Eldon man retried and found guilty, again

The retrial of an Eldon man previously found guilty of first-degree murder and second degree arson ended with the same result in Poweshiek County today. Kenny Chris Hemm was originally found guilty of the charges stemming from the April 2000 burning death of Larry Pippenger, a wheelchair bound paraplegic man who was staying in Hemm’s house. However, the decision was reversed on appeal and a new trial was ordered. The appeals court ruled the trial judge did not allow the defense to present evidence that may have led to a different verdict. The evidence pertained to other people who may have wanted to kill Pippenger. Judge E. Richard Meadows Junior was the judge for both trials. This time around, that evidence was admitted, but it did not change the result. The retrial was moved to Poweshiek County from Wapello County due to pretrial publicity. Sentencing is scheduled for July 30th in Washington County.