“The evil that watches” and where is he now?

You may remember the particularly grisly story of KitMartin; His horrific crimes were shown in the season 30 premiere Dateline NBC back in 2021. The two-hour special went into great detail about the murders committed by Martin and his shocking actions are still seared into the memories of those who watched the episode. But who exactly is Kit Martin and has he ever been imprisoned for his crimes?

Christian “Kit” Martin was an Army major with a 30-year military career. He married his wife Joan in 2004 and later became an airline pilot and, oh yeah, a mass murderer. Things were going pretty well for him until he found out that his wife was a bigamist, meaning she was still legally married from her previous marriage. This all led to a pretty bad split, with Joan accusing Kit of being abusive and controlling.

So what did he do?

Apparently the marriage came to a rather bitter end. While Joan was moving out, she enlisted the help of her neighbor Calvin. Kit suspected that the two were having an affair, although there was no evidence of this. There were arguments that only made the situation worse.

During their move, Joan and Calvin came across computer CDs that purportedly contained military intelligence. The couple took what they found to the police and suddenly Kit found himself facing a slew of charges. Calvin was supposed to testify against him in court, but before that day could come, Calvin, his wife Pamela, and another of Kit’s neighbors were found dead. The bodies had been burned, and Pamela and Edward Dansereau, the other neighbor, were found in a burned car.

Naturally, suspicion fell on Kit, who had a motive and an opportunity. However, there was simply no evidence and the trail was quickly covered. Until 2019, a bullet casing was found at the crime scene that could be linked to one of Kit’s weapons. The case was reopened and Martin was arrested in 2019.

What happened to Kit?

After his arrest in 2019, Kit Martin was brought to justice. His defense raised questions about the appropriate new evidence and suggested Kit’s ex-wife Joan was out to ruin him, despite not testifying against him in court. Ultimately, he was found guilty on all charges in June 2021 and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Kit began his sentence on September 2, 2021, three weeks before his Dateline episode aired. His lawyers stated their intention to appeal the decision, take it to the Kentucky Supreme Court and seek a new trial. He is currently residing at the Roederer Assessment and Classification Center, but there is no news on how his appointment is progressing.