Posted on 11/24/2004 7:45:29 AM PST by whodeani
Homicide connection explored Sunday's shooting has similarities to a 2001 killing 80 miles away
By JOHN DIEDRICH jdiedrich@journalsentinel.com Posted: Nov. 23, 2004
Law enforcement agencies are investigating if the man suspected of killing six deer hunters and injuring two others was involved in the unsolved slaying of a deer hunter three years ago in a nearby Wisconsin county, a detective said Tuesday.
Clark County Sheriff's Department Detective Kerry Kirn said he has exchanged frequent calls with investigators in Sawyer County since Monday morning.
"I can tell you we have been in contact with authorities from Sawyer County to address that," Kirn said. "It is premature to speculate if there is a connection."
On Nov. 23, 2001, Jim Southworth was shot to death as he hunted on family land 10 miles east of Neillsville in one of the only other homicides ever to be linked to Wisconsin's deer hunting season.
Southworth was shot twice in the back and both bullets exited his chest, an autopsy found.
Witnesses reported a pickup truck with three men inside on a road near where Southworth's body was found, about 80 miles south of Sunday's shooting.
The three men were described as Asian from 5-foot-4-inches to 6-feet. They were driving a silver or gray Nissan or Chevrolet pickup truck, possibly a late 1980s model with a light-colored fiberglass topper.
Chai Soua Vang, 36, of St. Paul, Minn., who is suspected of shooting eight hunters Sunday, is 5-foot-4-inches, according to a court document. Vang has owned a 1987 Nissan pickup, according to an online search service. According to court records, Vang allegedly shot several of Sunday's victims in the back.
The Sawyer County rampage was allegedly sparked by a dispute over Vang using a deer stand on private property. One of the theories Clark County authorities have been pursuing is that Southworth was shot after confronting a trespasser.
Officials said that Vang was hunting with two other people on Sunday, before he became lost and wandered onto the private property. Police are looking for those other people.
Vang did have an out-of-state license to hunt in Wisconsin in 2001, said Mike Bartz, a Department of Natural Resources warden manager. He also had a license in 2000, 2002 and this year, he said.
Kirn called the three people being sought in Southworth's murder "persons of interest."
"To our knowledge, those are the only three people who we haven't identified who were in that area that day," Kirn said.
Kirn said he could not comment on whether Vang has been or will be questioned in the Southworth case. Investigators from the state Department of Justice are investigating both cases, he said.
"They need to do their investigation and when all facts come out, and they will relay that to me, and we'll make the comparison," Kirn said.
The Sawyer County Sheriff's Department, the first to respond to Sunday's shooting, referred questions to the Department of Justice. A spokesman there declined to comment on whether a connection was being investigated between the two cases.
Told of the two cases, a retired FBI agent said his experience tells him that they could very well be related.
"The odds of the two being unrelated are astronomical, I would say," said Bob Dwyer, who now works as a private investigator in Florida.
But an absence of physical evidence in the 2001 case could make it difficult to prove such a connection, Dwyer said. The best way to tie two crimes together is to match weapons or bullets, he said.
Kirn declined to comment on what kind of gun was used to kill Southworth or if they recovered bullets in the woods where he was shot. A warden said last year that investigators were looking for casings.
The hunting rifle Southworth was carrying - a Ruger model 77 bolt action .03-06-caliber - was missing.
http://www.jsonline.com/news/state/nov04/278124.asp
Right, the last hanging was in the mid 19th century, around the time Wisconsin became a state. It took place in Kenosha's Library Park and had such a festive atmosphere that further executions were banned, much to the disappointment of the public at large. The last man to be executed in Wisconsin had killed his wife by cutting off her head. The head was subsequently found in a rain barrel alongside his house, damnably careless I'd say.
Ah, for the good old days, when people like Vang were left on windswept crags to die.
Regards,
GtG
PS I'm older than I look.
Ok, you're on the list.
Twice?
Regards,
GtG
One of the '04 death's was a guy killed by his own gun, because he dropped it out of his stand.
In the good old days someone who killed five, would have five or more of his (clan) family executed to even the karmic score. It isn't fair that someone who kills five is the only one to die for the crime. But I would settle for that, loony lib (Farmer-Labor party) states like Wisconsin don't even have capital punishment
The only "twist" I want to hear about is the twisting of his neck in a noose...no excuse for permitting 10 years of appeals. Get 12 people together in a jury, 3 days trial, 10 min consideration. Death penalty. 1 month for appeal. Death.
He won't, no death penalty
Don't blame the farmers, everyone of them that I've met in the last sixty plus years has been rock solid conservative Republican. If you're looking for the "loony left" you'll find it largely in Milwaukee, Racine, Kenosha, & Dane counties (even there, just the urban areas) the exception to that being our Indian reservations are solidly "blue" counties. I suspect voter fraud in the Indian areas. Wisconsin is blue by about 12,000 votes out of 3,000,000 and again I suspect massive fraud which went w/o investigation in 2000 and again this year. The urban areas are the tail that wags the dog for an otherwise conservative state. Last year we had passed a CCW bill, the demo governor vetoed it and we came w/in one vote of overturning his veto. The deciding vote was cast by a democrap who changed his vote to "no" under party pressure. Sucks major big-time!!
Regards,
GtG
PS Our "karmic scores" get evened out by the general population in our prisons, even the scum have some standards. Not pretty but it works for me!
they are already more concerned about the backlash against Asians than the dead guys.
we are a very distorted wonderfully diversified nation.
...that asie this Hmuong smells like a socipath....can primitive peoples be that?
The Farmer-Labor Party was big in Wisconsin and Minnesota. This was the bedrock liberal party of those two states. It's influence resonates even now though neither of those two states will ever be as loony lib as a coastal state like California or Massachusetts. The only reason there are a lot of Hmong in those two states is that liberal churches sponsored them with the taxpayers eventually picking up the tab for their welfare, rent, food stamps, job training, education and other social programs. Yes, Hmong do work but there is inordinate exploitation of the social welfare state by these Asian hillbillies.
Anytime, cd. Can I help?
bump
Thanks!
Hey, did you notice this from an earlier thread? I think DNR needs to be checking their records!
===
Hunter Tells Police He Was Threatened
Posted by Explodo to conservativecorner
On News/Activism 11/24/2004 9:14:28 AM CST · 18 of 60
A little more Info from a friend that lives in that area...Actualy The friend has been hunting with this party before. It needs to be stated in the media that this same man had been asked to leave from this area two times before...Last year the incident was rather heated. The DNR had to come and remove the person from private property...
You know, I bet this guy did get called some names...Big frigging deal, that doesn't give him the liberty to kill...
Oops, forgot to post the URL (post #18). http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1287533/posts
Personally I think it is George Bush's fault, his PREEMPTIVE STRIKE policy is behind this shooting and Artest's reaction to a PLASTIC cup of beer dissing him.
< /sarcasm >
What makes you say that? If the perpetrator was Black, and could afford rich lawyers, perhaps.
Asians have nowhere near the political clout that Blacks and Hispanics do in the U.S.
The evidence is against this guy. Justice will be done. I fully expect him to be found guilty of the crimes. Nonetheless, he deserves a fair trial.
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