He was a charming, beloved man. Pretty. Women swim across him as if he is Elvis Presley.
His name was Melvin James Gallagher, but everyone called him Jimmy.
“Everyone just loved Jimmy,” his younger sister, Joann Heideman, told Dateline. “He was a good, sweet man. Pretty. Like Elvis Presley. A real ladies man. And now yes, he just had this way about him. ‘
Joann and Jimmy, just a year apart, were always close. Joann told Dateline she still remembers playing horribly as a child, such as taking turns being a cashier while playing grocery stores or cooking an elaborate meal in their pretend restaurant.
When they were teenagers and then young adults, Joann said that Jimmy naturally enters the role of an older brother and protects his sister at all costs.
“He always looked at me,” she said. ‘And even though he’s not here right now, I can still feel him watching over me from heaven. Protect me. ”
After serving in the U.S. Army, Jimmy returns to his hometown of Waterloo, Iowa, where he focuses on getting a good job and settling down to have a family.
Joann told Dateline that her brother was popular among the women in their city and that he quickly fell in love and got engaged. But a while later, he breaks off the engagement to be with another woman.
After Jimmy and his first fiancée divorced, she discovered she was pregnant with Jimmy’s child. A while later, Jimmy’s new fiancé found out they were expecting twins.
As his family grows, Jimmy applied for service at the Waterloo Police Department and also applied for admission to a chiropractic school. For months, he worked the night shift at the Clark Super 100 service station in Waterloo.
But on January 3, 1959 – just a week before Jimmy’s wedding – the 22-year-old’s life was brutally cut short. He never got the chance to marry his fiancée. Or meet her unborn children.
It was bitterly cold and snowy in the morning in Waterloo, when Jimmy completed his night shift at the station. Investigators believe it was around 5:15 a.m. when he was shot dead by a gun to the head, sergeants said. Michael L. Rasmussen, Waterloo police, told Dateline.
Sergeant Rasmussen added that $ 179 was recovered from the station, and although there are still many theories as to what happened that night, money may be a motive. Another theory is that Jimmy knew his killer because he was apparently found with his left hand in his pocket.
According to The Waterloo Courier article published in 1960, Clark Company officials said their employees were told to never resist withholding efforts. When talking casually to customers or friends, Jimmy often stood with his left hand in his pocket, leading investigators to believe he was talking to someone he knew.
Sergeant Rasmussen, who works with the Investigations Division, told Dateline that although Jimmy may have known his killer because he was so famous in the city, he could not confirm that Jimmy’s hand was in his pocket, or that it was something. had to deal with. whether he knew his killer or not.
Waterloo police have been following clues and tips for years, but nothing has led to Jimmy’s killer.
In an article published in the Waterloo Courier in 1960, Chief Harry Krieg told reporters that numerous people were being interrogated, but they never found evidence to move forward.
Jimmy’s first fiancée gave birth to their son, Michael, on February 19, 1959. Later that year, the wife had to marry Jimmy in January, giving birth to the couple’s twin daughters.
Michael Rogers, who was adopted as a baby for adoption and grew up in Oklahoma, was 36 years old when he found and reunited his biological mother. That was also when he found out that his biological father, Jimmy, had been killed.
“When I called her by telephone, I asked: ‘does the date of 19 February 1959 mean anything to you,’ ‘he told Dateline, referring to his date of birth. She dropped the phone. She knew who I was. ‘
Michael explained that his biological mother went on with her life and was married with four children. Her husband told Michael on the phone, “We were wondering if you were ever going to find us.”
Michael told Dateline that he always knew he would try to find his biological parents at some point.
“I grew up in a loving home with wonderful parents,” Michael said. “But because I know I have another family out there, I wanted to get to know them.”
So in 1995, Michael drove to Iowa to meet his family.
“At age 36, I finally met my mom for the first time,” Michael said. “It was very bizarre, but I was excited.”
Michael said he heard about the murder of his father at the time.
“She told me that my father was murdered in January, so she gave me up for adoption when I was born a month later,” Michael explained. “She went to live with a friend in Tulsa, and so I grew up in Oklahoma.”
After Michael was reunited with his biological mother in Iowa, he met other family members he never knew, including one of his half-sisters, of the twins born in his father’s fiancée, months after Jimmy was murdered. .
Michael, who now lives in Texas, told Dateline that years after finding out about the murder of his father, he became more obsessed with finding out what had happened. He asked questions. Did his own research. And he kept in touch with investigators.
“I kept dead ends,” Michael said. “It was like looking for a needle in a haystack. And I did not know where to turn next. I had to walk away a bit. ‘
Michael said he hopes that, with advances in DNA technology, there is a way to possibly dig up his father’s body and find out what happened.
Sergeant Rasmussen told Dateline that ‘it is possible that new technology could help the murder. In 1959, however, the crime scene investigators did not focus on preserving potential evidence regarding DNA, as the technology was not developed. ”
He added that there have been no current updates or people of interest for years, but stressed that they are always willing to explore new information or tips.
Michael told Dateline he hopes a greater exposure to his father’s story will bring to light new pieces of information that could resolve the issue and close their family down a bit.
“The last day I was in Waterloo, I remembered going to my father’s grave and telling him that, as long as I lived, I would never stop looking for his killer,” Michael said.
Michael told Dateline he is well aware of how many lives have been affected by Jimmy’s murder, including his own.
“Who knows what my life would have been like – good or bad – but it changed my life forever,” Michael said. “And of course I want to know what happened, but I want to know more about Joann.”
Michael met his father’s sister Joann, not long after meeting his biological mother.
“I do not look much like him, but she always tells me how much I sound like her Jimmy,” Michael said. It broke her pace. So more than anything, I just want her to find peace. ”
Joann told Dateline that she had been praying for years to meet Jimmy’s son, Michael. And when she finally did, she was shocked but very happy.
“I almost fell out of my chair,” Joann told Dateline laughing. “It was a small miracle after I lost my brother. And Michael, he has Jimmy’s personality, he’s just like him. ”
Joann, who turned 83 on December 31, 2020, said this time of year is difficult for her. Although she is expected to celebrate the holidays, her birthday and the new year, she only reminds herself of the tragedy that took place in 1959 just a few days into the new year.
“He bought my last birthday cake before he was killed,” Joann said tearfully. “My birthdays have never been the same since.”
Joann told Dateline she last saw her brother earlier that evening on January 2, hours before he was killed. She ate a hamburger and fries while hanging out with Jimmy at the station.
“He looked at my fries and said, ‘Young man, it looks good’ and ate my fries – just like a brother does, ‘” Joann laughed. ‘But I allowed him. He was my best friend. ”
Joann said she does not know if she will ever know what happened to her brother, but told Dateline she believes Jimmy knew his killer.
“I think the person who did it, who took his life, was jealous of him,” she said. “And that person is free while we all suffer. And Jimmy never got the chance to get married or have kids or lead his life. ‘
Six decades have passed since Jimmy passed away, but Joann is still in tears when she talks about her brother.
“What happened to my brother is with me every day,” Joann said. ‘I would like to find out what happened to him before I died. But I’m 83 … so I do not think it’s going to happen. So I’m just thinking about the good times – and that’s what keeps me going. I know I will see him in heaven one day. ”
In 2014, Cedar Valley Crime Stoppers announced a $ 1,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in Jimmy’s case.
Anyone with information on the case of Melvin James Gallagher is asked to call the Waterloo Police Department at 319-291-4340 or Cedar Valley Crime Stoppers, 855-300-TIPS (8477). Tips can also be sent with TipSoft or by texting the word CEDAR plus the information to CRIMES (274637).