Left: Craig Hameister (Wabasha County Sheriff”s Office). Right: Melissa Hunt (GoFundMe).
A man from Minnesota has been charged with the murder of his girlfriend and is now in custody. According to the police, he attempted to escape capture by climbing a tree.
In a Facebook update on June 19, the Wabasha County Sheriff’s Office announced the arrest of 44-year-old Craig Hameister for allegedly fatally shooting 36-year-old Melissa Hunt. The criminal complaint obtained by Law&Crime details that police responded to a call from a resident in Kellogg, which is about 90 miles southeast of Minneapolis near the Wisconsin border, after Hunt drove into the property’s driveway with critical injuries to her face and jaw.
Upon arrival, Hunt reportedly informed the officers that Hameister had hit her with a stick at a nearby boat launch. She described his vehicle, a white pickup truck, and provided his address. She was transported to a hospital but unfortunately passed away from her injuries. The medical examiner later confirmed the presence of gunshot residue on her facial wounds following an autopsy.
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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.
