TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Triple-Murder Suspect Arrested In Punta Gorda

ADVERTISEMENT

BY KIM HACKETT / Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Published: January 28, 2008

CHARLOTTE COUNTY - A fugitive wanted on charges of murdering three men in Virginia was arrested in Punta Gorda late Saturday.

Several Charlotte County Sheriff's Office patrols, a canine unit, the U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force and a helicopter swarmed a house at 27457 Tierra Del Fuego Circle in Punta Gorda Isles about 8 p.m. and arrested Frederick Phillip Hammer, 48, of Crumpler, N.C.

Hammer was arrested and charged in the slaying of Ronald F. Hudler, 74, one of Virginia's largest Christmas tree growers; his son, Frederick D. Hudler, 45; and John S. Miller, a 25-year-old employee. All three were shot on Hudler's property at Mouth of Wilson, near North Carolina.

On Thursday, Virginia police found the bodies of the three men after responding to a call about a possible shooting at the Hudler tree farm. They questioned Hammer and he disappeared a short time later.

Law enforcement officials have said attempted robbery apparently led to the triple homicide.

The younger Hudler and Miller apparently had been working on the tree farm and returned to Ronald Hudler's home, where they confronted someone in a garage trying to steal a gun safe, the Grayson County Sheriff's Office says in a news release. Hudler and Miller were shot.

Ronald Hudler, who often kept large amounts of money in the safe, was shot when he went outside to investigate the gunfire, authorities said.

Hudler operated Hudler Carolina Tree Farms with his three sons, Frederick, Bill and Dale, the mayor of West Jefferson, N.C. The farm supplied the White House Christmas tree in 1995.

Hudler's family offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to a conviction.

Police found Hammer at the home of John Frohmander, 75, who has lived at the Punta Gorda Isles home at least part time since March 2006. Both Hammer and Frohmander live in Ashe County, N.C., and both once lived in Marathon in the late 1980s.

In a telephone interview Sunday, Frohmander said he was "somewhat" related to Hammer.

"I'd rather not talk about it," Frohmander said before hanging up.

Charlotte County police had received a bulletin earlier in the day that Hammer might be at Frohmander's house. They went to the house at 5 p.m., did not find Hammer there, and returned later.

Investigators in Ashe County also want to talk to Hammer, who was a suspect in the disappearance of a Crumpler man he occasionally worked with, said Sheriff James Williams. Jimmy Lee Blevins has not been seen since February.

Hammer was in the Charlotte County jail Sunday.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT