Sante and Kenneth Kimes: A Life of Crime

It's All Over

After Sante and Kenny disposed of Irene's body at a suburban New Jersey construction site, they returned to New York ready to carry out the rest of their plan. They weren't about to expose themselves until they thought the coast was clear. A few days prior to killing Irene Silverman, the pair had called an old buddy, Stan Patterson, who lived in a Las Vegas trailer park. Patterson had sold Sante and Kenny guns, did odd jobs for them, and was able to keep his mouth shut. Or so they thought.

"What's up, Sante?" Patterson asked when Sante called. She told him that he was needed to run a New York mansion for them that rented suites to the rich.

"Just for a few weeks, I promise," she said.

Wanted poster for Kimes mother and son

The phone call would prove to be the biggest mistake of her life. The FBI had found Patterson and talked to him about Sante. They wanted to question her about David Kazdin's murder, the stolen Lincoln, and a few other crimes. Lead us to her, they told Patterson, and we won't prosecute you for selling guns illegally.

So when Sante and Kenny met Patterson — who wore a bulletproof vest to the rendezvous at the New York Hilton — just after returning from disposing of Irene Silverman's body, federal agents surrounded them. It was all over. Kenny was so frightened that he wet his trousers. Sante was brazen to the end, using an alias, and loudly protesting her innocence.

Inside the stolen Lincoln was a treasure trove of incriminating evidence. Irene's passport and keys to the mansion were in the back seat as was a fully loaded Glock .9 mm pistol and a .22 Beretta. There were real estate transfer papers and a notebook that showed Sante practicing Irene Silverman's signature over and over again. There was an empty stun-gun box, blank social security cards, handcuffs, extra license plates, syringes, and walkie-talkies. The car's contents seemed to have been acquired from a supermarket for criminals.

Sante escorted by police