Suvechha Sarkar
Alexandra Elizabeth Kemp, AKA Ali, was an ambitious college student with a promising future. However, her life came to a tragic end when she was brutally killed in June 2002. The harrowing crime left her family and the quiet community of Leawood, Kansas, completely shaken to their core. Investigation Discovery’s ‘Hometown Homicide: I Will Find You’ chronicles the investigation and explores how a billboard campaign by her father, Roger Dale Kemp, helped bring her killer to justice years later. It also features interviews with the officials and her loved ones connected directly to the case.
Ali Kemp Was Killed While Working at a Neighborhood Pool
Alexandra Elizabeth Kemp, lovingly known as Ali, was born on October 11, 1982, in Johnson County, in Leawood, Kansas. She arrived as a beacon of light in the lives of her parents, Kathy and Roger Dale Kemp. Growing up, she was surrounded by love from her parents and her brothers, Tyler and Drew. Ali was highly active and had even been the student ambassador in high school. She was a part of numerous clubs and organizations at Blue Valley North High School. Moreover, she was also involved in volunteer activities in the church and her community. After graduating from high school as an honor student, Ali enrolled at Kansas State University (KSU). There, the freshman was a proud Pi Beta Phi Sorority member.
Ali also had been dating the love of her life, Phil Howes, for five years. In the summer of 2002, Ali was home and took up a job at a neighborhood pool. Her life was quite perfect when suddenly, everything turned upside down on June 18, 2002. Her brother, Tyler, also worked there and had gone to the pool to take over the shift. However, when he could not find Ali anywhere, he informed Roger. When the latter arrived, he only found her purse and phone. Roger began looking around and went to the pump room. There, he noticed a blue tarp behind the pumps, and when he lifted it, he was horrified to find Ali beaten. This prompted him to call 911 immediately.
When the officials first arrived, they found Ali unconscious with blunt force trauma to the head and multiple bruises on her body. Ali also had ligature marks on her neck besides broken nails and fingers, indicating signs of struggle. She was immediately rushed to the hospital but was pronounced dead shortly after. Detectives found blood around the pump room, which was also in disarray. However, they discovered an antibiotic tube from a first-aid kit with no cap. Since the cap was lying at a distance, they collected DNA evidence from the cap and the tube, besides Ali’s clothes. Forensic results revealed the DNA to be a mixture of Ali’s and an unknown male. The autopsy determined her cause of death to be strangulation.
An Innovative Billboard Campaign Brought Ali’s Killer to Light
Investigators first began questioning people at the scene. They soon discovered from three workers of a lawn-and-garden company that they had seen an 1980s old beige-colored pickup truck circling the area but never stopping. They also informed the police about a man with a camera lurking outside the pool in the bushes. Officials released the sketch of the potential suspect and the car to the public. Meanwhile, they questioned Phil, who informed them that he had last met her at 2 pm, after which he went to work at another pool. However, DNA tests of him, Ali’s brother, and her father eliminated all of them as suspects. Detectives soon discovered from her friend, Laurel Vine, that Ali had called her around 3 pm and asked her to come over to keep her company. Around 3:15 pm, she came over and honked for Ali to come out.
However, Laurel saw a guy coming out of the pump house waving at her. Laurel informed the police that she presumed it was Ali’s boss, and she left, scared of getting Ali into trouble. So, officials released another sketch of this suspect. As the tips began coming in, they led them to James Strader, a three-time convicted felon. However, his alibi checked out, and he was ruled out as a suspect. Things took a turn when in February 2003, he was arrested for rape charges in Utah. However, his DNA was not a match to the DNA found at the crime scene. Since the leads were drying out, on June 18, 2003, Ali’s father, Roger, decided to put the sketch of the suspect on the billboard. It brought in more tips and led detectives to Teddy Hoover, who worked at a pool service. When he was questioned, he denied any involvement.
However, Teddy took off when officials asked him for his DNA. They received a lead in the fall of 2004 that he had moved to Connecticut with his girlfriend. A mailman confirmed his girlfriend’s address but mentioned that the man living with her was named Benjamin Appleby. With the help of the Connecticut State Police, Kansas detectives discovered that there was a prior arrest warrant for Teddy on charges of indecent exposure. It turned out that he had changed his name to Benjamin. Ultimately, he was arrested on November 8, 2004, on the indecent exposure charge. When the Kansas police again questioned him, he confessed to killing Ali when she tried to stop him from his unwanted advances. On November 10, 2004, Teddy was officially charged with first-degree (capital) murder and attempted rape.
Roger Kemp Helped Thousands of Girls and Women Before he Passed Away
After losing his daughter in the most unimaginable way, Roger Kemp decided to turn his grief into a mission. He moved forward with determination and pioneered the innovative idea of using billboards to catch criminals. What initially was a desperate attempt to find his daughter soon became a breakthrough for law enforcement agencies. His Billboard campaign not only helped capture Teddy Hoover but also apprehended hundreds of other fugitives across the country.
Alongside his wife, Kathy, they founded the Ali Kemp Educational Foundation and launched the T.A.K.E. Defense program. It became a hands-on self-defense class for young women and girls and trained them to escape confined attacks. To date, the program has empowered over 60,0000 women and girls. In 2011, Roger was further honored with the Presidential Citizens Medal. Although he could not save Ali, he found purpose in saving others. However, his journey came to a peaceful close when Roger passed away on March 1, 2022, at the age of 77.
Teddy Hoover is Incarcerated at Hutchinson Prison Facility Today
The jury trial of Teddy Hoover began in November 2005. The prosecution reportedly presented detailed forensic autopsy reports alongside his video admission, in which he had confessed to how Ali rejected his advances, which prompted the deadly attack. It also mentioned how that action made him “lose it” and attack her. On the other hand, the defense reportedly argued that although Teddy killed Ali, it was not premeditated. Hence, they asked the jury to consider a lesser charge than capital murder. Ultimately, the jury found him guilty of first-degree (capital) murder and attempted rape on December 5, 2005.
On December 26, 2006, Teddy was sentenced to a “hard 50” life sentence, which meant that he would have to serve 50 years before getting parole eligibility. Moreover, he was sentenced to another 19 years for the second charge to be served consecutively. In November 2009, the Kansas Supreme Court ruled that the attempted rape conviction constituted double jeopardy as it overlapped with the capital murder charge, and rape was an aggravating factor. Although his rape sentence was overturned, the Court upheld his murder conviction. Teddy will not be eligible for parole before November 8, 2054. He is currently serving his time at Hutchinson Correctional Facility – Central in Hutchinson, Kansas.
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