Un-Blog Aug 25th, 2009

To review:

Tammy was last seen by reliable, multiple witnesses at about
11:15 p.m. on Sept. 17th 1992, at the Stephenson farm in
northwest Nebraska.

At about this time, Tammy was getting ready to go back to
Yankton with Eric Stukel, who claims he took her home.

Nearly a week later, her body would be found within a ravine
1 1/2 miles by road from this farmhouse.

Over the course of the evening of September 17th, about 80
people were in attendance at this party -- all potential
suspects, all subject to questioning by law enforcement.

Though Stukel claims he took Tammy back to Yankton with
him, which was eight miles away, and also claims he was with
her until as late as 12:30 to 1:00 a.m., forensic evidence
revealed that her time of death was no later than 12:35 a.m. --
and more likely much closer to 11:30 p.m. and midnight. If
Stukel claims he was the only one with Tammy at these times,
then he is the only person with opportunity to commit the
crime of her homicide.

Pathologist who studied the wounds on Tammy's body
determined that she didn't die accidentally, but was
deliberately killed at the hands of another.

Out of all the suspects who could have potentially killed
Tammy, only one would confess to this crime while Tammy
was still missing (courtroom testimony of this confession will
be revealed in later posts) and only one would fail a polygraph
administered by law enforcement (the results of which will
also be later revealed.)

With these facts in hand, law enforcement quickly impounded
Eric Stukel's automobile. There they found physical evidence
indicating that Tammy's body had been placed in Stukel's
trunk.

Here they found body fluids on the steering wheel, dashboard,
and front seat. Two sources of urine would also be found on
Tammy's body, one matching Eric Stukel's blood and secretor
type on the back of her underwear.

In the end, the physical evidence would indicate that Tammy
was assaulted and killed, that she was placed in Eric Stukel
trunk, that she was dragged and dumped into a ravine.

Oddly, a witness came forward with information that a friend
of his had urinated in Stukel's car on the night of Tammy's
murder. Stukel would be seen the next day cleaning out his
vehicle. All his doors would be open, including his trunk. *

Did this have anything to do with Tammy's death...or is this
all just mere coincidence?



AND TO THIS DAY, HIS STORY HAS NEVER CHANGED

According to Eric Stukel’s original version of events, Tammy
and he left the Stephenson party at around 10:45 p.m. to
return to his house. They had even stopped off at the Cork ‘N
Bottle in Yankton for a twelve pack of Miller Genuine Draft
and had made it back to his place by 11:00 p.m.

However, as aforementioned, several witnesses claim that
Stukel and Tammy were still at the Stephenson party at
11:15 p.m.

When Stukel was pressed on this discrepancy by law
enforcement, he changed his timeline, saying they must have
left later... at 11:15 p.m. according to his testimony on the
stand.

Mahoney claims, however, that Eric Stukel’s car was still at
the party when he and his buddies had left sometime after
11:30 p.m., which does seem to be validated by the physical
evidence and circumstance.

Mahoney also testified that he remembered seeing Stukel at the
vacuum station of the car wash the next afternoon.

He and his buddies even got a good laugh about all this. At that
point, they could only assume Stukel was just cleaning his car
seats of Horacek’s urine.

(None of them had any idea Tammy was missing.)

Again, Stukel also claims to have been at the car wash at that
time. Further, forensic analysis would reveal bodily fluids on
the seat and dashboard of Stukel’s car.

But whom do we believe: Mahoney, who told several people
about the urine story, before knowing anything about Tammy
going missing; or Stukel, who claims—to this day—that he
took Tammy home that night?

According to Stukel’s statement to law enforcement, after the
party, he and Tammy arrived home through a private entrance
he and his younger sister used. Once to his bedroom, Stukel
smoked some more pot, (he had already smoked pot at the
Stephenson farm) lit some candles, put on music, and he and
Tammy supposedly made love.

After this, Tammy got dressed to go back to her aunt’s house
sometime between 12:30 and 1:00 a.m.

In her first statement to the police, Eric’s younger sister
Sarah who was staying in the room next to his, did not recall
hearing any of this. We will turn to her series of conflicting
statements soon enough.

For now, we must examine the reasons for Stukel’s presence
at the car wash on September 18th, 1992, and the body fluids
investigators would later find on and in his vehicle.

Just after 11:30 p.m., Thursday, September 17th, 1992, Jamie
Horacek urinates through the opened passenger window of
Eric Stukel’s car. The car seats and dash get covered in urine.

