Three guns used

in tree farmer shooting
By Melanie Davis
melanie@mountaintimes.com

Court documents filed in the triple homicide of Ashe County tree farmers last week in Grayson County, Va. revealed three different caliber weapons were used in the murders.

Last Thursday, authorities responded to a call to find the bodies of Ronald Hudler, 74, a Christmas tree farm owner; his son Fred Hudler, 44; and employee John Miller Jr., 25, at the elder Hudler’s home in Mouth of Wilson, Va. All three had suffered fatal gunshot wounds.

Investigators believe Fred Hudler and Miller were working and had returned to the home just before noon.
They believe the pair came upon a robbery in progress in the garage.

Miller was found in the garage with multiple gunshot wounds.

Fred Hudler was found in the driveway with a single gunshot wound.

Police believe Ronald Hudler was in the home, heard the shots and came outside to investigate. Investigators believe he was then forced back into the home, where his body was discovered in the living room. Hudler had been shot once in the head.

Documents indicate .22-caliber and .25-caliber bullet casings were found at the scene. One victim was shot with a larger bullet, possibly a .38-caliber.

An affidavit indicates a witness saw a Frederick Phillip Hammer, 48, of Crumpler, driving in the direction of the farm shortly before the murders and driving away at a high rate of speed sometime after 12:30 p.m.

Officers have indicated a large gun safe was kept in the garage. Family members said Ronald Hudler often kept large amounts of cash to pay employees of his tree farm. Sheriff Richard Vaughan of Grayson County, Va. Said the safe was broken into and an undisclosed amount of cash stolen.

Authorities questioned Hammer at midnight on Thursday. He told them he had been in Todd working, but officers were not able to confirm that statement. Hammer indicated he knew about the safe on the property, having helped Hudler bring it from Detroit.

Hammer left the area sometime Friday, heading to his stepfather’s home in Punta Gorda, Fla. U.S. Marshals kept Hammer under surveillance until a probation violation warrant was issued and a temporary felony detainer named Hammer as a person of interest in the murders. He was taken into custody on Saturday.

Search warrants were served on both Hammer’s home and a camper he maintained in Cripple Creek, Va. on Saturday morning. Warrants for three counts of capital murder were then issued for Hammer.

Authorities seized 10 firearms, including an empty scope box. Pieces of a broken scope were found at the murder scene, believed to be similar in size to the one that would have fit the empty box. A relative at Hammer’s home indicated a .22-magnum rifle was missing, as well as a .25-caliber Beretta pistol.

The search of Hammer’s camper yielded partially burned clothing in a fire pit. The documents also state there was fresh water in the shower. No cash was found at either location.

Hammer is also a suspect in the disappearance of Jimmy Blevins, his nephew by marriage and occasional employee at Hammer’s firewood business. Blevins was reported missing on Feb. 24, 2007.

Williams said Hammer has been a suspect in the case since the disappearance. Hammer was the last person to be seen with Blevins.

Authorities searched Hammer’s home extensively in the summer of 2007, including digging and the use of cadaver dogs. The nearby New River was also searched with dive teams. No trace of Blevins has been found.
Blevins, Hammer and the Hudlers all lived within a few miles of each other.

Williams indicated investigators plan to question Hammer again concerning the disappearance of Blevins, although the main focus is currently on the murders of Ronald Fred Hudler and John Miller.

Hammer remains in the New River Valley Regional Jail in Grayson County without bond.