Fargo has rare unsolved homicide case in files

FARGO, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota's largest city has a rare case in its police files: an unsolved homicide.

Authorities said Thursday that they have run out of clues into last summer's assault of Ronald Hammersmith, who suffered a head injury and later died at a Fargo hospital.

Police had identified a suspect and forwarded the case to Cass County State's Attorney Birch Burdick for review, but Burdick said Thursday that he doesn't have enough evidence to file charges.

"At this point I don't think there are many leads," Burdick said.

Fargo Police Chief Keith Ternes said he agrees with Burdick's decision, but is frustrated and disappointed that the case remains in limbo.

"We would have to go back some time to find a homicide case where we weren't able to get to the point where we could successfully prosecute the person or persons responsible," Ternes said.

Prosecutors have failed to bring charges in three of 14 homicide cases in the Fargo area in the last 10 years, local and state records show. In two of those deaths, Claudia White Lightning in 2000 and Kenneth Fredrickson in 2005, police identified suspects, Fargo Police Lt. Pat Claus said.

White Lightning, 39, died from a lacerated liver and spleen after a blow to her stomach. Fredrickson, 36, died from a head injury.

"There's a huge canyon between knowing who did it and proving who did it beyond a reasonable doubt," Claus said. "Those restraints are placed on us — thankfully — by the Constitution and our judicial system."

No suspect was named in the 2006 killing of 2-year-old Blue Two Bear, who died from a blunt force injury.

Hammersmith, 47, was attacked near the Cass County Courthouse while walking home from downtown Fargo in the early morning hours on July 26. Burdick said Hammersmith called 911 to report the incident and his injuries were originally thought to be non-life threatening. Ternes called it "a random act of violence, a spontaneous action."

Police named a 20-year-old Fargo man as a suspect and recommended he be charged with manslaughter.

"At the end of the day, what we still have here is a citizen of Fargo who has died and we are not able to give his family the closure they are looking for," Ternes said. "But make no mistake, we will continue to investigate this case as information comes forward."

Burdick bristled at calling the case "unsolved."

"I think unsolved is a tricky phrase," he said. "What I'm telling you today is we're not in a position to successfully prosecute someone."