GREENWOOD, S.C. (Court TV) — A South Carolina man was found guilty in the death of the man dating his soon-to-be-ex-wife.
William Ackerman sits in court Tuesday, Sept. 24. 2024. (Court TV)
William ‘Bud’ Ackerman Jr. was convicted of murdering Kenneth Davis McClendon, who died after he was hit by a car. Following the jury’s verdict, he was sentenced to 45 years in prison and given credit for the 543 days he’s been incarcerated since his arrest.
McClendon was found outside of his vehicle at an intersection in Greenwood at approximately 1:30 a.m. on May 7, 2023. According to testimony, McClendon had been involved in an altercation with Ackerman before he was struck by a vehicle.
Prosecutors said that approximately six months after Ackerman’s relationship with his wife fell apart, she began dating McClendon. Ackerman and his wife were four weeks from their divorce becoming final when McClendon was killed.
Over the course of their investigation, detectives said they determined that the crash was intentional and that Ackerman had used his 2019 Ford F-250 to hit the victim. Ackerman pleaded not guilty.
It was the second time Ackerman faced trial after his first ended with a mistrial in July. Ackerman’s attorney, who had described McClendon’s death as an accident, collapsed during opening statements, the Index-Journal reported at the time.
DAILY TRIAL HIGHLIGHTS
DAY 7 – 10/5/24
- A Greenwood County, South Carolina jury convicted William Gray “Bud” Ackerman Jr. of the murder of 46-year-old Kenneth Davis McClendon. The jury deliberated for 26 minutes, beginning their deliberations around 2:50 p.m. ET on Saturday. Ackerman Jr. was immediately remanded, handcuffed, shackled, and led out of the courtroom following the verdict.
- The sentencing phase began immediately after the verdict was read. Ackerman was sentenced to serve 45 years in a state penitentiary and given credit for 543 days, where he has been incarcerated at the Greenwood County Detention Center since his arrest.
- Judge Donald Hocker spoke to the gallery before sentencing. “Before I came out here. I prayed for you [Ackerman] and the families on both sides to find strength.” He emphasized the strongest piece of evidence was [the video] which shows that it was a “very egregious act that took place on May 7, 2023.”
- Greenwood County Sheriff Dennis Kelly tells Court TV that Ackerman Jr. has been housed in a single-occupant cell since his arrest. Now that he has been convicted, he will be moved to a general population block, awaiting his transfer to Kirkland Correctional Institution in Columbia, South Carolina, for pre-assessment.
- Members of the McClendon family spoke before sentencing:
- James McClendon, the father of the victim, told the court, “We want to tell the other family that we have both lost a great amount, and six children lost their daddy, and I am sorry for them as much as I was.”
- “I don’t hate ‘Bud’ Ackerman,” Carie McClendon, Davis McClendon’s mother said. “I thought for a while…it was a great chance it was an accident, a possibility anyway, but after the evidence that was presented….and after hearing ‘Bud’ testify and showed no remorse, I’m convinced the jury got it right,” Mrs. McClendon said.
- The court heard from Elizabeth Mitchell, the victim’s sister, “I can never fully explain to you the impact of the violent murder of my brother on me. I pray that the court gives us the justice that my brother’s beautiful life deserves.” Mitchell expressed her reaction to the RING doorbell video that captured video and audio of what happened in the morning hours of May 7, 2023, to hear “his cowardly yell explicit at my brother’s tattered dead body in some Napolean battle cry. It will live with me all of my days.”
- Davis McClendon’s older brother spoke before the court. James McClendon Jr. told the court, “Mr. Ackerman has never shown or expressed an ounce of remorse for his heinous acts. From the moment he left the mangled body of my brother, lying on the side of the road to die alone, to this day, we have never heard a simple sorry or seen sympathy in his eyes.”
- The court also heard from two of Davis McClendon’s children:
- Davis McClendon’s son, Frederick McClendon, gave a raw and passionate statement while addressing ‘Bud’ Ackerman Jr. and his parents, Dr. and Mrs. William ‘Gray’ Ackerman. “The people who I want to really feel my family hurt are incapable of feeling these emotions. For the past year, the Ackerman family has shown zero remorse, sympathy, or compassion towards this terrible tragedy. When you watch Mr. Ackerman up there on the stand, he has zero emotion, and as soon as we get to the place where he is finally, for the first time in his life, held accountable for his actions that his father has bailed him out of his entire life. This is when he starts to cry. Judge Hocker, this is when he starts to cry because of this spoiled individual. This spoiled individual has finally reaped the repercussions of what he has been his entire life. No amount of money, no amount of fancy Columbia lawyer with their empires of dirt that have…will ever be enough to break what is right or what is wrong. Mr. Ackerman nor his family….have any amount of empathy, any amount of remorse for what has happened….it’s time for this spoiled, evil individual and this spoiled, evil family in Greenwood to finally gain some repercussions for their actions,” Frederick McClendon said.
