Bill Henderson strangled his wife Melissa over an affair

When Melissa Henderson was mysteriously found dead in her bed in her Lawrenceburg, Indiana home by her husband Bill and his friend on June 17, 2005, her family immediately believed that she had died of natural causes. Her own mother died at the age of 22 from a rare blood disease.

“So we said to Detective Bridges, ‘Well, her mother died very young from a strange tragedy – could that have been it?'” Kim Jacobs, Melissa’s step-cousin, continued Killer relationship with Faith Jenkinsairs Saturdays at 8/7c on Oxygen.

Melissa was found lying face down and diagonally in her bed. The coroner gave her time of death as June 17 between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. She had a broken fingernail on one hand. Her back door was unlocked and there were no signs of a struggle inside the home.

“We went into the bedroom to have it [Bill Henderson] Recreate how he found her…but it was just weird,” WKRC Cincinnati reporter Deborah Dixon continued Killer relationship with Faith Jenkins. “It was like a performance. And when I interviewed him, I thought, “This man didn’t grieve.” He was ice cold. It was just an instinct or feeling that he was lying and hiding something.”

Although the coroner initially deemed her cause of death “undetermined,” what happened to the 34-year-old was much more sinister and became clear at her funeral.

“It was an open casket and you could see the handprints,” Pattie Sunderhaus, Melissa’s aunt, continued Killer relationship with Faith Jenkins. “The bruise on her neck. There was no denying it back then. That was it. Something in my gut immediately told me there was more to it. Something’s wrong.”

Melissa and Bill Henderson’s marriage deteriorates before her murder

Melissa and Bill met after high school through a mutual friend.

“There was a spark and she fell madly in love with him,” Jacobs said.

The two married in 1991 and had two daughters together: Victoria and Katie.

But not long after Melissa started working at a local casino, she fell in love again with a co-worker and her high school sweetheart: James McCracken.

“Melissa was fascinated by James at the time,” Jacobs said. “He was the bad boy. The guy is wearing the leather coat. Her stepmother said, ‘Stay away from him, he’s bad news.'” I forbid you to see him.'”

Melissa stayed away and eventually married Bill Henderson.

“It really broke her heart because she truly believed that James was her one true love,” Sunderhaus said.

McCracken admitted to investigators that he and Melissa were having an affair when she died. And the affair was no secret: Bill Henderson also knew about it, according to his friend Darin Laird, who discovered Melissa’s body at his home.

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“He said, you know, ‘I think she’s fooling me.’ He was upset but said, ‘I just want to find out the truth,'” Laird told police during an interview.

Laird added that just days before Melissa was strangled, he and Bill followed her and saw her leaving a bar with McCracken – and even watched her in a park with binoculars.

“So there was no doubt that Bill Henderson knew about the affair before Melissa died,” Bridges said.

The Henderson children also told police they knew their parents were not happy.

“They witnessed an argument and Bill and Melissa were discussing a divorce,” Dearborn Co. District Attorney Aaron Negangard continued Killer relationship with Faith Jenkins. “Victoria Henderson even knew about James McCracken. I mean, she was 12, but she had a pretty good idea what was going on. Melissa was beginning to find happiness in this new relationship with an old high school friend, and Melissa was ready to move on.”

With McCracken’s alibi established, police turned their attention to Bill Henderson.

During Melissa’s murder, the police find holes in Bill Henderson’s alibi

Bill Henderson told investigators that he was working a second job the day his wife was killed. He said he and his friend Darin Laird arrived at the house around 9:30 p.m. and found Melissa dead in the bedroom.

“During the interview, I wasn’t sure what to think of Bill,” Bridges said. “His impact was pretty empty. It was empty. There was no real inflection. No emotions.”

Bill Henderson claimed he left his home in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, around 9:30 a.m. to drive about two hours to Berea, Kentucky, to work his part-time job. He said he felt unwell during the drive and drove to a campsite to rest. But when he lost consciousness, an ambulance was called to the campsite and he was taken to the hospital, where the hospital told investigators he had suffered an anxiety attack. He had the hospital bracelet as so-called proof that he couldn’t have been the one who killed his wife.

“He wasn’t even in the state at the time of his death, so that’s a pretty good alibi,” Bridges said.

But when investigators reviewed surveillance video from a convenience store near the Henderson home, they saw Bill’s car around 9:30 a.m., just as he claimed – but within minutes he was driving his car back to his home.

“These recordings proved that his alibi was false,” Negangard said. “The truth was that he could have killed her before he went to Kentucky, and now we have a motive and an opportunity to tie it to him. Everything is starting to come together.”

DNA results showed it was Bill Henderson’s DNA under Melissa’s broken fingernail, suggesting they had fought before her death.

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“I believe there was a confrontation that morning. She told him it was over. She filed for divorce and he lost the divorce,” Vance said.

Bridges added: “He has had time to think about this matter. And get angry. And come back.”

Investigators believe that Bill stumbled upon his hospital alibi by chance.

“I think he just drove to get out of there. Like he just killed his wife. And he doesn’t know what to do. And at some point he has an anxiety attack,” Bridges said.

Bill Henderson confesses to killing his wife Melissa

On July 30, 2007, Bill Henderson was found guilty of the murder of his wife Melissa. He spoke at the sentencing and admitted what happened.

“Bill says, ‘I did it. I didn’t mean to. It was in the heat of passion. I fainted. I don’t know what happened. And I did it,’” Jacobs said.

He was sentenced to 65 years in prison.

“It was just incredible. There were no regrets. No emotions. No, nothing,” said Sunderhaus. “The only thing he was sorry about was getting caught.”

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