Carol Kennedy called her mother at 7:36 p.m. on July 2, 2008. Carol sounded suddenly alarmed and the line went dead. Her mother tried to call back. When deputies got into the house near Prescott, Arizona, they found Carol on the floor by a fallen ladder and bookcase. The medical examiner found several blows to her head. The shape of the injuries was consistent with an object like the head of a golf club. [1]
LunchboxLarry · Image source · CC BY 2.0 · Geographic or historical context; not authentic crime evidence.
The empty cover
Carol and Steven DeMocker had divorced five weeks earlier. They had two daughters. DeMocker said he’d been mountain biking that evening. Records showed his phone was off during the hours that included the call to Carol’s mother. Near the house, investigators found fresh impressions consistent with the tread of a shoe model DeMocker wore. [1]
Photographs from a search of his home showed an empty cover for a Callaway driver. Sales records showed he had bought the driver and cover years earlier. On a later search, the cover was gone. DeMocker said he found it in his girlfriend’s car and gave it to his lawyer, who turned it over. Investigators also recovered parts of computer searches about staged killings and insurance payments. [1]
Breewolf Photography · Image source · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Geographic or historical context; not authentic crime evidence.
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The message from jail
DeMocker asked his younger daughter to bring writing materials to a jail visit. He dictated a story blaming other people for Carol’s killing and told her to email it anonymously to his lawyer and the prosecutor. His lawyer initially offered the message to help the defense. When investigators traced it back, the email became part of the case against DeMocker. [1]
The first trial ended in a mistrial after his lawyers withdrew amid disputes that included the use of Carol’s life insurance proceeds for his defense. The proceeds had gone into a trust intended for their daughters. A second jury convicted DeMocker of murder, burglary and related offenses. The murder sentence was natural life. The Arizona Court of Appeals affirmed the convictions and sentences in 2016. [1] [2]
George Wharton James , 1858—1923 · Image source · Public domain · Geographic or historical context; not authentic crime evidence. Historic photograph of the region, not a scene from the 2008 crime.
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Later review
The U.S. Supreme Court declined review in a state post-conviction matter in March 2022. A federal judge denied or dismissed DeMocker’s habeas claims in July 2024 and declined a certificate of appealability. The Ninth Circuit opened an appeal in August. The public docket snapshot I could verify contains the opening entries. [3] [4] [5]
Case brief
Prescott, Arizona · 2008
- Recorded outcome
- Steven DeMocker was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to natural life. Arizona’s appeals court affirmed in 2016. The U.S. Supreme Court declined review in 2022, and a federal district judge denied or dismissed his habeas claims in July 2024. The public Ninth Circuit snapshot confirms an August 2024 filing but does not establish its disposition.
Key moments
People in this case
- Carol Kennedy
Murder victim and artist
Photo at source · CBS News · family photographs and artwork
Look closer · 9 visuals
Inside the evidence.
Open a visual to explore what it contributed to the case—and the limits of what it shows. Photographs, historical reproductions and original illustrations are individually labeled. Open the notes for each image’s source, credit, and limitations; setting photographs do not depict crime scenes.
A fall account meets the scene
Original editorial illustration — not an actual evidence photograph or exhibit.
Read the evidence notes
Scene evidence supported rejection of an accidental fall.
No authentic room photograph or invented crime reconstruction.
Consistent shoes are not unique shoes
Original editorial illustration — not an actual evidence photograph or exhibit.
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The shoe evidence mattered in combination with other circumstances.
A class comparison, not unique identification.
The club was never recovered
Original editorial illustration — not an actual evidence photograph or exhibit.
Read the evidence notes
Investigators linked the missing club to an injury theory.
No physical weapon match or recovered club is claimed.
An alternative story made in jail
Original editorial illustration — not an actual evidence photograph or exhibit.
Read the evidence notes
The court describes the manufactured account as part of the related crimes.
The drug allegations are not repeated as true.
Insurance money and a mistrial
Original editorial illustration — not an actual evidence photograph or exhibit.
Read the evidence notes
The trust dispute changed the legal proceedings and supplied related charges.
A mistrial did not decide the murder charge.
The final reviewed appeal
Original editorial illustration — not an actual evidence photograph or exhibit.
Read the evidence notes
The court affirmed convictions and sentences after examining the raised issues.
An unpublished memorandum governs this case; current docket requires separate review.
Downtown Prescott, Arizona
Context photograph — not an actual crime exhibit.
Read the evidence notes
Downtown Prescott, Arizona. Geographic context photograph; not a crime-scene photograph or an original evidence exhibit.
Geographic or historical context; not authentic crime evidence. The source and reuse terms are linked below.
LunchboxLarry · Image source · CC BY 2.0
Yavapai County Courthouse in Prescott
Context photograph — not an actual crime exhibit.
Read the evidence notes
Yavapai County Courthouse in Prescott. Geographic context photograph; not a crime-scene photograph or an original evidence exhibit.
Geographic or historical context; not authentic crime evidence. The source and reuse terms are linked below.
Breewolf Photography · Image source · CC BY-SA 4.0
An early photograph of the Granite Dells near Prescott
Context photograph — not an actual crime exhibit. Historic photograph of the region, not a scene from the 2008 crime.
Read the evidence notes
An early photograph of the Granite Dells near Prescott. Geographic context photograph; not a crime-scene photograph or an original evidence exhibit. Historic photograph of the region, not a scene from the 2008 crime.
Geographic or historical context; not authentic crime evidence. Historic photograph of the region, not a scene from the 2008 crime. The source and reuse terms are linked below.
George Wharton James , 1858—1923 · Image source · Public domain
★ Key evidence used in a conviction · ✓ Exclusion or reversal · ◇ Disputed evidence · ⊘ Excluded at retrial · ◆ Identity / investigative finding, not a conviction. A symbol does not mean one item proved the whole case.
Follow the locations
Put the story on the map.
Follow the dated entries, then select an event to find its regional setting. Shared-location pins open a group of events. Evidence symbols identify important findings and their limitations.
Open the map in its own window ↗Sources & further reading
- State v. DeMocker — Arizona Court of Appeals memorandum decisionCourt account of marital finances, interrupted call, scene, bike alibi, shoes, missing club, false email, mistrial, trust money and affirmance.
- 48 Hours: End of the Trail — CBSVictim identified as Carol Kennedy only; fewer than 25 derived words. Remaining narrative grounded in the judicial record.
- U.S. Supreme Court order list, DeMocker v. Arizona, No. 21-1072The Court denied DeMocker’s certiorari petition in the state post-conviction matter.
- DeMocker v. Shinn, document 31 — U.S. District Court for the District of ArizonaDenies or dismisses federal habeas grounds with prejudice and declines a certificate of appealability.
- DeMocker v. Shinn, No. 24-4984 — Ninth Circuit docket snapshotRecords the opening of the appeal and a certificate-of-appealability scheduling notice. The snapshot ends with the opening entries.
Editorial review: 2026-11-12 · 396 words