WOODLAND — Who killed John “Mike” Hawk?
More than a year and a half after Hawk’s murder, Yolo County sheriff’s detectives are seeking fresh clues as to who fatally shot the 80-year-old inside his rural Woodland home.
“Our main goal is that it doesn’t turn into a cold case,” sheriff’s Sgt. Gary Hallenbeck said. “We want the family to know that this is not a case we’re going to stop investigating.”
A concerned relative found Hawk dead from a gunshot wound on July 19, 2018 — four days after his 80th birthday — inside his residence in the 36000 block of County Road 20. Hawk had been staying there alone, his wife Jan vacationing with the couple’s daughters and other family.
At the time, sheriff’s officials said they didn’t believe Hawk’s killing to be random, but didn’t specify as to why. Now, they’re releasing more specific details.
“We do believe the suspect knew the victim,” and that they possibly shared a close relationship, Hallenbeck said, noting there were no signs of forced entry or a struggle at the house. Valuables, sitting in plain view, were left undisturbed, eliminating robbery as a likely motive.
Hawk was last seen on the morning of July 17, 2018, going about his daily errands that included meeting friends for coffee and doughnuts, Hallenbeck said. He followed a well-known routine in which he rose early and typically was home by a certain time of day.
His murder mystified his neighbors and friends, who described Hawk as a kind, generous man who shared his produce and performed “varmint control,” hunting local fields for the coyotes and squirrels that prey on local livestock and crops.
“I don’t think he had an enemy in the world,” Gene Follansbee, Hawk’s friend of nearly 50 years, told The Davis Enterprise at the time. “I just have no understanding how anybody would do something like this.”
“I never heard him say bad about anybody, and I never heard anybody say bad about him,” added neighbor Mike Howard.
Some of Hawk’s relatives have been uncooperative with the investigation, presenting an additional challenge to the investigation, Hallenbeck said.
More encouraging, however, have been advances in DNA technology that have solved other cold cases, including January’s arrest of Paul Allen Perez, who is suspected of killing his five infant children over a nine-year period, including one whose body was disposed of in Yolo County.
Hallenbeck confirmed that DNA evidence was collected from the Hawk homicide scene, and “it’s constantly looked at, it’s constantly tested,” he said.
“The advances in DNA, it’s incredible. The most minute piece of evidence is now that case breaker,” Hallenbeck said. “We’re hoping it leads to answers — who would do this to somebody that nobody had anything but good things to say about?”
Anyone with information about the Hawk murder is urged to contact the sheriff’s investigations division at 530-668-5215 or 530-668-5202. To leave an anonymous tip, call 530-668-5248 or visit https://www.yolocountysheriff.com/services/investigations/.
— Reach Lauren Keene at lkeene@davisenterprise.net or 530-747-8048. Follow her on Twitter at @laurenkeene
Friends, neighbors mourn Woodland homicide victim; investigation continues