Three days before Lydia disappeared, she called the police because Kenneth threatened her with an axe. The police came but didn’t arrest anyone. On the day Lydia vanished, she called Everett frantically, saying Kenneth was chasing her with an axe. Everett left work to go home.

Two hours later, Kenneth showed up at Everett’s restaurant, driving Everett’s van. He claimed Everett was arrested after a car accident. The restaurant manager noticed red stains on Kenneth’s shoes.

When Everett’s parents couldn’t reach the family, they alerted the police twelve days later. Kenneth told the police the family was on vacation in Philadelphia. The police, finding no evidence of a crime and the van missing, believed Kenneth and left.

Kenneth gave conflicting stories about the family’s supposed vacation. He was later arrested for forging Lydia’s signature on a check. While in custody, authorities discovered Kenneth illegally sold the Thompson family home. The house had been suspiciously altered: bathroom fixtures were freshly painted red, and the kitchen floor was ripped up.

The police interviewed Kenneth multiple times but lacked enough evidence to arrest him. Later, bloodstained shoes and a sock were found in Kenneth’s Indiana home. He was arrested for other crimes, and a prosecutor publicly accused him of ax-murdering the Thompsons to get their house. Kenneth committed suicide in jail before he could be charged. Despite suspicions, no bodies were ever found.