Dave Bakke: 90-year-old’s death a Springfield murder mystery
Harry Hatfield knew he was in distress. Though blood was streaming from his face from a severe beating, he was still able to drive. He pointed his van toward his home away from home, the place where he was sure he would get help — Star 66 restaurant at Sangamon Avenue and Interstate 55.
He would go there, sometimes six or seven times a day, sometimes at 2 or 3 a.m., just to have someone to talk with.
He was unnamed in this Police Beat item from Aug. 19: “Springfield police are investigating a Wednesday assault that seriously injured a 90-year-ancient man. The victim told officers he had been attacked outside the main gate at the Illinois State fair. … later the man told police he was not sure where he was beaten.”
He was attacked two days after his 90th birthday. on Oct. 4, Harry, whom everyone knew as “Fuzz,” died. it could become Springfield’s latest homicide. Police are being cautious on that point. I talked about that with Sgts. Ken Scarlette and Rich VonBehren along with Deputy Chief Cliff Buscher. They have the case listed as an aggravated battery.
it is complicated, they explained, because it was two months after the beating before Fuzz died. And he was 90. They said it was up to the coroner to decide if his death was a direct result of his injuries. I called the Sangamon County coroner’s office to find that it has not yet filed a cause of death. if the coroner determines the beating eventually killed him, then it could turn into murder. The formal charge to be filed is the choice of the state’s attorney’s office.
but there’s no one to file it against at this point. no arrest has been made.
Penney Miller, Fuzz’s granddaughter, believes the beating killed him. She says that although her grandpa was 90, he was in brilliant physical condition, didn’t need glasses, lived alone and was mentally sharp.
The last stool on the left was Fuzz’s usual spot at the Star 66 counter. after Fuzz’s wife, Myola, died three years ago, he was lonely, and the regulars and the staff at Star 66 became like a second family. That’s why he drove there the night of the beating.
Penney has been the family’s main contact with the police. She is frustrated because nobody has been arrested, and she is questioning the police’s methods. Penney took photos of her grandfather’s broken face because, she says, the police didn’t. She keeps them on her cell phone.
Scarlette, Buscher and VonBehren said her frustration is understandable. They are still working leads and have a person of interest they have talked to, they said, but are not close to making an arrest.
Richard Powell was one of Fuzz’s Star 66 friends. He went to see Fuzz in St. John’s Hospital. “I’d question if he knew who hit him,” says Richard, “sometimes he’d say yes, sometimes he’d say no.”
in the 1960s, Fuzz was a deputy for Sangamon County Sheriff Hugh Campbell. He was a parking meter collector for the city and worked some construction. He was an active Democrat in his younger days.
Fuzz’s life had just taken a huge upturn because he had rekindled a romance with his first wife, Marie. They divorced in 1946 (!) and started keeping company again, oh, about 65 years later.
“They were like two teenagers,” Penney says.
The longer this case goes without a resolution, the more frustrated Fuzz’s family and friends will be and the more rumors will glide. Richard and Penney are worried if it goes unsolved long enough, the police will place it on the back burner and move on to other, hotter cases.
“We’re worried they’re gonna quit,” Richard says.
Anyone with information can call Crime Stoppers at 788-8427 or submit a tip online at cashfortips.us/webtips.html or text TIP672 with the tip and send it to CRIMES. Informants are eligible for a cash reward up to $1,000.
The night Fuzz was beaten, he did make it to the Star 66 parking lot. a worker, Valentino Emini, was outside smoking a cigarette and thought that was Fuzz’s van he saw in the parking lot. ”but,” he adds, “Fuzz didn’t look like himself.”
Valentino only knew for certain it was him because of the van’s “Fuzz” license plate. He went to the van to say hello and ended up calling 911.
Penney has given one of those “Fuzz” license plates to Star 66 in the hopes it will be place up on the wall of the place he visited so often. “I reckon he would like that,” she says.
Maybe they could place it up at the counter, near the last seat on the left.
everybody has a tale. The problem is that some of them are boring. if yours is not, contact Dave Bakke at 788-1541 or . His column appears Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. to read more, visit sj-r.com/bakke.
Dave Bakke: 90-year-ancient’s death a Springfield murder mystery
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