Jim, Nedra Lemke murders focus of ‘In Pursuit with John Walsh’ this Wednesday

By Chris Spangler

A Town of Sumner double murder that took place in June of 2020 will be featured on national television this week.

The deaths of Jim and Nedra Lemke will be recalled during a 22-minute segment of “In Pursuit with John Walsh” on Wednesday, Oct. 6.

The program airs at 9 p.m. on the Investigation Discovery channel and will begin streaming on discovery+ the same day.

Viewers with information on the Lemke case — and in particular, the whereabouts of Nedra’s brother, Kevin Anderson, who has been charged in the homicides — will be asked to call or text 1-833-3-PURSUE (1-833-378-7783) or visit www.InPursuitTips.com. Tipsters may remain anonymous.

A camera crew from “Pursuit With John Walsh” was in Oconomowoc June 29-July 1 to interview the Lemkes’ daughter, Amanda Waterworth; her husband, Jacob Waterworth; Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office Det. Sgt. Chad Garcia, Det. Donald Petig, Det. Ryan McIntyre and the first deputy on the scene, who asked to remain anonymous; and Christine Spangler, former managing editor of the Daily Jefferson County Union who covered the murders for the paper.

The segment includes Nedra’s 911 call to the sheriff’s office dispatch reporting a possible break-in at her late father’s Town of Sumner farm; news coverage of the tragedy; and deputies’ actual bodycam, squad car and drone footage of the scene.

Producer Matt Flassig conducted the interviews in a Lake Drive Airbnb on the shores of Okauchee Lake. However, the program itself is narrated by Walsh.

John Walsh is known internationally as a criminal investigator, victims’ advocate and longtime host of “America’s Most Wanted,” the reality program that helped law enforcement officers capture more than 1,200 fugitives and bring home more than 50 missing children.

Walsh later was the host of “The Hunt with John Walsh,” which debuted on July 13, 2014, on CNN. That, in turn, was succeeded by “In Pursuit with John Walsh,” which premiered in January 2019 on Investigation Discovery. 

Walsh’s life turned toward fighting crime when, on July 27, 1981, his 6-year-old son, Adam, was abducted from a Hollywood, Fla., mall near the Walsh home. The boy’s remains were found two weeks later. 

Walsh and his wife, Revé, helped create the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in 1984 after President Ronald Reagan signed the Missing Children’s Assistance Act.

Meanwhile, Jim and Nedra Lemke, owners of J-N-L Wrought Iron and active members of Faith Community Church in Fort Atkinson, were fatally shot on June 16, 2020, at her late father’s County Highway A farm west of Fort Atkinson. Her brother, 

Kevin P. Anderson, has been charged in connection with their deaths.

Anderson, 61, of Perry Road, remains at large and a warrant has been issued for his arrest. He is described as a 6-foot-tall white male who weighs about 200 pounds and has blue eyes and balding brown hair. 

Authorities caution that anyone who sees him should not approach Anderson. Instead, they are asked to contact the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office immediately at (920) 674-7310.

The criminal complaint filed by Jefferson County District Attorney Monica Hall states that at approximately 5:48 p.m. on Tuesday, June 16, 2020, the sheriff’s office received a 911 call from Nedra Lemke, 57, reporting a potential break-in at N1941 County Highway A, just off of State Highway 106 in the Town of Sumner. 

She told the dispatcher that she and her husband, Jim, 59, had arrived at the property of her recently deceased father, Verdal Anderson, to mow the lawn, noticed that some windows on the home were broken and were concerned there might have been a break-in.

When a deputy arrived approximately 12 minutes later, he saw a woman with what appeared to be a gunshot wound lying on the ground next to the driver’s side of an SUV. According to the criminal complaint, he also saw an individual in the back-seat passenger’s side of the vehicle. He asked the man, who later was identified Nedra’s brother, Kirk Anderson, who is nonverbal due to mental and physical limitations, if he was OK, but received no response.

The complaint states that as the deputy was calling in to his department from the passenger side of his squad car, someone started to fire a gun in his direction from a second-story window of the house. Using his duty weapon, he returned four gunshots while retreating down the driveway and into a ditch across the road.

Altogether, it is believed 12 shots were fired.

A second deputy arrived at the scene approximately three minutes later and, six minutes after that, dark smoke and visible flames were coming from the house, the complaint states.

Using a drone to search the scene, deputies saw the body of a man, later identified as Jim Lemke, lying in front of the SUV. The SWAT team found him deceased.

According to the complaint, officers searched the property, and located a black Dodge Ram 1500 registered to Anderson’s wife, Lynn, in an outbuilding with the door closed.

The complaint states that when asked whether she was aware of any arguments or riffs between Kevin and Nedra, she said that Kevin was supposed to be the personal representative in his parents’ will. However, after his father died on June 5, Nedra informed Kevin that she was the personal representative.

That was confirmed by a copy of the will.

The complaint states: “When asked if that upset the defendant, his wife told (the special agent), ‘Well yeah. I don’t think he was really happy about that. He said, ‘why would Dad do that when he came out and asked me? And then if he changed it, why wouldn’t he tell me?’ That was his question to me.’”

Anderson’s son allegedly told special agents his father’s cellphone number, and a U.S. Cellular representative said the phone was “pinging” in the area of Perry and Oakland roads west of Fort Atkinson. Anderson’s home is on Perry Road.

Special agents interviewed Anderson’s sister (presumably Vione Lightfield), who said that Kevin “had always felt he was entitled to more of their parent’s inheritance.” The complaint also stated, “The defendant also has a violent temper.”

According to the complaint, Nedra’s cellphone was found near her at the scene.

“On June 16, 2020, at 9:33 a.m., a message was sent from her phone to three phone numbers, one contact being a phone number listed in the device as Kevin Anderson’s phone number,” the complaint stated. “The message read, ‘Hi everyone. Just wanted to put this out to see if anyone wants to take up the task of keeping the farm’s grass mowed this summer. — It is getting long —.’ At 12:41 p.m., an outgoing call to Kevin Anderson’s phone number was made lasting 46 seconds.”

On Anderson’s iPhone, call and text message logs reportedly showed that Nedra tried to contact him on June 16. His phone also received the text message sent about mowing the grass at their late father’s home.

The voicemail said, according to the complaint: “Hi Kevin, this is Nedra. Say, I have plans to get the mowing done at the farm and so I need access into the shed to get to the mower. If you could call me back and let me know. We’re planning on doing that tonight, so that would be really helpful. OK, I’ll talk to you later. Bye-bye.”

Special agents executed a search warrant at Anderson’s home, which is approximately six miles away from his late father’s farm, and found the will on the kitchen table.

The complaint states that special agents interviewed Lynn Anderson June 17: “She said she got the call that her in-laws’ home was burning after 7 p.m. She got in her car and drove there. The last time she spoke to her husband, the defendant, was on the evening of June 15, 2020, when they said goodnight. … She did not see the defendant in the morning of June 16, which was not unusual as he generally wakes up and goes to work early.”

The homicide charges against Kevin Anderson are Class A felonies, each carrying a sentence of life in prison, if convicted.

An additional attempted homicide charge is a Class B felony with a maximum sentence, if convicted, of 60 years in prison, while the arson is a Class C felony with a maximum sentence of $100,000 and 40 years in prison.

Anderson also is charged with possession of a firearm by a felon, which is a Class G felony with a maximum sentence of $25,000 and 10 years in prison.

According to Wisconsin Circuit Court Access records, Anderson was convicted in Jefferson County on Jan. 12, 1993, of three counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety.