MADISON, Wis. — The Madison Police Department is investigating the death of a man inside the Dane County Jail. Law enforcement sources believe he is 49-year-old Jeffrey Endres of Cottage Grove.
Police found him unresponsive around 5:45am on May 6 in the male dormitory of the Dane County Jail, and despite life-saving measures, he died.
Endres was arrested on April 28 for allegedly purposely hitting a family out on a walk with their dog with his car near Landmark Drive and School Road just after 6:30pm. The mother, later identified as Dr. Kami Hansen, DC, and the family dog both died, and a child was injured. He was charged with four felonies, including 1st degree intentional homicide, attempted 1st degree intentional homicide, and mistreatment of animals causing death.
According to the criminal complaint, Endres was neighbors with the family he hit. The father stated that he could hear the vehicle “flooring in in their direction” and that he watched the vehicle “accelerate and drive over the curb directly at the family… [driving] straight into us”, then the car accelerated as it hit the curb “like he never hit the brakes”. The father estimated that the car was going at least 40mph and did not hear any tires squealing or horns honking before the crash.
The father then observed Endres “crawling out of the vehicle after the crash”, which had overturned, and that he had considered him ” a close friend of the family until recently… I’m confident he was intentionally trying to kill us or [child] at least”. He also recalled Endres having a “smug look on his face” after the crash.
The father goes on to say that the relationship between the families changed in March 2025 when there Endres’ child was the victim of a “sensitive crime” involving the child that was injured. Endres received police reports involving that incident just hours before the crash.
Endres told officers after the crash that he was “having a bad day” and that had “lost control of his vehicle while driving to the gas station” and that he had “had suicidal thoughts within the past month”.
He made his initial appearance in court on May 5, and signed over for cash bond that was set at $1 million dollars. He was due back in court for a preliminary hearing on May 14, but was found dead just hours later.
Madison Police confirm that an autopsy is scheduled for May 8.
