On Halloween afternoon in 2018, the body of 24-year-old David Medellin Jr., a White male from Willmar, Minnesota, was discovered in a plowed farm field east of the city. The discovery, made near the intersection of 49th Street NE and 8th Avenue NE, brought a tragic end to the search for Medellin, who had not been heard from by his family since October 24th.
An autopsy by the Midwest Medical Examiner's Office soon confirmed the family's worst fears: Medellin's death was a homicide.
The investigation, a joint effort by the Kandiyohi County Sheriff's Office, Willmar Police Department, Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, and the CEE-VI Drug and Gang Task Force, quickly led to two suspects. On November 5, 2018, authorities arrested two individuals in connection with the murder. The suspects were identified as 35-year-old Caleb Blue and his girlfriend, Lori Gaffin, a former corrections officer.
Further investigation revealed a grim narrative of Medellin's final hours. According to the criminal complaint, Medellin and Blue, who were acquainted, were traveling from a local casino to Willmar when Blue pulled his car over into a farm field and stabbed him. Investigators found a large stab wound in Medellin's back. After the alleged murder, Blue reportedly called Gaffin to pick him up. The complaint stated that when Gaffin arrived, she noticed Blue was covered in mud and bleeding profusely from a knife injury to his hand that nearly severed his right pointer finger.
Caleb Blue was charged with second-degree murder, and Lori Gaffin was charged with three counts, including aiding an offender. While a clear motive for the killing was not immediately released, court documents indicated that Blue had a history of violence. The investigation also brought to light that Gaffin and Blue had met while he was an inmate and she was a corrections officer at the county jail, a position she had resigned from around that time. Following their arrests, Blue allegedly admitted to stabbing and killing Medellin.
