two days after the trial, and she then may spend time with all her children without supervision.

Trial

Charges discussed at trial

Kimberly Anderson was accused in criminal trial of murdering her estranged husband, Brent Anderson. The trial included charges of aggravated murder, murder, and voluntary manslaughter. During jury deliberations, jurors asked the judge for a definition for preponderance, indicating they were closely examining the two most serious charges of aggravated murder and murder.

Defence position: self-defence

At trial, Kimberly Anderson’s attorneys argued she had acted in self-defense. In interviews, she stated she shot Brent in an act of self-defense to protect herself and the couple's children who were present in the rural Wapakoneta home the day she shot him.

She described the next steps during the shooting by stating:

"I said, 'Run Erik,' and grabbed Ryan at the bottom of the steps"

She also testified about what happened to her and the children, describing Brent chasing her upstairs and her firing shots into Brent’s body in a walk-in closet. She testified that she told investigators she confronted Brent about suspected abuse and then she called 911 after finding Erik and Ryan.

Prosecution position: premeditation

Prosecutors argued that the shooting was premeditated, pointing out that Kimberly Anderson had never claimed spousal abuse during divorce proceedings.

Evidence and disputed accounts

Pam Anderson, described as Brent Anderson's older sister and family spokesperson, responded to statements made by Kimberly Anderson during an interview. Pam Anderson said:

"By Kim's own account of the day of the shooting, she confronted Brent with accusations of child molestation. I believe that it's reasonable to assume that it wasn't just Brent who might have had his emotions aroused on that day. The difference between Kim and Brent (that day) was that Kim had a gun and Brent didn't. It had been a long and difficult divorce with a near-constant battle over custody and finances."

Pam Anderson also commented on Kimberly Anderson's statement that she never meant to kill her husband, asking:

"If she had the phone and the gun, why, Pam Anderson asked, didn't she just call the police?"

Pam Anderson challenged the alleged self-defense narrative by stating:

"Brent's body was found in a kneeling/sitting position slumped against the wall of a closet. I challenge Kim to give a clear public step-by-step account of exactly how Brent came to be in a closet with at least eight bullet wounds from Kim's gun, if he was the aggressor in the alleged argument."

Pam Anderson stated Brent underwent a psychological evaluation during the custody suit and was found well within the normal range, that the courts found him healthy enough to award him joint custody of his two children during the couple’s separation, and that he was a practicing attorney working every day with judges and other attorneys in the Mercer County court system at the time of his death.

The record also included testimony about the doctor not reporting alleged child sexual abuse that Kimberly Anderson told him about and the officers' testimony about what Anderson told them the day of the shooting.

Sentencing

No criminal sentence was imposed because Kimberly Anderson was acquitted.

Appeals

No appeal is described in the provided information.

Outcome

Criminal outcome

In a controversial verdict, the jury acquitted Kimberly Anderson of all charges in the killing. She was acquitted of a trio of murder charges during a seven-day criminal trial in Defiance County in October 2002.

Civil outcome

In a wrongful death civil lawsuit brought by the Estate and Family of Brent Anderson against Kimberly Anderson, the plaintiffs obtained a verdict for $540,000.00. In the civil lawsuit, the jury found Kimberly Anderson "liable for his death" and ordered her to pay $540,000 to Brent's family.

A civil lawsuit was filed by Brent Anderson's brother, Kevin Anderson of Cincinnati, in Auglaize County Common Pleas Court. The civil lawsuit claimed Kimberly Anderson shot Brent Anderson intentionally to end his life and stated that a period of time elapsed between the first non-fatal bullet fired upon Brent Anderson and the seven subsequent shots. The lawsuit stated:

"During this time, the decedent (deceased) was in mortal fear for his life and experienced physical pain, suffering and severe mental anguish,"

The lawsuit sought "special, compensatory and punitive damages" on behalf of the couple's children, Erik (5) and Ryan (3), Brent Anderson's daughter from a previous relationship, Justine (14), as well as Brent Anderson's parents and siblings.

A similar lawsuit was filed weeks after the shooting but dismissed in March, citing personal reasons. The civil lawsuit was refiled after the family beat the court deadline to refile the suit by five days. The lawsuit sought a total in excess of $50,000.

Aftermath

Kimberly Anderson’s post-trial circumstances and statements

During a birthday party for her 3-year-old son, Kimberly Anderson said it struck her how very blessed she was. She said:

"If it had been the Lord's will to send me to prison, I would have accepted it and I was ready,"
"But as I watched Ryan blow out his candles, it occurred to me that things could have been very different, he might be celebrating without his mommy."

In the interview, she stated there were no winners, she loved Brent, and she never meant to take his life, stating:

"There are no winners here, I loved Brent, too. He was fun-loving, a real charming guy. That's why I fell in love with him,"
"I never meant to take his life, I just meant to stop him from taking ours."

She stated she believed she was free from the beginning because she was honest with authorities, and she said:

"I told them exactly what happened that day and they believed me that the shooting occurred in self-defense,"
"I had no motive, nothing to gain from his death."

She described a discussion with her father hours after the shooting and said her father warned her:

"they might keep you,"
and that she responded: "I haven't done anything wrong."

She said she felt pressure from the surrounding communities and Brent Anderson’s family and friends and that this stirred the Auglaize County Prosecutor's Office to file charges against her, calling it "very political."

She stated she considers herself lucky that she was not jailed immediately after shooting her husband, and described how a safety plan was terminated two days after the trial so she could spend time with all her children without supervision.

