CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (Court TV) — A former paramedic standing trial for allegedly killing his wife and father-in-law claims that one of the victims was actually the killer.
Matthew Konen appears in court on Sept. 23, 2026. (Court TV)
Matthew Konen, 36, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Rachel Konen, 30, and her father, David Rodgers.
On Jan. 20, 2021, police responded to a 911 call at the Konens’ home and found Rachel Konen shot once in the back, lying in a hallway. District Attorney General Robert Nash told jurors in his opening statement on Wednesday that Rodgers was in the home’s dining room, on his back, “with his legs folded under him,” with severe facial injuries that included a skull fracture. “Mr. Konen, the only adult, the only person who witnessed any of it, gives a statement to the police that Rachel Konen’s father shot his daughter in the back,” he said.
Nash said that the defendant admitted beating Rodgers, but said he did so after watching Rodgers shoot Rachel Konen. Matthew Konen told the police that he tackled his father-in-law, emptied the gun’s magazine and cleared the weapon before using it to beat Rodgers’ face and head. Nash told the jury that the defendant could be heard continuing to attack his father-in-law while on the phone with 911.
But Nash said the more likely scenario was that Matthew Konen shot his wife and attacked his father-in-law because he was upset about his financial future.
In 2020, Matthew Konen had started an affair with a co-worker, whom he later married after his wife’s death. After telling his wife about the affair, he and Rachel Konen eventually decided to divorce. Under the terms of the divorce, scheduled to be finalized in February 2021, Matthew Konen would have given nearly half his monthly income to his ex-wife in child support and alimony for the next 17 years.
Matthew Konen’s attorney, Kyle Mothershead, conceded his client’s affair. “He knew it was wrong, but it happened. They were falling in love,” he said. While prosecutors portrayed a tense relationship between Rachel and Matthew Konen, Mothershead said things were working out fine for the pair, who were happily navigating a new normal with their four children, ages 7, 5, 2 and 1.
Mothershead said Rodgers was the issue — not either of the Konens. “He loved to tell people about his feelings. He did have a history of depression. He had been suicidal. His own father had dementia. People described him as an odd man.” In the days and weeks before the incident, Mothershead said that Rodgers began searching for unusual things on the internet, including “How much does it cost to transport a dead body?” “How to deal with sexual sins?” and “How do you get free from divine oppression of your mind?”
The night before Rachel Konen was killed, Mothershead said, Rodgers was up all night. He used his phone to FaceTime unknown numbers and search his daughter’s and ex-wife’s names on social media. The next day, Rodgers showed up at the Konen home unannounced. “When Mr. Konen got home, Rodgers became withdrawn,” Mothershead said. “He barely said a word.”
Mothershead described what happened next for the jury:
It happened suddenly. It came out of nowhere. Mr. Konen did not see Rodgers pointing the gun. He wasn’t really paying attention when it happened. All of the lights were on, but he saw the muzzle flash. He saw Rachel fall and he saw Rodgers then turned the gun toward Konen. At that point, Rodgers pulled the trigger. The gun clicked, but it didn’t work. Konen did what he had to. He charged Rodgers and tackled him to the ground. They wrestled on the floor. Rodgers kept trying to pull the trigger, and he re-racked it. … Konen punched Rodgers over and over and got the gun away from him. He ejected the magazine, he ejected the chamber round, and he hit Rodgers with that gun.
Mothershead said that while Matthew Konen called 911, he went to check on Rachel Konen before returning to the dining room to check on Rodgers. When he walked into the dining room, the defendant said, he saw Rodgers “sitting back up in the dining room, next to the table. Konen made a split-second decision. He determined Rodgers was still a threat,” Mothershead said. “There was nothing predictable about this situation. Konen needed to act. So he kicked Rodgers with his foot. He kicked him again and again until he stayed down.”
Police found gunshot residue on Matthew Konen’s hands and in his ears and nose. No gunshot residue was found on Rodgers’ hands, but Mothershead told the jury that was likely because a chemical in blood masks gunshot residue, and Rodgers’ hands were covered in blood.
If he’s convicted, Matthew Konen faces a maximum possible sentence of life with the possibility of parole.
