Delano Herald Journal

Serving the communities of Delano, Loretto, Montrose, MN, and the surrounding area

Reopened 1979 death investigation continues aggressively



Interviews and inspections of a 24-year-old Montrose area
crime scene continue in the ongoing investigation into the death of Jeffrey
Hammill.

“This is an ongoing, intense criminal investigation,”
said Lieutenant Stewart Wirth of the Wright County Sheriff’s Department
Wednesday. “There are members of the BCA (Bureau of Criminal Apprehension)
and Wright County investigators in the field as we speak.”

Hammill, a mechanic, was 21 at the time of his death. He
had gone back and forth between living at a residence in Buffalo, and a
friend’s house in Rockford, said Wright County Chief Deputy Don Lindell.

Hammill’s body was found alongside the roadway of Wright
County Road 12, about two miles north of Montrose at 4:02 a.m. Saturday,
Aug. 11, 1979, according to the Wright County Sheriff’s Department.

His body was found face up in a pool of blood, and he had
suffered a blunt force wound to his head.

Earlier that evening, Hammill was seen at the Country West
Bar in Rockford (now Billy Bob’s on Hwy. 55). It is believed that while
he was walking home to Buffalo after the bar closed, Hammill was picked
up and taken to a gathering in Montrose.

Witnesses indicated that he had left the gathering around
2 a.m. Two hours later, a passing motorist called in a report, and deputies
found Hammill’s body.

An article that appeared in the Aug. 16, 1979, Buffalo
newspaper stated that it was ruled an apparent hit-and-run death, and was
being investigated by the sheriff’s department.

Hammill’s services took place Aug. 14 at the Peterson
Chapel in Buffalo, with interment at the Wadena Cemetery.

Investigators with the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension
Cold Case Unit in partnership with Spotlight On Crime is offering a reward
of up to $50,000 is being offered for information that could help close
the case.

Interest arose in the case again after a citizen contacted
the sheriff’s office, Wirth said.

Posters have been hung in surrounding communities looking
for people who may have some information.

Spotlight on Crime is a fund that provides cash rewards
for information that helps solve violent crimes, and is sponsoring the reward.
It is a partnership between Minnesota businesses and public safety officials.

Detectives investigating this case believe there are witnesses
still in the area and that physical evidence may still exist that could
prove critical to the case.

Anyone with information should contact Wirth at the Wright
County Sheriff’s Office at (763) 682-1162 or the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal
Apprehension, Cold Case Unit at (651) 642-0610.

There are a group of people who investigators still are
hoping to interview, Wirth said.

“In 1979, forensic sciences were not what they are
today. We are doing interviews and developing new information at this time,”
he said. “We’ll go as long as we need to uncover the truth.”

A cold case solved

An unrelated cold case was brought to justice recently.

The Huling family, a mother and three children, was murdered
in their home just outside of Wright County in Stearns County, also in 1979.

The case aired on A&E this past January, Lindell said.
At the time of the deaths, Sheriff Gary Miller was a patrolman, and was
called to a harassment complaint at the Clearwater Truck Plaza, now Nelson
Brothers.

The man, Joe Ture, was arrested and jailed because the
car he was using proved to be stolen.

Police later found a pipe in the vehicle, which proved
to be one of Ture’s murder weapons. He also killed a waitress near the Afton
area before making his way to Wright County.

Wright County investigators kept that pipe in evidence,
and Ture was eventually convicted of the deaths.

Ture is currently at Stillwater Prison serving a life sentence.

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