- Blair McClendon, a senior in high school, became overwhelmed with grief and was unable to finish her statement to the court. Her mother and Davis McClendon’s ex-wife, Kristen McClendon, finished reading her daughter’s statement to the court.
- “Bud” Ackerman Jr.’s father spoke on his son’s behalf before sentencing:
- Dr. William ‘Gray’ Ackerman offered no apology to the McClendon family but instead spoke about deer hunting trips and Meredith Haynie’s other alleged infidelity. In what seemed to be an unprepared and unplanned statement, Dr. Ackerman appeared to have taken offense with the state’s case that the murder of Davis McClendon was ‘intentional.’ He repeatedly told the court that his son was a hard worker and that everyone at the auto repair shop where he worked thought he was helpful and nice.
- WATCH: ‘We’ve Never Heard a Simple Sorry’: McClendon’s Family Addresses Court
DAY 6 – 10/4/24
- An auto forensic expert testified that Ackerman couldn’t avoid impact when striking McClendon with his truck
- William Gray “Bud” Ackerman Jr. testified in his one defense during his murder trial.
DAY 5 – 10/3/24
- Prosecutors rest their case-in-chief on Thursday.
- The defense called their first witness, an accident reconstructionist, who contradicted the findings of the state’s expert on how the collision occurred.
- David Torres, an accident reconstructionist, told jurors that the Ford F-250 swerved into and collided with the BMW and the victim simultaneously. The BMW was pushed back one to two feet after the collision, and the victim was 55 feet from the crash site.
- Kenneth “Davis” McClendon’s cause of death was ruled multiple blunt injuries as a result of a pedestrian-vehicular collision.
- Ackerman Jr’s motion for a directed verdict was denied.
DAY 4 – 10/2/24
- The trial of William Ackerman resumes after a delay due to weather conditions from Hurricane Helene.
- William “Bud” Ackerman Jr.’s Ford F250 struck Kenneth “Davis” McClendon and his BMW in a “side-swiped” collision on Avid Road near the intersection of Sawgrass Place. The pickup truck was traveling parallel to the BMW at the time of the crash.
- Corporal Christopher Brashear, an Accident Reconstructionist for the South Carolina High Patrol, told the jury that Ackerman’s 37-inch driver’s side front tire damaged the tire well of “Davis” McClendon’s BMW. Ackerman’s truck bumper caused a black scrape on the BMW’s front bumper.
- “Bud” Ackerman Jr. confronted one of his estranged wife’s friends at the Key West Bar earlier in the evening and asked, “Where your girl at?” Abigail Mohajer told the jury she attempted to change the conversation with Ackerman Jr. She then went to her car and called Meredith, telling her not to come to the bar.
- Kenneth “Davis” McClendon called “Bud” Ackerman Jr. three times before the incident.
DAY 3 – 9/26/24
- William “Bud” Ackerman’s ex-wife, Meredith Haynie, testifies in his murder case.
- WATCH: ‘He Has Been (Expletive) Meredith’: Texts Found on Defendant’s Phone
DAY 2 – 9/25/24
- The jury is shown evidence.
- Kenneth “Davis” McClendon’s blood was found on the exterior outside leg opening on William “Bud” Ackerman Jr.’s khaki shorts.
- A reddish-brown stain on the driver’s seat of Ackerman Jr.’s Ford F-250 pickup truck tested negative for blood.
- Jury shown photos from the aftermath of the crash site near the intersection of Avid Road and Sawgrass Place.
DAY 1 – 9/24/24
- The prosecution and defense delivered opening statements.
- Jurors watch home surveillance video capturing when “Bud” Ackerman’s truck crashes into “Davis” McClendon’s BMW.
- Megan McGovern described finding “Davis” McClendon’s body near his crashed vehicle.
- Law enforcement arrived to find “Davis” McClendon lying on his back with no shirt and only one shoe. McClendon was already deceased when the first responders arrived on the scene.
- Police located “Bud” Ackerman at his parent’s home, a half mile from the crash site.
- Ackerman Jr.’s Ford F-250 had a sizable dent in the hood, a circular smudge that appeared to be a palm print, and a scrape along the tire well.
