By Lynndi Lockenour
A year ago a customer entering the office of Storage USA at 1500 First Capitol Drive, discovered the body of a clerk lying behind the counter. That clerk was 27 year-old Chris Hanneken, a resident of St. Charles County, who had been murdered.
Initially The Greater St. Louis Major Case Squad was assigned to the case, but now a year later, detective Mike Harvey has taken over the investigation. Though he was reluctant to speak with First Capitol News himself, he directed us to Community Relations Specialist, Christy Mayer.
Mayer informed First Capitol News that Detective Harvey was indeed actively working on the case. However she said, she is unaware of the inward workings of the case since that is considered to be private information. “I cannot tell you that information even if I knew it,” she said, “because it’s confidential.”
Mayer said Detective Harvey has remained in contact with the Hanneken family since the incident occurred. “I will tell you I’m confident that an arrest will be made in the case,” she said.
Chris’s mother, Debbie Hanneken, said she calls detective Harvey on a regular basis to see if any new information has been found. “I used to call every month,” she said, “but they never had anything new to tell me so now it’s usually more like six weeks.”
Debbie said the night she found out about her son’s murder was comparable to a scene from a movie. “They came to the door at 9:15 p.m. and asked me if we had a son named Chris Hanneken,” she said. “I knew right away that something was wrong.” The police then proceeded to tell Debbie and her husband that their son had been murdered.
Though Debbie has limited information about the current inner workings of the case, she said she does think they are closer to finding the killer. “I have to believe they are closer to finding someone,” she said, “otherwise I don’t know what I’d do.” Debbie said she thinks they are doing what they can to find the person who murdered her son. “It’s frustrating when I watch the news and see that two days after a crime is committed someone is already caught,” she said. “But I understand that some things take more time than others to solve.”
Originally it was thought Chris Hanneken’s murder could be related to a similar robbery at a Self Storage Company in Bridgeton in April of last year. Though this possibility hasn’t been completely eliminated, Debbie said they haven’t heard anymore about it. “We’ve asked them about it and they said they were still checking on leads,” she said. “I haven’t seen anything about the Bridgeton store in the news, but they got a sketch of the guy, so maybe that will help.”
Debbie said the death of her son has changed her life, leaving her with an emptiness she cannot replace. “You have a special love for all your kids,” she said. “Sometimes when the phone rings it’s always like I’m waiting for him to say ‘Hey Mom’ and I really miss that.” Chris was the Hanneken’s only son, though they have two daughters.
Though Debbie said nothing could replace Chris, having a granddaughter to remember him by helps her get through the days. Madelynn, now five-months old, was born a couple of months after Chris’s death. “She’ll never replace Chris, but she gives us something to remember him by,” she said.
Now afraid to leave town for fear new information will break, Debbie said she stays home a lot to ensure the officials could reach her if something does happen. “I don’t want to go on vacation or anything,” she said. “There’s always a sadness and some days are better than others.”
Debbie said she longs for the day her family can finally grieve for the loss of their son. “We had so much anger in us at first,” she said, “We want to be able to move on instead of having to figure out this puzzle of why he was murdered.” She said her family just wants to be allowed to grieve the loss of someone they loved very much.
When Chris’s murderer is finally caught, Debbie is torn on wither or not she would want to speak with the killer. “Part of me asks ‘Do I even want to see that person?’” she said, “But God also tells me to let it go and ask the person why they did something so stupid as to kill my son and take him away from his daughter.” Debbie said her feelings about talking to the killer change daily with her mood.
Along with being divided on talking to the killer, Debbie is also unsure of what punishment would be appropriate. “Sometimes I’d like to see him put to death,” she said, “But other times I’d like to see him serve a lifetime in jail with no possibility for parole.”
Debbie said she was raised a Catholic woman but can’t help feeling maybe he deserves the same fate as her son. “Maybe he needs to sit everyday for the rest of his life and think about he did,” she said, “I just don’t know for sure.”
Debbie said she knows Chris would never have done anything to provoke the killer. “I know my son and he would have handed him the keys,” she said. “That’s why I don’t understand why Chris was murdered.” Debbie said her son avoided conflict at all costs would have allowed the robber to take whatever he wanted with no struggle.
Though Chris’s murder happened a year ago, the Hanneken family remembers him every day. Last week they held a candle light vigil in his honor at his graveside. Debbie said approximately 25 people showed up to remember Chris, reading poetry, letters and speeches. Chris’s girlfriend, Mandi Lewis of Imperial, Missouri, was present with their daughter, Madelynn. “It was just a nice way for all of us to get together and remember Chris,” she said. “Having everyone together helps us get through it until someone is caught.”
