Jan 2 2021 rbbm.
Murder of Army vet at Iowa gas station one week before his wedding remains unsolved six decades later
''He was a charming, well-liked fellow. Handsome. Women swooned over him like he was Elvis Presley.
His name was Melvin James Gallagher, but everyone called him Jimmy.''
Melvin James "Jimmy" Gallagher
“Everyone just loved Jimmy,” his younger sister, Joann Heideman, told Dateline. “He was a good, sweet fella. Good looking. Like Elvis Presley. A real ladies man. And, well, he just had this way about him.”
''With his family growing, Jimmy submitted an application for employment with the Waterloo Police Department, and also applied for entry to a chiropractic school. For months, he worked the night shift at the Clark Super 100 Service Station in Waterloo.
But on January 3, 1959 - just a week before Jimmy’s wedding - the 22-year-old’s life was brutally cut short. He never got the chance to marry his fiancée. Or meet his unborn children.
It was bitterly cold and snowy that morning in Waterloo, as Jimmy finished up his night shift at the station. Investigators believe it was around 5:15 a.m. when he was killed by a shotgun blast to the head, Waterloo Police Sergeant Michael L. Rasmussen told Dateline.
Sergeant Rasmussen added that $179 was taken from the station and, although there are still many theories about what happened that night, money could be a motive. Another theory is that Jimmy knew his killer because he was allegedly found with his left hand in his pocket.''
''According to The Waterloo Courier article published in 1960, Clark Company officials said their employees had been told never to resist hold-up attempts. When talking casually with customers or friends, Jimmy frequently stood with his left hand in his pocket, which led investigators to believe he had been talking with someone he knew.
Sergeant Rasmussen, who works with the department’s Investigations Division, told Dateline that while it’s possible Jimmy knew his killer because he was so well-known in town, he could not confirm that Jimmy’s hand was in his pocket or that it had anything to do with whether or not he knew his killer.''
''Michael said he hopes that with advancements in DNA technology, there might be a way to possibly exhume his father’s body and find out what happened.
Sergeant Rasmussen told Dateline that “it’s possible that new technology could aid in solving this murder. However in 1959, the focus for crime scene investigators wasn’t on preserving potential evidence involving DNA as that technology had not been developed.”
Murder of Army vet at Iowa gas station one week before his wedding remains unsolved six decades later
''He was a charming, well-liked fellow. Handsome. Women swooned over him like he was Elvis Presley.
His name was Melvin James Gallagher, but everyone called him Jimmy.''
Melvin James "Jimmy" Gallagher
“Everyone just loved Jimmy,” his younger sister, Joann Heideman, told Dateline. “He was a good, sweet fella. Good looking. Like Elvis Presley. A real ladies man. And, well, he just had this way about him.”
''With his family growing, Jimmy submitted an application for employment with the Waterloo Police Department, and also applied for entry to a chiropractic school. For months, he worked the night shift at the Clark Super 100 Service Station in Waterloo.
But on January 3, 1959 - just a week before Jimmy’s wedding - the 22-year-old’s life was brutally cut short. He never got the chance to marry his fiancée. Or meet his unborn children.
It was bitterly cold and snowy that morning in Waterloo, as Jimmy finished up his night shift at the station. Investigators believe it was around 5:15 a.m. when he was killed by a shotgun blast to the head, Waterloo Police Sergeant Michael L. Rasmussen told Dateline.
Sergeant Rasmussen added that $179 was taken from the station and, although there are still many theories about what happened that night, money could be a motive. Another theory is that Jimmy knew his killer because he was allegedly found with his left hand in his pocket.''
''According to The Waterloo Courier article published in 1960, Clark Company officials said their employees had been told never to resist hold-up attempts. When talking casually with customers or friends, Jimmy frequently stood with his left hand in his pocket, which led investigators to believe he had been talking with someone he knew.
Sergeant Rasmussen, who works with the department’s Investigations Division, told Dateline that while it’s possible Jimmy knew his killer because he was so well-known in town, he could not confirm that Jimmy’s hand was in his pocket or that it had anything to do with whether or not he knew his killer.''
''Michael said he hopes that with advancements in DNA technology, there might be a way to possibly exhume his father’s body and find out what happened.
Sergeant Rasmussen told Dateline that “it’s possible that new technology could aid in solving this murder. However in 1959, the focus for crime scene investigators wasn’t on preserving potential evidence involving DNA as that technology had not been developed.”
