TN TN - Patty Striker, 30, Athens, 10 April 2000

Kimster

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A member has asked us to help find out what happened to Patty Striker. I did a Google and found a lot of interesting information on the internet. I will defer to our fabulous Cold Case members to help this community!

Here's a start:

http://www.wate.com/Global/story.asp?S=4374509

http://www.mcminncountysheriff.com/uploads/0a2cb213bed2c96d87a0e4271b3776ba.pdf

http://www.topix.com/forum/city/athens-tn/TIVQ158HAOEI3GQHH

Okay team! Let's find out what happened to this lovely woman and bring peace to her family! :grouphug:
 
I remember this very well, her family and church friends were devastated over her murder along with the community. She was well loved and a kind and caring lady.
Most everyone felt they knew who was behind this, just no evidence to support it.
Hoping someone out there knows something that would bring her murderer to justice.
 
Just a few preliminary facts from the links Kimster posted and a couple more I found:

On April 10, 2000, at about 8:30 a.m., 30 year-old Patty Striker was found shot in the head inside Strikers Premium Winery on County Road 172 in Athens, TN. The cash register was missing and money was found scattered around the building. No arrest has ever been made in the case. Her husband Stanley Striker is still the proprietor of the winery. At the time of the murder, he was 26 miles away working at the Bowater plant in Calhoun, TN.

Family members have posted on Topix and ask anyone with information to contact the Det. Gary Miller at the McMinn County Sheriff's Office, 423-745-5620.

McMinn County Sheriff Steve Frisbie with Lamar Advertising have erected two billboards recently with Patty's picture. A $60,000 reward is offered for information leading to an arrest. The MCSO phone number above is posted along with this e-mail address: Sheriff@mcminncountysheriff.com.

http://www.mcminncountysheriff.com/uploads/0a2cb213bed2c96d87a0e4271b3776ba.pdf

http://www.winepress.us/forums/index.php?/topic/3544-two-winery-owners-slain-in-tennessee/

http://www.newschannel9.com/news/derrick-907-sheriff-investigation.html

http://www.agriculture.state.tn.us/Marketing.asp?QSTRING=DETAIL&DISPLAY=2432

According to a *RUMOR* (Topix post) the Strikers were going through a nasty divorce. Husband allegedly sent threatening letters to Patty which she turned over to her divorce attorney.
 
I think her soon-to-be ex hired a hitman.
good luck digging up any proof though, especially after 10 years.
 
I think her soon-to-be ex hired a hitman.
good luck digging up any proof though, especially after 10 years.

Hello AnonH!!!

Welcome-2.gif


We recently saw a cold case where an arrest was made in Leah Freeman's murder. It can happen!
 
This is an article from last year about a fire at the winery.

Striker's Premium Winery in Athens was damaged from a fire Monday night
12:36 AM, Feb 22, 2012

Athens Rural Fire Department said a fire broke out in the attic at Striker's Premium Winery around 7:00 p.m. Monday. So far, they have not determined a cause to the blaze, and have since called on the state for help.

There's still a little chatter on topix, but not much. Patty Striker's murder case has gone stone cold!

http://www.topix.net/forum/city/athens-tn/TIVQ158HAOEI3GQHH/p5

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=69921421
 
According to a topix poster there was still a $60,000 reward on this case.

But, the person who said the police never get a tip that solves the case is wrong. That does happen. The police need to have done some work, of course, no one totally figures out the case for them. But, they often do get things they can and do use. If they didn't, they'd keep everything secret.
 
Unsolved murder victim's husband dead, teens shot at family winery

A winery owner was killed and two teenagers were wounded in a shooting in McMinn County on Wednesday afternoon, according to McMinn County Sheriff Joe Guy.

Stanley Striker, owner of Striker Winery, was killed in the shooting at the winery. The two teenagers were taken to a local hospital with gunshot wounds.
<snipped>

video and more at link:
http://www.wbir.com/story/news/loca...12/stanley-patty-striker-shot-winery/5434743/

Link also includes a video from 2007.
 
Unsolved murder victim's husband dead, teens shot at family winery

A winery owner was killed and two teenagers were wounded in a shooting in McMinn County on Wednesday afternoon, according to McMinn County Sheriff Joe Guy.

Stanley Striker, owner of Striker Winery, was killed in the shooting at the winery. The two teenagers were taken to a local hospital with gunshot wounds.
<snipped>

video and more at link:
http://www.wbir.com/story/news/loca...12/stanley-patty-striker-shot-winery/5434743/

Link also includes a video from 2007.

From the article, they're investigating this as a homicide and possible suicide, even though only one person is dead?

Bizarre.
 
As we might have figured, the teenagers were his and Patty's children.

The husband of a McMinn County woman who died mysteriously 14 years ago shot the couple's two teenage children and then turned the gun on himself on Wednesday
http://www.chattanoogan.com/2014/2/12/269548/Husband-Of-Murdered-Patty-Striker.aspx

"It was a very selfish act. It was unnecessary and the children will never forget this. I'm sure it's going to take a lot of extensive therapy," says Mark (Patty's brother).

Patty's other brother, Jeff says he's hopeful that this will open new doors to finding out who killed his sister 14 years ago. "We certainly hope to get the full answer about what happened to Patty because we know he wasn't the only one involved. More than one person planned and carried that out. We do know that. We know he was a party in that," says Jeff.

Family members say the two teens are recovering in the hospital but are expected to be okay.
http://www.newschannel9.com/news/to...developments-14yearold-murder-case-9153.shtml

Thank goodness the children will recover, physically at least. Now maybe the family will get answers to their questions about Patty's death.
 
Video from Feb 13, 2014 by the Chattanooga Times Free Press

Dad Shoots 2 Kids, Himself, At Winery In Athens Tn - Stanley Striker


"Authorities say a dad shot his two kids and then himself at a winery in McMinn County.

Officials say Stanley Striker took his own life inside the family business, Strikers Premium Winery, which is in Athens.

The children reportedly ran wounded to a neighbor for help. The boy is currently listed as critical, while the girl is in better condition.

The children's mother, Patty Striker, also died in the winery back in April 2000.

An employee found her body on the floor after she had been shot in the head, and the cash register was stolen."
 
This is the most recent article I could find, dated Apr 20, 2020 from the Daily Post Athenian:

Basically, no new leads.


After 20 years, Striker murder case remains unsolved

"The case remains unsolved now, 20 years later, and current Sheriff Joe Guy still hopes to discover information to finally put surviving family members at ease.

"Twenty years have passed since Patty Striker was murdered while she worked in her Winery Retail Store just outside of Athens. Countless hours have been put into this investigation, but as of yet no lead has definitively determined the identity of the person guilty of taking her life,” said Guy in a recent post on Facebook. “This remains an opened and unsolved case. Twenty years have passed, 20 years of family members unable to find peace and closure. Many people, including myself, believe that someone in our community has information about Patty’s death. We hope that as her family and friends remember Patty that someone will remember that eventually it’s time to do the right thing."
 

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