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August 2011
Whatever happened...
Yanktonions were recently reminiscing
about their childhood experiences in
Yankton on a Facebook page, when
somebody asked whatever happened to
Tammy.
I was surprised by the lack of
information out there.
Some people thought there never was a
trial. Several people commented on some
sort of cover-up, some heard Tammy died
from an overdose or from car-surfing or
from a fall from a roof.
Tammy died nearly 19 years ago and still
much disinformation persists.
In short...
We know Tammy didn't die from an
overdose, the autopsy and toxicology
report said so -- her neck was broken and
she had defense wounds on her body.
We can also rule out car-surfing because
none of her wounds were consistent
with a fall from a moving vehicle or a fall
from rooftop, this according to the
medical examiner who testified at Eric
Stukel's trial.
More rumors here...
The medical examiner ruled Tammy's
death as a homicide, plain and simple.
The Pathologists call it murder.
This made banner headlines when
Tammy died, as well as when Eric Stukel
was tried for her murder.
Yet, for some this isn't easy to accept.
And I do have my pet theory on why...
Nobody wants to believe that bad things
can happen in their little home town...
A murderer running loose?
That would be too terrible to fathom.
In fact, some people have used those very
words to tell me that I must be wrong.
If we can pin the blame on the victim
somehow -- "I heard she was doing this... I
heard she was doing that..." -- then we
can rest a bit easier, believing our corner
of the world is safe and sound...
Maybe, I'm a bit cynical.
But how does a person weed out facts
from all the false information.
I always consider the source of the
evidence.
I always tell people don't just believe me.
I'm a secondary source, meaning I have
gathered the evidence I present here and
that I presented in the book from court
and police records and newspaper
accounts.
I cite many of these sources on this
Un-Blog the best I can, but most of the
primary sources of information are still
out there for those wanting independent
confirmation of the facts.
It takes a bit of digging...
The trial happened just before
newspapers started archiving stories
online, but brick-and-mortar libraries
still contain those records.
Getting independent confirmation of the
fact is always the best way to go.
In fact, I never wrote The Homecoming
with the intent of it being a pure
repository of facts.
I meant it to be a work that would bring
an emotive truth to a case long gone cold,
an attempt to get people to reexamine
this story sympathetically, from the
perspective of somebody who truly loved
Tammy.
I am happy that Tammy hasn't been
forgotten, that people are still asking
questions.
I do have a "contact us" link on this
website for anybody who has any
lingering questions.
I do try to respond within 48 hours.
If you don't want to leave an email
address, that's fine too.
I often respond here to questions.
Thanks for reading and many, many
thanks to those of you who are helping
to keep Tammy's memory alive...
Marc Merrill
Whatever happened...
Yanktonions were recently reminiscing
about their childhood experiences in
Yankton on a Facebook page, when
somebody asked whatever happened to
Tammy.
I was surprised by the lack of
information out there.
Some people thought there never was a
trial. Several people commented on some
sort of cover-up, some heard Tammy died
from an overdose or from car-surfing or
from a fall from a roof.
Tammy died nearly 19 years ago and still
much disinformation persists.
In short...
We know Tammy didn't die from an
overdose, the autopsy and toxicology
report said so -- her neck was broken and
she had defense wounds on her body.
We can also rule out car-surfing because
none of her wounds were consistent
with a fall from a moving vehicle or a fall
from rooftop, this according to the
medical examiner who testified at Eric
Stukel's trial.
More rumors here...
The medical examiner ruled Tammy's
death as a homicide, plain and simple.
The Pathologists call it murder.
This made banner headlines when
Tammy died, as well as when Eric Stukel
was tried for her murder.
Yet, for some this isn't easy to accept.
And I do have my pet theory on why...
Nobody wants to believe that bad things
can happen in their little home town...
A murderer running loose?
That would be too terrible to fathom.
In fact, some people have used those very
words to tell me that I must be wrong.
If we can pin the blame on the victim
somehow -- "I heard she was doing this... I
heard she was doing that..." -- then we
can rest a bit easier, believing our corner
of the world is safe and sound...
Maybe, I'm a bit cynical.
But how does a person weed out facts
from all the false information.
I always consider the source of the
evidence.
I always tell people don't just believe me.
I'm a secondary source, meaning I have
gathered the evidence I present here and
that I presented in the book from court
and police records and newspaper
accounts.
I cite many of these sources on this
Un-Blog the best I can, but most of the
primary sources of information are still
out there for those wanting independent
confirmation of the facts.
It takes a bit of digging...
The trial happened just before
newspapers started archiving stories
online, but brick-and-mortar libraries
still contain those records.
Getting independent confirmation of the
fact is always the best way to go.
In fact, I never wrote The Homecoming
with the intent of it being a pure
repository of facts.
I meant it to be a work that would bring
an emotive truth to a case long gone cold,
an attempt to get people to reexamine
this story sympathetically, from the
perspective of somebody who truly loved
Tammy.
I am happy that Tammy hasn't been
forgotten, that people are still asking
questions.
I do have a "contact us" link on this
website for anybody who has any
lingering questions.
I do try to respond within 48 hours.
If you don't want to leave an email
address, that's fine too.
I often respond here to questions.
Thanks for reading and many, many
thanks to those of you who are helping
to keep Tammy's memory alive...
Marc Merrill
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