A few minutes later Eric Stukel and Tammy Haas hop in Eric’s
car to leave the party and…

If Eric Stukel’s story about taking Tammy back to his place
were true, Tammy would have had to have gotten into a car
with its seats soaked in urine, ridden all the way back to
Yankton in that car, gotten to Eric’s house, been in the mood
to have sex, and then gotten dressed in those same urine-
soaked clothes (the same ones she was seen wearing at the
Stephenson party and the same ones hanging off her foot when
her body was found.)

Though urine was found on the back of Tammy's underwear
(almost like she sat in a car seat soaked in urine) and fluids
were found on Stukel's dashboard, steering wheel, and front
seats (almost like somebody might have urinated through
Stukel's window all over his upholstery) why did Stukel
never mention anything about urine in his car?

In fact, why, when confronted a year later by Det. Ron
Hilleges of the Nebraska Highway Patrol about the urine in
the car, did Eric Stukel deny ever cleaning his car on
homecoming day? (a direct contradiction to his testimony on
the stand in 1996 -- in other words, a lie!)

Why did he deny there was urine in his car? Why did he say his
car was locked at that party? Why would he feel the need to
protect that information? What was the big secret?

Ah, but how do we know any of these events really happened?
How do we know all these people aren’t just lying to implicate
Eric Stukel as Tammy’s killer?

Here is Stukel’s version of the events, as he testified in his
own defense in 1996, as quoted from the Yankton Press and
Dakotan:

On Thursday, he picked Haas up at 5:30 p.m. They had
dinner at Pizza Hut and went to his home to watch
television until the Yankton High School coronation began
at 7:30 p.m. Following coronation, the two went to a party
(near the airport north of Yankton) where they were told
of another party at Dan Stephenson’s farmhouse in rural
Cedar County, Nebraska.

They stayed at the party until approximately 11:15 p.m.,
Stukel testified.

Stukel said he and Haas were drinking and he smoked
marijuana with a friend. After leaving the party, they
returned to Stukel’s home, entered his room and Stukel “lit
candles and put the lights low like I usually did.

I put the music on and we talked and laughed for a while.
We made love for a while. I’m not sure how long we did.”
He said the evening was a repeat of Wednesday night.

Haas had told Stukel she had to be home by 1:00 a.m.
while staying at her aunt’s home. She had been living with
Vicki Larsen for about a week before Haas’ disappearance.
She got dressed and I offered her a ride, but she said, ‘No,
you have school and it’s such a nice night.’” Stukel said
Haas left his home to walk home. “That was the last time I
saw her,” he said. **

Eric Stukel’s sister would also claim to see Tammy that night,
supposedly backing up Eric’s story. This made her a key
witness for Stukel’s defense, again quoted from the Press and
Dakotan:

“Around 1:00 a.m. I went to the bathroom and was
startled,’ she said. ‘Tammy was coming out of the bathroom
wearing a black bathrobe. Eric’s black bathrobe. I said hello
and went to the bathroom.” Sarah told her sleeping
boyfriend she had been startled by Haas. “I went back to
my room and I heard somebody go up the steps and the
back door closed. No one came back down.” ***

In cross-examination, Prosecutor David Arterburn pointed
out some inconsistencies in Sarah Stukel’s story:

“When you were interviewed by law enforcement on Sept.
27th, 1992, a week after the events we have been talking
about, according to those reports, you never said you saw
Tammy in a robe,” Arterburn said. “Your testimony on Feb.
23, 1994 was the first time you mentioned a robe…a week
after this happened you said nothing about seeing Tammy
in the bathroom?” he asked with no reply. “In February
1994, you added the element of the black robe and now
you added the element of voices on the stairs,” Arterburn
said. “You seem to remember more about this the longer
you go.” **

I have to believe, not only based upon Sarah Stukel’s
questionable testimony, but also based upon an encounter I
had with Sarah Stukel several years ago, that her whole story
was a fabrication.

“I hope you don’t hate me because of my brother,” she shouted
to me over the noise of a News Years Party at Sha-Booms in
Yankton.

“What?” I shouted back.

“I said, ‘I hope you don’t hate me for what my brother did.’”
“Honey, I don’t even know who you are?”

“I’m Sarah -- Eric Stukel’s my brother.”

Needless to say, she left me quite stunned.


                    m.c. merrill

TOMORROW -- A MIRACULOUS APPEARANCE

* SOURCE: Rothanzl, Lorna. “Friends Testify at Stukel
Trial.” Yankton Press and Dakotan. Oct. 2nd, 1996.

** SOURCE: Rothanzl, Lorna. “Stukel Takes Stand.”
Yankton Press and Dakotan. Oct. 4th, 1996.

*** SOURCE: Rothanzl, Lorna. “Stukel’s Sister Back Up
Alibi at Trial.’ Yankton Press and Dakotan. Oct. 5th, 1996.