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Chapter 1: What happened on New Year's Eve in Benton Harbor?
On a quiet Saturday morning, five women walked into a Lane Bryant store and never came home. The man responsible for their deaths was heard and even described by the lone survivor. But despite nearly being caught, he vanished into thin air. In the years since, new technology, new investigators, and new questions have changed what's possible. But the families are still waiting for answers.
The evidence is still there. And this case isn't cold. It's unfinished. Listen to CounterClock Season 8 wherever you get your podcasts.
We got something else now? Yeah, a shooting guy on the ground. I saw Sergeant Tyrone Hassel laying on the ground next to his pickup truck with a large amount of blood, with his wife had grasped onto him, hysterical. Hey, hey, hey, back up! Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
Breaking right now, a US military member home for the holidays has been found dead.
Chapter 2: Who was Sergeant Tyrone Hassel and what do we know about him?
He leaves the door, comes down the steps, and boom, he's shot right here.
I can see his eyes.
You knew he was gone?
Yeah. Why is this happening to us?
This was not a drive-by. This was up close and personal. If it's up close and personal like that, it usually means that the problem is up close and personal. We obviously are struggling with some leads right now. We don't have a whole lot going on, so we're trying to piece it together. What in the world had just happened? No one would believe the answer when they finally got it.
911, what's the address of the emergency?
9-1-1. I need help.
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Chapter 3: What were the initial reactions to the shooting incident?
I need help. My husband. Hello? Hello? Yes. I need help. I need help. My husband was shot. I need help.
So a 9-1-1 call came in just around 11 o'clock on New Year's Eve of 2018, and Kamiya Hassel is the one that called the 9-1-1. She is the wife of Sergeant Hassel. Okay, and tell me exactly what happened.
My husband bought us some food, and he left out, and me and my son were eating, and I just heard gunshots. And I put myself in the room, and I came outside, and my husband was on the ground.
Tyrone Hassel III. He was a sergeant in the Army. He was back on block leave from Fort Stewart in Georgia, visiting his family with his wife and his kid for the Christmas leave.
I was proud. He went through the rankings pretty fast. He made sergeant pretty quick, and a lot of people said it was kind of hard to do. The Army is also where Sergeant Hassell found love. His wife, Kamaya, a fellow soldier. Together, they have a baby boy. All three of them are here in Benton Harbor, Michigan, celebrating the new year. My name is Sergeant Mike Lanier, St.
Joe Township Police Department. December 31st, 2018, I was actually on my normal patrol duties that night. I heard dispatch of a subject had been shot. I actually broke off my traffic stop immediately and proceeded to the address on Colfax. Your husband is outside.
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Chapter 4: How did the investigation into Tyrone's murder unfold?
Okay, stay on the line with me. Ma'am, take a deep breath. How many shots did you hear, ma'am? Ma'am? Multiple officers have already been dispatched to the scene, including Officer Jeremy Peppers. My partner informed us that we had an emergency call for a shooting that had just happened. We got something else now? Yeah, a shooting guy on the ground. Are you kidding me?
Did you see anybody around? Ma'am? Okay. You didn't see anyone? Okay. Ma'am? Hello?
Ma'am, take a deep breath with me, okay? When I arrived on scene, I arrived with numerous other officers and also an ambulance was backing into the driveway. I saw the subject, who was later identified as Sergeant Tyrone Hassell, laying on the ground next to his pickup truck with a large amount of blood, with his wife had grasped onto him, hysterical.
I know. Let me have it. Let me get in there, ma'am, OK? Let us get in there, hon, OK? OK. We obtained hours and hours of police body camera footage. And every officer on the scene that night had their cameras rolling. And you can see it all unfolding in real time. It was absolute chaos at first.
It is chaotic, but we have to control that chaos. Get these people back.
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Chapter 5: What role did Kamaya Hassel play in the events leading to the murder?
Come on.
Next thing you hear is that something's gone wrong. Yeah, my phone rang. And it was Kamiya. And I couldn't really understand what she was saying. She's like, could you come home? Come home. And I'm like, calm down. I can't hear you. What are you saying? And she was like, Ty got shot. Where did he get shot at? Who is it? Do you know who he is? It's my son. It's Tyrone Hassel III.
We were lifting the gurney onto the back of the ambulance. And as I stepped back, she's kind of going past me and trying to climb into the ambulance.
Hey, hey, hey, back up. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
Because of that, I just focused on her and kind of pulled her away from that situation. I think I ended up kind of in the front yard. Ma'am, you got to come out here with us, OK? Kind of just standing there talking with her. And at that point, I was starting to investigate. We got to figure out what happened. But you're going to be in the way in there, OK?
