First posted August 21st, 2009
On September 17th, 1992, Tammy Haas went to a Yankton High School homecoming party on a Cedar County, Nebraska farm owned by the Stephenson family of Yankton, South Dakota, located eight miles southwest of Yankton, SD.1
In attendance with Tammy was Eric Stukel. They had ridden together in his silver 1988 Chevy Beretta.1
At this party, around 11:15 p.m., would be the last multiple, reliable witnesses would see Tammy alive. Less than a week later, Tammy’s half-naked body would be found in a Nebraska ravine, on a county road within one-and-a half miles of that same farm.2,3,4,6
Based on livor mortis evidence, the pooling of blood in the body after death, Tammy’s body had to have gotten to its final resting place in the ravine within a half an hour or so after her death.5,8,9
Several other pieces of forensic evidence (to be examined in the succeeding posts) would strongly indicate that Tammy didn’t die in that ravine but was transported from a nearby location.5,7
According to Eric Stukel’s statement to law enforcement (made on September 24, 1992) Tammy returned with him at 10:45 p.m. to his parents’ home in Yankton, eight miles away, and then between 12:30 and 1:00 a.m., Tammy walked off into the night from his parents’ house alone.9
Based upon the contents of Tammy’s stomach and the time of her last known meal, in all likelihood, the latest possible time Tammy could have been alive was 12:35 a.m.
According Dr. Thomas Bennet, who performed the second autopsy on Tammy, as quoted in the Yankton Press and Dakotan: “‘The stomach empties in one to two hours, and can take up to six hours on the outside. Only Quincy on TV can give a time of death. Stomach contents are a good tool. We don’t know when she ate spaghetti and sauce.’ At 6:35 p.m. Sept. 17, 1992, Haas reportedly left Pizza Hut in Yankton, after eating a spaghetti dinner.”8
Considering the proximity of the ravine to the Stephenson farmhouse (the ravine was the nearest wooded public location from the party location to the west) Eric Stukel’s story about taking Tammy back to Yankton some eight miles away seems dubious.
Again, according to Stukel, Tammy left his parents’ house in Yankton, South Dakota between 12:30 and 1:00 a.m. to walk off into the night.9
Tammy’s body, however, winds up in a ravine in Cedar County, Nebraska, a mile and a half away from the location of a homecoming party.
The stomach contents tell us it is unlikely Tammy was alive after 12:30 a.m. that night.8 Considering Tammy, in all probability, wasn’t alive after midnight, let alone 12:30 a.m., Eric Stukel’s story about her leaving his house between 12:30 and 1:00 a.m. appears to be false.
Tammy’s body was found discarded in a Nebraska ravine within close proximity to a party she attended.
Mr. Stukel claims to have returned to Yankton with her that night.
Mr. Stukel claims she left his house between 12:30 a.m. and 1:00 a.m.
PATHOLOGY SUGGESTS A TIME OF DEATH EARLIER THAN 12:35 A.M. THAT NIGHT.
Something does not add up.
Works Cited
1. Rothanzl, Lorna. “New Clues Revealed: Sufficient Evidence Binds Stukel Over To District Court.” Yankton Press and Dakotan. Oct. 31, 1995
2. Rothanzl, Lorna. “Friends Testify at Stukel Trial.” Yankton Press and Dakotan. Oct. 2, 1996
3. P&D Staff Reports. “Reports of Found Body Investigated.” Yankton Press and Dakotan. Sept. 23, 1992
4. Anderson, Dan. “Clues sought in Tammy Haas’ death.” Yankton Press and Dakotan. Sept. 24, 1992
5. O’Neill, Colleen. “Haas was in car trunk before ditch.” Yankton Press and Dakotan. Jan. 11, 1993
6. Rothanzl, Lorna. “Suspect Surrenders: Haas Disappearance Stunned Yankton.” Yankton Press and Dakotan. Sept. 16, 1995
7. Rothanzl, Lorna. “More Evidence Offered In Stukel Trial.” Yankton Press and Dakotan, Sept. 28, 1996
8. Rothanzl, Lorna. “Experts Testify in Stukel Trial.” Yankton Press and Dakotan, Oct. 1, 1996
9. “Rothanzl, Lorna. “Stukel Takes Stand: Prosecution Rests, Stukel Denies Knowledge Of Death.” Yankton Press and Dakotan, Oct. 3, 1996
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