Police still get tips in 10-year-old homicide
Lincoln police continue to get tips and follow leads in the Tina McMenamin homicide nearly 10 years after she was killed.
One of those tips, reported to police earlier this year by an inmate, indicated that items were taken from the scene of the crime by the killer and hidden among rocks along the bike trail at 48th Street and Normal Boulevard, said Sgt. Larry Barksdale, who has managed the case since the crime was committed in July 1995.
The male inmate told police a man — who Barksdale said has been a suspect in the killing — talked to him about the crime several years ago. The inmate told police the man gave him specific information about the crime scene and invited him to look at personal items he took from McMenamin's apartment the night of the murder and hid along the bike path.
"If anybody found a photograph or a piece of jewelry (along the bike path) that was unusual or has any information, we would like to know," Barksdale said.
The inmate also said the man had identified two other people he wanted to kidnap and kill, one at an apartment complex at 27th Street and Nebraska 2 and another in Scottsbluff, Barksdale said.
McMenamin was killed July 25, 1995, just before she was due at work at 5:30 p.m. She was found stabbed and sexually assaulted in her apartment.
Police arrested Gregory Gabel, a mentally ill Lincoln man, almost a year after the crime. A DNA test linked Gabel to a hair clutched in McMenamin's hand. But a different DNA test proved the hair was not his, and he was released from jail more than two years after the arrest.
Police get tips every year in the homicide. Already this year, police have taken five reports related to the case, said Assistant Police Chief Jim Peschong.
And, in the early stages of the investigation, another inmate told police McMenamin's killer confessed to him, said Rich Doetker, a retired criminal investigator who worked the case from the time of the killing to more than a year ago.
Often, inmates manufacture leads for police to try to shorten their jail time, he said.
"They know how to make a deal, and they'll make up something to get out of jail," he said, adding that the inmate who told police about the items deposited along the bike path has "no credibility."
However, Doetker, Barksdale and Peschong said police follow every lead.
McMenamin's case is no different.
"It's not something we park on the back burner," Peschong said. "It's always on the forefront."
Reach Josh Swartzlander at 473-7120 or jswartzlander@journalstar.com.
One of those tips, reported to police earlier this year by an inmate, indicated that items were taken from the scene of the crime by the killer and hidden among rocks along the bike trail at 48th Street and Normal Boulevard, said Sgt. Larry Barksdale, who has managed the case since the crime was committed in July 1995.
The male inmate told police a man — who Barksdale said has been a suspect in the killing — talked to him about the crime several years ago. The inmate told police the man gave him specific information about the crime scene and invited him to look at personal items he took from McMenamin's apartment the night of the murder and hid along the bike path.
"If anybody found a photograph or a piece of jewelry (along the bike path) that was unusual or has any information, we would like to know," Barksdale said.
The inmate also said the man had identified two other people he wanted to kidnap and kill, one at an apartment complex at 27th Street and Nebraska 2 and another in Scottsbluff, Barksdale said.
McMenamin was killed July 25, 1995, just before she was due at work at 5:30 p.m. She was found stabbed and sexually assaulted in her apartment.
Police arrested Gregory Gabel, a mentally ill Lincoln man, almost a year after the crime. A DNA test linked Gabel to a hair clutched in McMenamin's hand. But a different DNA test proved the hair was not his, and he was released from jail more than two years after the arrest.
Police get tips every year in the homicide. Already this year, police have taken five reports related to the case, said Assistant Police Chief Jim Peschong.
And, in the early stages of the investigation, another inmate told police McMenamin's killer confessed to him, said Rich Doetker, a retired criminal investigator who worked the case from the time of the killing to more than a year ago.
Often, inmates manufacture leads for police to try to shorten their jail time, he said.
"They know how to make a deal, and they'll make up something to get out of jail," he said, adding that the inmate who told police about the items deposited along the bike path has "no credibility."
However, Doetker, Barksdale and Peschong said police follow every lead.
McMenamin's case is no different.
"It's not something we park on the back burner," Peschong said. "It's always on the forefront."
Reach Josh Swartzlander at 473-7120 or jswartzlander@journalstar.com.
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