Naman Shrestha
When an experienced and kind-hearted pediatric dentist named Kendra Hatcher was found murdered in the garage of a high-rise building in September 2015, the entire community was rattled to its core. As her grieving loved ones sought justice, the investigators followed every clue that they could find, including critical surveillance footage that led them to three perpetrators. The entire case and the investigation that followed are explored in detail in NBC’s ‘Dateline: 10 Minutes to Sunset’ and Investigation Discovery’s ‘Mean Girl Murders: Hot Yoga & Cold Blood,’ which features exclusive interviews with Kendra’s loved ones and the officials linked to the investigation.
Kendra Hatcher Was Found Dead in the Parking Garage of Her Apartment Building
Ragan Hatcher and Bonnie Gibson Jameson-Cawley became proud parents to Kendra Kay Hatcher on February 3, 1980, in Springfield. Accompanied by her three sisters — Jamie, Ashley, and Melissa — and a brother named Neil Hatcher, she grew up in Pleasant Plains, Illinois, to be a bright and talented woman. After her parents parted ways, Kendra also shared a close bond with her stepfather, Bruce Jameson. While studying at a local high school, she was a part of the cheerleading squad and the volleyball team. For higher studies, she attended DePauw University, where she majored in Spanish, before joining the University of Kentucky College of Dentistry. She was also a member of Kappa Alpha Theta.
Given the strong Christian values instilled in her from a young age, she also traveled abroad and helped build churches. Her kind-hearted and compassionate nature was evident through her philanthropy work in Spain and Ecuador. Thanks to her drive and determination to achieve her dreams, Kendra managed to land a job at Smile Zone as a pediatric dentist in 2015. The popular and well-respected dentist was also known for her volunteer work with poor children. When she was not busy tending to her patients, Kendra would focus on her other passions, including traveling, shopping, Bikram yoga, and running on the Katy Trail. Kendra was also a family woman who loved spending time with her family.
35-year-old Kendra Hatcher was active in the online dating scene, through which she met a dermatologist named Dr. Ricardo “Ricky” Paniagua. Just a few months into their relationship, the couple began thinking of tying the knot and started a wedding fund. For Labor Day, they also planned to travel to Cancun. Unfortunately, before they could start their fairytale together, fate intervened. On the fateful evening of September 2, 2015, Kendra was fatally ambushed in the parking garage of her luxurious Dallas, Texas, apartment building at Gables Park 17 in the Uptown neighborhood. When the authorities arrived at the scene of the crime, they noticed a handgun magazine near her remains, and her purse was missing, indicating signs of a robbery gone wrong. The autopsy reports suggested that she died of a gunshot wound to her head.
Kendra Hatcher’s Boyfriend’s Past Came Back to Haunt Her
As the detectives launched an investigation, they looked into the security footage of the fateful day and spotted a suspicious black Jeep Grand Cherokee, which arrived in the garage a few minutes before the murder. The grainy surveillance footage revealed that an individual got out of the car and approached Kendra when she pulled into the parking garage, shot her to death, and returned to the car before fleeing the scene. Although they couldn’t get a glimpse of the shooter, they spotted a woman driving the car. After the images and video were circulated in the public, a man named Luis Ortiz reached out to the police a couple of days later, claiming that the black Jeep belonged to him. He told the detectives that he had loaned it to a friend named Brenda Delgado, who was with him at a Chili’s restaurant at the time of the murder.
With a new lead in hand, the investigators interviewed Brenda, who claimed that she had never seen Kendra and showed them a dinner receipt from the fateful night as her alibi. When asked about Luis’ Jeep, she claimed that she had lent it to her friend, Crystal Cortes, who was later questioned about the same. The 23-year-old single mother told the detectives that she was threatened by an armed carjacker to drive to the parking garage while her son was in the backseat. According to her, the gunman got out of the car and committed the shooting before jumping back into the car and instructing her to drop off at a different part of the city. Noticing so many inconsistencies in her story, the authorities confronted her.
She eventually changed her story and told them that she had willfully driven the gunman, Kristopher Love, to the site, but believed that he would rob Kendra Hatcher. As per her account, Brenda plotted the entire ordeal and paid her $500 to do her job. Upon digging deep into her life, the investigators learned that she was in a relationship with Ricky Paniagua before he began dating Kendra in 2015. After learning about his new flame, Brenda reportedly cyberstalked them. With enough evidence against Crystal, the authorities arrested and charged her with capital murder after the interrogation. Meanwhile, Brenda was arrested for an unpaid traffic ticket, while they looked for evidence to tie her to the killing of Kendra.
All Three Individuals Responsible For the Murder Were Brought to Justice
However, Brenda made bail on September 5, 2015, and fled the country to hole up in Mexico. Seven weeks after the murder, she was formally indicted for murder. The investigation then led the authorities right to 31-year-old Kristopher Love, who was taken into custody on September 30 on an outstanding warrant. During his arrest, a gun was found in the side compartment of his car, which turned out to be the murder weapon used to shoot Kendra. When he was questioned about his involvement, he shifted the blame to Crystal, claiming that she was the one who used the gun to shoot the dentist. He alleged that Brenda was linked to drug cartels in Mexico and hired him for the job by offering him drugs and money. Kristopher was also arrested and charged with capital murder.
About seven months after she fled the country, Kendra was added to the FBI’s Top Ten Most Wanted list with a reward of $100,000 for anyone offering information that led to her arrest. Finally, in April 2016, she was spotted and arrested in Torren, Coahuila. Six months after her capture, she was returned to Dallas to await trial for the killing of Kendra. Crystal pleaded guilty to the charges against her in order to avoid the death penalty and agreed to testify against her two accomplices in their respective trials. Thus, she received a 35-year imprisonment sentence, with the possibility of parole after serving just half of her sentence. Finally, in October 2018, Kristopher was found guilty and given the death penalty. In June 2019, Brenda stood trial for orchestrating the murder of Kendra Hatcher and was convicted of capital murder after just 20 minutes of deliberation. She was eventually sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Read More: Where Are Crystal Cortes and Kristopher Love Now?
