Very interesting. If Vang used the same gun both times, ballistics tests will catch him out on this other shooting.
Authorities looking at possible Vang connection to 2001 hunter slaying, detective says
Associated Press
November 24, 2004
MILWAUKEE -- Authorities are looking into whether the man suspected of killing six deer hunters in northern Wisconsin this week was involved in the unsolved slaying of another deer hunter three years ago, a detective told a newspaper.
``I can tell you we have been in contact with authorities from Sawyer County to address that,'' Clark County Sheriff's Department Detective Kerry Kirn told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Tuesday.
Jim Southworth was shot to death Nov. 23, 2001, as he hunted on family land 10 miles east of Neillsville and Kirn said he had exchanged frequent calls this week with investigators in Sawyer County, where the six hunters were killed and two others wounded Sunday.
But ``it is premature to speculate if there is a connection'' between the two incidents, Kirn said.
Lauren HesebeckRenee JonesStar Tribune SouthKirn did not immediately return a call left early today by The Associated Press. Calls to the Sawyer County Sheriff's Department on the matter were referred to state Justice Department spokesman Brian Rieselman, who was not immediately available at his office early today.
Southworth was shot twice in the back, an autopsy found. Court record say several of those killed Sunday where shot in the back.
Ballistics should be able to distinguish between Vang's rifle and any others that may have been involved. Note that the story you reference indicates he may have worked with companions in 2001.