Crime Fix with Angenette Levy - "Mom Murdered In Front Of 4-Year-Old Son While Hiding From Dad in Laundry Room: Police"

Episode Date: March 8, 2024

Nursing student Brittany Ligdis, 30, hid in her laundry room with her four-year-old son on February 16 as her ex-boyfriend broke into her apartment, according to the Pinole Police Department.... Police said Jeffrey Kendall shot Ligdis in the head in front of their son and then fled. California state troopers caught Kendall later that evening. Law&Crime's Angenette Levy talks with Pinole Police Commander Matt Avery about the technology officers used to track down Kendall and more in this episode of Crime Fix — a daily show covering the biggest stories in crime.Host:Angenette Levy  https://twitter.com/Angenette5CRIME FIX PRODUCTION:Head of Social Media, YouTube - Bobby SzokeSocial Media Management - Vanessa BeinVideo Editing - Daniel CamachoAudio Editing - Brad MaybeGuest Booking - Alyssa Fisher & Diane KayeSTAY UP-TO-DATE WITH THE LAW&CRIME NETWORK:Watch Law&Crime Network on YouTubeTV: https://bit.ly/3td2e3yWhere To Watch Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3akxLK5Sign Up For Law&Crime's Daily Newsletter: https://bit.ly/LawandCrimeNewsletterRead Fascinating Articles From Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3td2IqoLAW&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrime/Twitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@LawandCrimeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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Starting point is 00:00:00 Wondery Plus subscribers can binge all episodes of this law and crimes series ad-free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. A nursing student shot to death in front of her four-year-old son as they hid from the boy's father in their laundry room. We have details about how that little boy was able to help detectives. Thanks for joining me for Crime Fix. I'm Anjanette Levy. This story is just so incredibly sad. Brittany Ligdis was a nursing student in Pinal, California, north of San Francisco.
Starting point is 00:00:35 On February 16th, police launched a search for Ligdis' ex, Jeffrey Kendall, after receiving a 911 call that Kendall had shot her as she and their son hid from him in a laundry room. A neighbor's home security camera actually recorded Kendall running away from the house. State troopers captured Kendall later that evening, 90 minutes away in Santa Cruz. Brittany Ligdis' aunt told a San Francisco TV station last month that Britney's four-year-old son repeatedly said, Mommy's dead. Mommy's dead. But police say that little boy helped them with their investigation. Britney has been described as a sweet person who was working toward her goals. She was also a loving mom. Friends of Britney's mother have started a GoFundMe page for her. So far, it has raised more than $22,000.
Starting point is 00:01:26 Joining me to discuss this incredibly disturbing case is the public information officer for the Pennell Police Department in California. He's Commander Matt Avery. Commander Avery, this case is just beyond the pale. So many of these cases we cover are. So take me back to the very beginning. On February 16th at about 8 45 in the morning we received calls in regards to a subject trying to break into an apartment, lower apartment of a house and it turned out it was the ex-boyfriend of our victim and a tragic case of domestic violence. He broke in and during the confrontation with the victim she was shot and killed in the presence of their four-year-old son. When you all got there, was the little boy there with his mother or tell me what you all found? The four-year-old had made his way up to the upper portion of the house. It's got a
Starting point is 00:02:27 main house on the upper floor and then two apartments. And he had made his way up to the upper unit where his grandfather, the suspect's father, lived. And that's where the officers found their son. Oh, my goodness. And it's my understanding, obviously, the four-year-old witnessed this. I just can't even imagine what that little boy is going through. Do you know how he's doing right now? I don't know specifically how he's doing. Obviously, very traumatic event for him. As for anyone, he was a very courageous young man, provided us information, and he is safe with other family members at this time. Just the fact that a four-year-old was able to provide information after witnessing his mother being murdered is pretty stunning to me, but I know that
Starting point is 00:03:22 the kids are capable of amazing things. Jeffrey Kendall fled, so there was a search for him. So tell me a little bit about that. We were aided by multiple agencies and also through the automatic license plate reading technology, we were able to track his movement periodically as his vehicle hit on those different cameras. So we knew the general area he was in. We sent out a statewide bulletin to all of our law enforcement partners, entered the license plate as a felony want vehicle in the national system. And he was picked up down in Santa Cruz by CHP later that evening,
