Left: Craig Hameister (Wabasha County Sheriff's Office). Right: Melissa Hunt (GoFundMe).
A Minnesota man who pleaded guilty to killing his ex-girlfriend was sentenced to decades in prison.
Craig Hameister, 45, was sentenced on Monday to more than 34 years in prison for the murder of his ex-girlfriend, 36-year-old Melissa Hunt. As Law&Crime previously reported, Hunt drove herself to a home in Kellogg, Minnesota, after being shot by Hameister at a boat launch on June 18, 2025. She arrived at the home with severe injuries to her face, and told first responders that Hameister "hit her with a stick." According to police, Hunt was missing several teeth and part of her jaw.
Hunt died at the hospital while police looked for Hameister.
Police said they found Hameister's truck at a home in Chatfield, Minnesota. When law enforcement spoke to the residents, they confirmed that Hameister had been there and appeared to be "very frantic," saying that "something bad happened."
Hameister was eventually located in a tree on the property, which he climbed to evade arrest. At the base of the tree was the 9 mm handgun he used to kill Hunt.
After Hameister was arrested, he was charged with two counts of second-degree murder, one with intent and one without intent. He was also charged with manslaughter.
According to reporting by local CBS affiliate WKBT, Hameister pleaded guilty to second-degree intentional murder in March, telling the court, "I shot Melissa Hunt in the face." He admitted that he intended to kill her.
On Monday, Hameister was sentenced to 415 months — around 34 1/2 years — in prison at the Minnesota Correctional Facility in St. Cloud. He received credit for 327 days served. The judge ordered him to pay $10,134.97 in restitution.