I was trying to calm her down at the same time as I was getting information on what happened. All right. She didn't have a whole lot.
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Chapter 6: What evidence linked Jeremy Cuellar to the crime?
She knew that he'd been at a party with some family and that he was bringing her some food because she had stayed home with their son at Tyrone Senior's house there. She was definitely visibly upset for me to try to calm her down and get a good statement from her on what she knew. The food was outside? Like he stepped outside to get the food?
No, the food was in the house. He was leaving.
Where were you at when this happened? In the living room with my son. We got to collect some evidence if I know what the hell's going on here, okay? My grandson is probably in there by himself. Okay, I'll go take care of that for you if he is. He's one. Okay, we'll get you in there, okay? Okay. Standing near the doorway as the drama unfolds is the couple's infant son.
Let's go clear this house real quick. There might be a baby in there. There's shell casings, guys. Just be careful. I don't know how much he watched, but during the chaos of taking care of Sergeant Hassel and all the cops, Yeah, he was watching it. And when you have to go take him out of there, it was difficult. Okay, buddy. Okay, come here, buddy. I won't hurt you, okay?
I'll probably never forget that. And he was probably a year and a half old at the time. You know, a total innocent person there. And you have to go and get him out, but you also have to kick into dad mode. So he is comfortable enough to come to me so I can pick him up, take him out to his grandpa.
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Chapter 7: What was the outcome of the trial for Kamaya and Jeremy?
Come on. I got you, bud. Come on. OK.
Attaboy.
I think about that a lot. I think about the little guy, Tyrone Hassel IV. Do you want so you can sit in my car with him or whatever? Yeah, that was probably one of the most difficult parts of working that scene. The sergeant has a faint pulse as the ambulance heads to the hospital. Unbelievably, it's the same hospital where Ashanti Hassel, Tyrone's stepmom, is working the late shift.
They came through the back doors of the emergency room and I seen one of our paramedics actually on top of him doing compressions and they were coming toward me and I could see his face and how he was turned to the side and I could see his eyes.
You knew he was gone?
Yeah, I knew because
I see it too much not to know.
Dr. Hammer walked out, and he just stood there for a second. And the only thing that I heard him say was that we actually worked on him longer than we usually do, dear. And he was like, I'm sorry.
And for a second, The only thing that I could, you know, think was like, you don't know, why is this happening to us?
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Chapter 8: How is the Hassel family coping after the tragedy?
With three decades of experience under his belt, Sergeant Lanier senses that the answers to those questions will not come easily.
This could be a tough one to solve. Yeah, it's going to be real tough. What are you doing right now? Are you going to go to the hospital? Yeah. OK.
You need a ride, Tyrone? Nah, I can make it. I'm heading that way. Rick Biggert, retired Detective Lieutenant out of Berrien County Sheriff's Department. When you have a shooting incident, usually there is a lot of people that show up at the hospital. You want to get there as soon as you can to get some witnesses, family members, just to get initial statements. It was bad.
Like, the news spread it fast. Everybody was crying and screaming and falling everywhere. Kamiya Hassel was obviously there when I got there. So she was helpful. She answered the questions. She advised she was at home. They advised that they were both on leave from the US military, staying at the Hassel house for Christmas vacation. That evening on New Year's Eve, family members went to a party.
She was left home alone with her infant child. She advised just before 11 o'clock. Tyrone came home, brought her some food, stayed for a brief minute. Tyrone was leaving, going to his vehicle, walking out the door. And she heard several gunshots at that point, which time she walked outside and found
tyrone wayne next to his vehicle breaking right now a u.s military member home for the holidays has been found dead after being shot multiple times police say that this happened at the home behind me on colfax the hassell family home sits on a busy avenue in benton harbor which at the time had the highest violent crime rate in michigan
But a heartbroken dad wants everyone to know that Sergeant Hassell was much more than a statistic. Why is it important to you to talk about it? What do you want people to know about this story? Well, I feel like I owe it to my son. He made me a proud father. He just did everything that he needed to do. And it was so successful, I feel like I want everybody to know about him. So I won't ever stop.
talking about. And it's tough being good in these communities sometimes. Yeah, when you come from where we come from, you just don't have a child that succeeds to that level. It's exceptional. Definitely. From the classroom to the locker room at Benton Harbor High School, the story is much the same.
I think that as a freshman, Tyrone knew the direction that he wanted to go. It's a rigorous course, courses, to be an honors. And I think that he mapped himself out to be an honors student.
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