A Minnesota man has been charged with murder in the death of a former girlfriend with whom he had a child custody dispute.
A criminal complaint says that 36-year-old Melissa Hunt, a mother of two daughters, pulled into a driveway in Kellog with injuries to her face, including missing teeth, the Minnesota Star Tribune reported. Wabasha County deputies reponded, and she told them that Craig Hameister, 44, assaulted her with a stick at a nearby boat launch.
Emergency responders took her to a hospital, where she died a few hours later.
Police launched a search for Hameister. They found no evidence of a crime at the boat launch, other than an unspent 9mm round, likely because of heavy rain, but they found his truck outside Chatfield, including a live 9mm round on the floor board.
A witness told police that Hameister had arrived earlier and appeared “very frantic.” He told the residents “something bad happened” before leaving the truck behind and heading off on a motorcycle, according to KSTP.
Police later found Hameister at a trailer park in Olmsted County, where he climbed a tree to escape police and engaged in an hours-long standoff from the tree before he was taken into custody.
Investigators found a 9mm handgun at the base of the tree.
Hunt’s autopsy later revealed that the significant injuries to Hunt’s face had gunshot residue embedded in it, the Star Tribune said.
According to court records, Hameister was ordered to pay Hunt $645 per month in child support and nearly $3,000 in past due child support.
Hameister has been charged with two counts of second degree murder and one count of manslaughter. He’s being held on a $2 million bond, Law&Crime reported.