She said her days were brighter now even though she could not return to her job with Lincare of Lima, where she had been a practicing respiratory therapist. She said she was placed on paid leave for three weeks after the shooting and then terminated "because of the publicity to the office," and she said she was told so.

She said she is turning her hobby of faux painting into a career and that court and attorney fees were phenomenal and her parents helped with those expenses.

She also said the children knew what happened and continued in counseling, stating:

"They know I shot Daddy with a real gun and he is in heaven. They saw his rage that day and knew he was bad,"

She said she does not understand why Brent’s family seeks custody, stating:

"None of the Andersons had a bond with my children before. Why they want them now, I don't understand,"
"Is it for the best interest of my children or to hurt me?"

Court access and sealing motion

In May, Kimberly Anderson filed a motion to seal all records relating to the criminal case. Her attorney, Alan Konop of Toledo, argued that his client was trying to:

"get on with her life"
and deserved her right to privacy. Dale K. Perdue of Columbus objected in a letter on grounds he intended to refile the civil suit and would seek access to all information and evidence in the case. On Aug. 8, Auglaize County Common Pleas Judge Frederick Pepple denied the expungement of Kimberly Anderson’s records and upheld the right of public access to information in the high-profile case.

Criminal trial deliberation statements

Kimberly Anderson said she came close to offering a plea bargain during jurors’ seven-hour deliberation and described a definition request during deliberations. She stated:

"Alan (Konop, her defense attorney) said, as my attorney, he needed to tell me it might be wise to offer the prosecution a plea right now,"
and she said: "I told him all 12 jurors will have to decide that I'm guilty and I am not going to make the decision to send myself to prison."

She said Auglaize County Prosecutor Ed Pierce was standing next to Konop ready to discuss a plea bargain, and she firmly said:

"no."

Other details

People named in the case

• Kimberly Anderson — defendant; husband’s shooting; accused of aggravated murder, murder, and voluntary manslaughter; acquitted.
• Brent Anderson — victim; successful divorce attorney from Celina; shot eight times.
• Kevin Anderson — plaintiff in civil lawsuit; Brent’s brother; of Cincinnati.
• Dale K. Perdue — family attorney of Brent Anderson’s family; Columbus.
• Rob C. Wiesenmayer — Kimberly Anderson’s attorney referenced in relation to the acquittal; of Wapakoneta.
• Alan Konop — Kimberly Anderson’s attorney in relation to the motion to seal records and plea discussions.
• Ed Pierce — Auglaize County Prosecutor.
• Frederick Pepple — Auglaize County Common Pleas Judge who denied expungement/sealing.
• Dr. Wilfred Ellis — Lima doctor who testified about alleged child sexual abuse reporting and advising Kimberly Anderson.
• Jacqueline Parent — housekeeper who verified testimony about Brent Anderson posing as a cable television repairman.
• Craig Oard — son of Mike Oard; testified about Brent Anderson pretending to be interested in buying the Oard’s house to gain entry.
• Lynn Miller — director of the Wapakoneta rescue squad.
• Patricia Knippen — Auglaize County Children Services.
• Ruth Baeumel — sexual assault nurse who examined the Anderson children and found no evidence.
• Detective Mike Eberle — testified; collected a sheet from Brent Anderson’s apartment and testified about evidence such as semen stains and the pubic hair in the diaper.
• Detective Sgt. Dennis White — testified.
• Deputy Brent Henschen — testified.
• Patricia Nester — mother of Anderson’s first husband; testified about finding Kimberly Anderson on the lawn and about Kimberly Anderson saying "I shot Brent."
• Kristin Ann Nester — Patricia Nester’s daughter; testified and changed the diaper.
• Sue Allen — Kimberly Anderson’s mother; testified.
• Pam Anderson — Brent Anderson’s sister, spokesperson for the family; of Connecticut.
• Alan Konop (again referenced) — referenced as defense attorney during trial deliberations.
• Mike Oard — identified as boyfriend of Kimberly Anderson at the time of the shooting (through relation to Craig Oard).

Family relationships and children

Kimberly Anderson and Brent Anderson had children named Erik and Ryan, who were described with ages Erik (5) and Ryan (3) in relation to the civil lawsuit. The civil suit also referenced Brent Anderson’s daughter from a previous relationship, Justine (14). Kimberly Anderson was described as having retained custody of the couple’s two children, and also having two other children from a previous marriage, since the shooting. She said children continued in counseling. The civil suit described Brent Anderson’s parents as Warren and Betty Anderson of Celina, and said he also was survived by four brothers and five sisters.

Places named

• Wapakoneta — where the shooting occurred at their home.
• Celina — Brent Anderson’s town and location of his family.
• Defiance County — venue of the criminal trial in October 2002.
• Auglaize County — referenced for grand jury indictment, Children Services, Common Pleas Court, and prosecutor’s office.
• Mercer County court system — referenced for Brent Anderson’s work at time of death.
• Lima — where Kimberly Anderson worked at Lincare and where she was described as practicing as a respiratory therapist.
• Toledo — associated with defense attorney Alan Konop.
• Columbus — associated with attorney Dale K. Perdue.

Methods and context details mentioned

Kimberly Anderson called 911 and said she shot her husband. The police found Brent Anderson with eight bullets in him and described his body position as slumped against the wall of a closet in statements by Pam Anderson. The record included that Detective Mike Eberle collected a crumpled bed sheet with semen stains and that other matching sheet evidence was not collected. The record included diaper evidence with a pubic hair. It also included information about alleged past behavior where Brent Anderson posed as a cable television repairman and pretended to be interested in buying a house to gain entry.