Who Murdered This Multimillionaire’s Model Wife In The Kitchen Of Their Home?
In 2008, a Georgia multimillionaire’s wife was brutally murdered, but who committed the vicious killing has never been found over 16 years later.
Kay Wenal, a former model, lived with her husband, Hal Wenal, in Lawrenceville, Georgia. Hal was a real estate developer who met Kay while in an airport in Reno. She was supposedly bending over to grab her luggage off the rack when Hal noticed her.
Once the pair tied the knot, Hal became Kay’s fourth husband, and they led a lavish lifestyle. Even at 60 years old, Kay was known as a stunning woman who turned plenty of heads, and Hal reportedly loved walking into restaurants with his “arm candy,” according to private investigator John Insogna.
Yet, on May 1, 2008, Hal returned home and found his wife dead. She’d been brutally murdered and left lying in a pool of her own blood in their kitchen.
That day, Kay woke up and planned to go to work as usual. Then, she didn’t feel very well and decided to stay home.
Authorities suspect that whoever killed her knew that she was home alone. They also believe that Kay opened her door to the killer and let them inside, as there were no signs of forced entry at her residence.
Based on blood drops found in front of the stairs, it’s thought that Kay’s killer punched her in the face as soon as she opened the door. The blow caused her glasses to go flying across the room.
“She flees to the kitchen, perhaps to get the phone. There, he gets her. And that’s where he takes control of her and kills her,” said retired Gwinnett County Police Lieutenant Charlie Bishop.
Kay’s throat was slashed twice in the kitchen. Investigators claim the second is called an “insurance cut,” or an additional cut “to make sure that she was going to die.”
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The police discovered a towel with Kay’s blood on it in her closet, which was located off of the master bedroom. Why the killer went into her closet remains unknown.
The murder weapon, on the other hand, has never been found. John thinks it could’ve been a scalpel; meanwhile, Ned Timmons, a retired FBI agent who led a team of private investigators hired by Hal, claimed it could’ve been a hunting or fishing knife.
Given the amount of strength Kay’s attack required, it’s believed that her killer was a male. The direction of the slashes also indicates he was right-handed, and pieces of latex gloves located inside the residence suggest he was likely wearing gloves.
The motive for the murder, however, is more puzzling. Robbery has been ruled out, as Kay’s credit cards and wallet had been left out in the open.
She was wearing plenty of rings, too, and she had hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of jewelry locked in an upstairs safe.
Investigators believe that, after Kay was murdered, her killer fled through the woods behind her home. According to Kathleen Timmons, who was recruited by her ex-husband Ned as a colleague to investigate this case, it seems as if Kay’s killer knew the home’s layout.
“The impression that I got was that someone was very comfortable in that home, knew their way around that home… and this person has no concern that anyone is going to walk in and catch him… and then walks out the back door and departs,” Kathleen detailed.
“He clearly knew where he was going, too, when he left. And that takes an awful lot of prior planning.”
In the wake of Kay’s death, Gwinnett County authorities began reviewing surveillance footage and searching for suspects. Kay supposedly didn’t have anyone threatening her, and the police looked into her husband.
But Hal was extremely cooperative, and following an interview with police, it was learned that he had a strong alibi.
Investigators were certain that he wasn’t there when Kay was killed, as they obtained video surveillance of him leaving his office and visiting a fast-food restaurant during the time of the murder.
As investigators dug further into Kay’s life during their quest for answers, they discovered that she had secrets. Not only did she marry frequently, but she had affairs, and Ned thought she might’ve been seeing someone when she died.
One of Kay’s neighbors ultimately helped police create a composite sketch of a stranger who was spotted in the area the day she was murdered. The neighbor saw the man two times: once the day before Kay was killed and once the day she died.
Around the time investigators think the homicide occurred, the neighbor reportedly looked out their window and saw the man walking toward the Wenal home. The man has never been identified.
“It’s a standard, you know, white male with wire-rimmed glasses that’s aging and starting to bald. There are probably hundreds and hundreds of males walking around that look something like this,” said Lieutenant Steven Shaw.
“And we’ve, you know, obviously, explored Kay’s inner circle and Hal’s circle and all of their friends and acquaintances.”
At one point in the investigation, Hal suggested Kay’s ex-husband, Jeff Gilbert, could’ve been the killer. Kay was reportedly still married to Jeff at the time she met Hal. Nonetheless, the police looked into Jeff and found no indications that he was involved in the murder.
Authorities wondered whether Kay’s killing could be linked to Hal’s business success. He made money by purchasing land, constructing shopping centers, and selling them afterward.
Yet, his administrative assistant, Marie Lundquist, admitted Hal “wasn’t the most honest person in the world” and would occasionally cook the books.
Hal, on the other hand, told investigators that he couldn’t think of anyone in his business circle who’d be angry with him enough to kill his wife.
“I can say to you without reservation that I can’t even think of anybody. We have tenants occasionally who fall out, but they don’t blame me,” Hal said.
The scene of the crime also doesn’t align with the theory of a professional hit, as a hired killer likely would’ve used a gun, not physical contact. Plus, a letter that arrived months later made this idea seem even more implausible.
Three months after Kay was killed, a letter postmarked July 21, 2008, and mailed from Augusta, Georgia, arrived at the Gwinnett County offices of The Atlanta Journal Constitution.
The letter, which sounds like it was written by an angered lover, was created using different letters cut out from magazines and glued onto the page. It defamed Kay, claiming she was just after money and had promised to leave Hal in order to be with them.
Kay’s sister, Pam Sleeper, says that Kay never discussed any plans to leave her husband. Former FBI profiler Mary Ellen O’Toole believes the letter wasn’t actually penned by Kay’s murderer, either.
“It’s what the author thinks threat letters should look like. This is almost scripted. So you have to say, ‘What’s the purpose?'” Mary Ellen explained.
“This is someone I think is pretending to be the killer to create this boogeyman suspect and to push the police away from the actual motive in the case.”
Moreover, Mary Ellen thinks there could’ve been two people involved in the slaying: someone who carried out the killing and someone who wrote the letter.
“I can tell you that’s my experience. I’ve seen them written by teenage girls. I’ve seen them written by middle-aged women. But the behavior at the scene, just that kind of violence, certainly suggests to me a male offender,” she stated.
Regardless, the Atlanta Journal Constitution gave the letter to the police, who examined it, and no DNA or other evidence was uncovered. To this day, exactly who is responsible for Kay’s death remains a mystery.
Pam opened up about how Hal had never recovered from his wife’s murder. He would reportedly call Pam daily, wondering who would do such a thing and why.
Hal died of a heart attack in 2010, and the investigation into Kay’s case ended due to financing issues.
Still, Pam continues her fight for answers, and a Facebook page entitled “Who murdered Kay Wenal?” has been created to continue raising awareness.
“I know there’s somebody out there that knows, and I think they just need to come forward and let us know. It will just help so much. We’d be so grateful,” she noted.
“If it was me, Kay would not give up, and I’m not gonna give up.”
Anyone with information regarding Kay’s case is urged to contact the Gwinnett County Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division Anonymous Tip line at (770) 513-5390.
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