HIBBING—The Hibbing Police Department has a new development in the unsolved murder of Brian Nelson, a Hibbing businessman killed in 2017 at his home in Hibbing.
Nelson, 60, was found slayed in his home on Monday, July 10, 2017. His home is located behind The Bottle Shop liquor store, which he owned and operated, at 2410 First Ave.
Law enforcement believes he was murdered between 10:30 p.m. Saturday, July 8, and that Monday following Hibbing’s annual Jubilee Community Festival, as was reported in the Hibbing Daily Tribune earlier.
Hibbing Police Deputy Chief Tyler Schwerzler, in an email to the Mesabi Tribune on Tuesday of this week confirmed a report by Fox 21 News that the Hibbing Police Department has received “significant evidence related to the 2017 murder of Brian Nelson.”
Schwerzler said he is unable to formally identify a suspect(s). He assured there is no public safety risk.
“Once all of our investigative reports are completed, the Hibbing Police Department will forward our case to the County Attorney’s Office,” Schwerzler concluded.
Schwerzler said the evidence is significant enough for his department to be close to sending investigative reports to the County Attorney’s Office for possible charges as early as the end of July, according to a report by Fox 21 News Dan Hanger.
Back in 2019 the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA), along with HPD, announced a Spotlight on Crime reward of up to $25,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for Nelson’s death.
“On Saturday, July 8, Brian worked until the last shift of the day, closed the store and headed home,” Schwerzler is quoted in an earlier Hibbing Tribune story. “… Many people in his life knew that when he closed the store on Saturdays, he’d take the cash proceeds of that day home and then make a deposit on Monday.”
The store closed at 10 p.m. that night, and the last person to have had contact with him was around 10:30 p.m.
When Nelson didn’t show up for work that Monday, an employee went to his home and found his doors “locked and secured.” Access was eventually gained, and Nelson was found deceased. A 911 call was placed.
“At this time, there are no signs of a break-in. No signs of a struggle, and no specific evidence linking a killer to this crime,” said Schwerzler.
The home was in good condition.
“It was not ransacked, nor damaged. The house had both doors locked,” he added. “There were proceeds from Saturday from the store, and they are unaccounted for.”
Investigators are considering robbery as a potential motive, but the investigation has identified no forensic evidence or witnesses to aid the investigation.
Nelson was known to always be in the company of his faithful canine companion, Dodo. When officers arrived at his residence, the dog was chained up outside the home.
“Most of the time, Dodo was not chained up outside,” said Schwerzler. “He only did that every so often.”
Dodo was unharmed, and now lives with a family member.
When asked if a knife had been recovered, Schwerzler, in that earlier story, declined to give specifics on the evidence collected.
“We are still forensically testing evidence. There were multiple items collected that are still being processed as the BCA lab,” he added. “We’ve also conducted numerous follow-up interviews with multiple parties, and we’re still fielding tips. They come in, we investigate them and continue to move this case forward.”
The incident was not a random act of violence.
“We believe this would have been a personal relationship,” said Schwerzler. “Someone would have had specific knowledge of his residence, his home and his daily operation.”
Investigators have already spoken with those who’ve posed any type of known threat to Nelson, and they note that he wasn’t into any illegal activity that they are aware of.
“He was a very kind person. Never had a harsh word for anyone, and always willing to help anyone who needed it,” said Helga Nelson, Brian’s mom.
Accompanied by Brian’s father, Leo, and two other family members, Helga talked about his love of baseball, how he spent decades in California, enjoyed car racing and conducted fishing contests with his nieces.
“He loved to go camping and cook on the grill,” Helga recalled. “And they’d call him ‘Uncle B.’”
A longtime Hibbing resident, he was also a member of Our Savior’s Lutheran Church.
Anyone with information on the case can report it to the Hibbing Police Department by dialing 911.
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