Doctor's son was accused of 'sensitive crime' against neighbor's child...then vigilante incident destroyed both families
A doctor's son was accused of a 'sensitive crime' against a neighbor's child..prompting the alleged victim's dad to mow down the family and kill their mother, before he died in jail.
Dr Kami Hansen, a well-liked chiropractor from Cottage Grove in Wisconsin, died on April 28 after neighbor Jeffrey Endres, 49, saw her out walking with her husband, dog and one of her three sons.
He is then accused of deliberately flooring his car and mounting a curb at 40mph, striking the family.
The force of the impact sent Hansen flying 25 feet into a wall and knocked the shoes off all three of her family members, with their pet pit bull also dying.
Endres was badly-injured in the crash and arrested. He was found dead in a jail cell Tuesday, with no cause of death given.
Hansen and Endres were neighbors and the two families were close until one of Hansen's sons was accused of a 'sensitive crime' against one of Endres' children.
The child accused of the sensitive crime was walking with his parents at the time of Endres' vigilante act and was the intended target of the 40mph car attack, investigators say.
According to the criminal complaint, Hansen's widower Paul told investigators that their families had been close friends up until March 2025, when his son was 'accused of a sensitive crime ' against Endres' child.
Officers were reportedly looking through students' phones at a school for an unrelated investigation when they found 'several videos' that 'appeared to be the victimization of (Endres') minor child', the filing stated.
Jeffrey Endres, 49, was accused of a shocking act of vigilante justice after allegedly plowing into his neighbors as they were on an evening walk, killing the family's mother and dog. As he faced charges including first-degree homicide, he was found dead in his cell on Tuesday morning
Endres made his first appearance in court Monday and appeared at Dane County Court where he was charged with first-degree homicide and two counts of attempted first-degree homicide.
The father-of-two's bond was set at $1 million.
But Endres was found dead in his cell at Dane County Jail around 6am the following morning, the Longview News Journal reported. No cause of death has been given.
An investigation into how Endres died is ongoing.
Endres' death means two families have been shattered by a horrific sequence of events just months after their friendship imploded.
Hansen's husband told officers that their children were on the same gymnastics team and they often carpooled to practices and meets together, and that their children 'were considered best friends.'
The March allegation of a 'sensitive crime' against one of the Hansen children also led to a 'no contact' order between the families.
Hansen's son appeared in a Zoom court hearing on March 28, in which Endres appeared 'distraught' as he had asked the court to keep Hansen's son away from their neighborhood, but a judge allowed him to return home, per the filing.
On April 23, five days before the Hansen family was hit by a car, Endres opened a records request with the Cottage Grove Police for a copy of his child's case report, and he was given this report just hours before the horror crash.
'The reports provided by the Village of Cottage Grove Police to the defendant contained detailed descriptions of videos purporting to show the victimization of the defendant's minor child,' the complaint stated.
Hours later, Endres allegedly spotted Hansen, her husband and her son walking around 6:30pm and accelerated into them, in what prosecutors described in court as 'essentially an act of vigilante justice.'
An Uber driver who witnessed the collision told cops that he initially feared Endres was going to rear-end him at high speed, before he 'jerked' to the side and mounted the curb.
'If he's telling you he veered off the roadway, then he's lying to you,' the witness said, per WMTV15. 'I saw that vehicle jerk.'
According to the criminal complaint, Endres remained at the scene after hitting the family, and told officers he was 'having a bad day' and had 'no comment' on the crash.
He later claimed that he lost control of his vehicle going at 25 mph as he was driving to the gas station, with witnesses countering that he was going at over 40mph.
Hansen was raced to hospital where she died hours later from her injuries, and her son required emergency surgery as he suffered injuries across his body and a concussion.
Hansen's husband sustained cuts to his leg, and the family's black pit bull also died at the scene.
Endres was pictured badly bruised and wearing a neck brace in his mugshot after the crash.
But he was conscious and there is no suggestion that the injuries he suffered were what ended up killing him.
Had he not died, he would have been due back in court on May 14 for a preliminary hearing and faced life in prison if convicted.
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