Eleven years ago, on October 16, 2015, 53-year-old Greg Hawkins was shot and killed in the parking lot of the Mona Boat Ramp in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, after returning from a morning fishing trip with his adult daughter. The case has never been solved, and the Rutherford County Sheriff's Office says it is now applying modern forensic DNA technology in hopes of finally identifying his killer.
Hawkins, an engineer in the Tool and Dye department at a nearby Nissan plant and avid outdoorsman, was looking forward to his upcoming retirement, according to Wired2Fish. Investigators with the Rutherford County Sheriff's Office determined that Hawkins was shot around 11 a.m. as he walked into the boat ramp parking lot and apparently interrupted a suspect breaking into vehicles, as reported by WMOT. A responding deputy checked Hawkins's pulse and found him deceased.
The Rutherford County Sheriff's Office is working with state and federal law enforcement partners and using forensic technology in the case. STRmix, a probabilistic DNA-analysis software, is used by 100 U.S. forensic laboratories to interpret complex, low-level, or multi-person DNA samples that older manual testing methods often could not resolve, according to STRmix.
Investigators Still Want to Hear From a Man Seen on Foot
The sheriff's office is also renewing its appeal for witnesses who may have seen a white male walking along West Jefferson Pike, between Interstate 840 and Highway 231, on the morning of the murder. That man was reportedly wearing a neon green or neon yellow shirt. Anyone with information about him, or with any knowledge of the murder or the people involved, is asked to come forward.
The Mona Boat Ramp sits along West Jefferson Pike on the Stones River, a public access point used for boating and fishing, per the same WMOT account.
A $50,000 Reward and a String of Detectives
A $50,000 reward was offered for information leading to an arrest and conviction in Hawkins's murder. Part of that total traces back to a $10,000 state reward from then-Governor Bill Haslam, as noted by TN.gov. Tennessee Code § 40-8-101 sets a $50,000 maximum for state-appropriated rewards for Class A or B felonies and a $5,000 maximum for Class C, D, or E felonies, with increases allowed using the reward pool fund, according to Justia Law.
Over the case's eleven-year history, it has passed through multiple lead investigators, including former detectives Kyle Norrod and Steve Kohler, before Detective Jesse Gammel took it over, according to WGNS Radio. Gammel, now the lead detective, said the sheriff's office will continue pursuing justice for Hawkins. Anyone with information is asked to contact the sheriff's office.
The sheriff's office has renewed its appeal for tips. The family of Greg Hawkins has held recurring public appeals at the Mona Boat Ramp over the years, hoping someone who saw something on that October morning will finally come forward.
