The 9-year-old son of two Kentucky Pawnbrokers helped police find the man who murdered his parents. Michael and Angela “Angie” Hockensmith, were the co-owners of the ABC Gold, Games & More pawn shop in Kentucky. They homeschooled their son, Andrew, and cared for their infant daughter Naomi from their store. Andrew Hockensmith told reporters “The pawn shop, that was basically my home… it was basically a playground.”
Michael met his wife at church and worked as a pastor and partner in the pawnbroker business. His mother remembered that “When it came to him and church, him being a parent or anything he did, it was his whole heart or nothing.” However, a decade ago, things went horribly wrong for the family. As a regular customer talked to the owner, a bearded man entered the store and demanded everyone “get on the ground,” according to Andrew.
According to Andrew, the assailant shot Michael, Angie, and a customer. Andrew hid in a backroom with his sister. He called 9-1-1, and calmly told dispatchers They’re dead, on the ground, come here quickly because I’m afraid. Please hurry.” police quickly reacted to the scene. Andrew recalled, “They came very quickly, and I had walked to the door with the phone in hand and sister in the other, and walking by these dead bodies of people that I loved.”
According to detectives assigned to the case, Andrew gave “a good description of the bad guy.” He described how a heavyset dude” wearing sunglasses, a cap, and a fake beard killed his parents. Initially, police expected a robbery, but noted that nothing had been taken. Andrew’s grandmother, recalled “There is nothing worse than to lose a child. But, if it hadn’t been for Andrew and Naomi, I don’t think I would have survived it.”
Suspicion fell on Steve Divine who was a part owner in the business. He was supposed to meet the pair on the morning of the murder but canceled at the last minute. After a brief investigation, he was cleared of any involvement. After all of the main leads went cold, the case was solved by a Michigan pastor. He claimed that another man of God, based in a town nearby to the scene, made suspicious remarks about Michael and Angie Hockensmith.
According to the Rev. Kenneth Allen Keith “switched like a light switch,” angry because he’d been owed “a lot of money.” Keith was another pawn shop owner and also a pastor at a Somerset church. According to the police, “We found one of his sermons that he had on YouTube where he’s on the pulpit, and he’s got a rifle with a sling on, and he’s talking about his past, what he’s done. And the further we looked into Kenneth Allen, the more we’re like, ‘This is a good lead.’”
An investigation into Keith’s financial history revealed that Keith and ABC Gold, Games & More owner, Steve Divine, were previously in business together. The deal fell through and Keith owed Divine money. Divine sued the man as a result. The Hockensmiths were also involved: they left Keith’s business to form a partnership with Devine.
The police asked the Michigan-based pastor to record a conversation with Keith. On the recorded call, Keith referred to the Hockensmiths as “crooked people.” “They went into it with the whole point from day one to take over that business from me,” Keith said. “I don’t mean to speak ill, but facts is facts.” The suspect admitted to being in town at the time of the murders, however, he said he was at a pharmacy.
Police determined that while pharmacy security footage showed Keith inside at around 9:25 a.m., there was more than enough time for Keith to carry out the shootings. After a raid located the murder weapon. Keith was charged and convicted of the triple homicide. The pastor pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The daughter of the store customer who was killed said, “You’re going, ‘Wait a minute, that’s not a real pastor.’ To be able to commit murders on Friday and get up on the pulpit Sunday morning and preach, especially in front of two children.” Andrew Hockensmith said, I’m very thankful for what I have, and in a sense, it’s like I am living through my parents’ life, or kind of like a reimagined one. My parents will always live on within me.”