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Left: Craig Hameister (Wabasha County Sheriff”s Office). Right: Melissa Hunt (GoFundMe).
A Minnesota man was charged with the murder of his girlfriend and is now in custody after police said he attempted to evade authorities by climbing up a tree.
The Wabasha County Sheriff’s Office stated in a Facebook post on June 19 that 44-year-old Craig Hameister was arrested in connection to the fatal shooting of 36-year-old Melissa Hunt. In a criminal complaint obtained by Law&Crime, police responded to a call from a homeowner in Kellogg, which is around 90 miles southeast of Minneapolis near the Wisconsin border, after Hunt drove into their driveway suffering from severe injuries to her face and jaw.
When police arrived at the scene, Hunt reportedly told them that Hameister had struck her with a stick at a boat launch nearby. She was able to describe his vehicle, a white pickup truck, and tell police where he lived. She was taken to a hospital where she succumbed to her injuries. When an autopsy was completed, the medical examiner stated that there was gunshot residue in the wounds to her face.
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According to the criminal complaint, investigators found an unspent round of ammunition at the boat launch.
As the investigation unfolded, authorities spotted Hameister’s vehicle at another residence in Chatfield, Minnesota, around 40 miles south of Kellogg. The door to the vehicle was open, and investigators observed a 9 mm round on the floor of the truck. Police spoke to the homeowners at the Chatfield residence, who confirmed that Hameister had been there and appeared “very frantic,” telling them that “something bad happened.” He reportedly told them that the “cops would be coming.”
The complaint states that another resident told police her 9 mm handgun was missing after Hameister left the home in a motorcycle.
The investigation was then joined by authorities from the Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office as the search for Hameister ramped up. The suspect was eventually found after fleeing into a wooded area and climbing up a tree.
According to the criminal complaint, Hameister reportedly engaged in an “hours-long standoff” with police while hiding in the tree. He was eventually taken into custody and brought back to the Wabasha County Jail.
A 9 mm handgun was found near the tree Hameister had been hiding in.
Hameister was charged with two counts of second-degree murder — one count with intent, one count without intent — and one count of manslaughter. He is being held on $2 million bond.