Starting point is 00:04:08 and he was taken into custody without incident. So he wasn't on the run all that long. No. You were able to keep up with him, it sounds like. No, it was, I think, around 10, 30, 11 o'clock that night. So fortunately, you know, we were able to, with our allied agencies, take him into custody and get him off the streets quickly. Were there any other past instances of domestic violence involving Jeffrey Kendall and Brittany Lindges? We did not have any records involving calls for service up at that house or between the two of them. And I know you had asked the public for assistance, but obviously you would want to get him off the street as soon as possible, even though you were able to track him, but you were still wanting the public to call in. Did you all receive a lot of calls letting you know that people had seen him we got several
Starting point is 00:05:06 calls throughout the evening and you know we really appreciated the public's assistance in that primarily it was the license plate reading cameras that gave us the confirmed locations as to where he was you know obviously when you get hit on one of those cameras, it's all about having officers in that area at the time. So we knew the general area, but when the license did hit on the cameras, we weren't able to take him into custody at that time. And it turned out just to be a routine traffic stop for driving without headlights on. That led to his arrest. He faces a homicide charge, of course, a domestic violence charge, and then a weapons charge.
Starting point is 00:05:55 So tell me a little bit about the weapons charge. And he's accused of having a ghost gun. Yes, he's those three charges, as you mentioned, what he's facing, he'll be arraigned tomorrow. One charge of an assault weapon. He was found in possession of several guns. I believe it's three. None of them are registered. They're ghost guns, which, you know, is common nowadays where you can get some parts over the internet or even out of state and then finish off building the gun through illegally obtained parts and even printing them on a 3D printer.
Starting point is 00:06:43 And so he was found with multiple guns. One of them was classified as an assault weapon, and that is what he's been charged with, in addition to the homicide and felony child endangerment. Did he make any statements when he was taken into custody? No, he invoked his right to silence and representation, so did not make any statements to our investigators. But back to this whole thing about the ghost guns, really briefly, the ghost guns, that's becoming a bigger and bigger problem. It's an epidemic across the United States on how to, you know, regulate and track the guns. And
Starting point is 00:07:20 with technology, you know, it can be a two be a two edged sword. You know, technology is great, makes our lives better, but at the same time can lead down to some nefarious roads where, you know, if you're not a law abiding citizen, you can take advantage of that and, you know, create safety hazards for law enforcement and the general public. Commander Avery, you know, you're in law enforcement, so you see the worst of the worst. You see awful, awful things. Have you ever seen a case like this? You know, domestic violence is obviously awful, but a man accused of killing the mother of his child in front of the child, I mean, he's going to have problems, issues likely for the rest of his child in front of the child. I mean, he's going to have problems, issues likely
Starting point is 00:08:06 for the rest of his life. No, this is a case that has affected quite a few of us here at the Pinal Police Department, you know, all the way from our dispatchers who took the call to the officers who responded to the evidence technicians and even records and our property and evidence specialist and you know most of us have children or grandchildren and so relate to the tragedy and just the trauma that the uh you know four-year-old son uh you know endured that day and yeah will face uh throughout his life and you know it four-year-old son, you know, endured that day and, yeah, will face throughout his life. You know, it did hit home very closely to, for a lot of our officers and personnel. And so, yeah, just tragic, tragic case, you know, and, you know, even the, you know, the four-year-old's grandparents, extended family, it's a tragedy.
Starting point is 00:09:10 Yeah, absolutely is a tragedy. And this is something they'll be living with for the rest of their lives. They'll never get over it. And you guys are, you did what you could do. This is what you can do is get an arrest and seek justice for the family. Commander Avery, thank you so much for joining us. We really appreciate it. No, you're welcome. Thank you. Jeffrey Kendall remains in custody at the Contra Costa County Jail, where he's being held on a $1.2 million bond. He was scheduled to appear
Starting point is 00:09:43 in court on Friday to enter a plea, but at the time of this recording, that hearing had not yet taken place. We'll stay on top of the case to let you know what happens. That's it for this edition of Crime Fix. I'm Anjanette Levy. Thanks so much for being with us. We'll see you back here next time. Until then, have a great night.

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