Daniel Joe Hittle

Serial Killer

Daniel Joe Hittle: Murders in Minnesota and Texas

Background

Daniel Joe Hittle was an American murderer whose known crimes occurred sixteen years apart in Minnesota and Texas. He was born on March 1, 1950, in Perry County, Indiana, and was adopted by Henry and Margaret Hittle. The family later lived on a farm near Motley, Minnesota. Hittle has been described as a serial killer, spree killer, and mass murderer because he killed two people in 1973 and was later accused of killing five people during a single violent rampage in 1989. People who knew Hittle described him as quiet at times but dangerously violent when angry or intoxicated. Accounts of his adult life also described unstable relationships, drug abuse, and threatening behavior. His first known murders were committed against the adoptive parents who had raised him.

The 1973 Murders in Minnesota

On April 4, 1973, Hittle became involved in a confrontation with Henry and Margaret Hittle at their home near Motley, in Cass County, Minnesota. Reports connected the argument to damage allegedly caused by the family dog scratching Hittle's truck. During the dispute, Hittle killed both of his adoptive parents. Hittle was indicted on two counts of first-degree murder. Under a plea agreement, he pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder. He received two concurrent thirty-year prison sentences, meaning that both sentences were served at the same time rather than consecutively. He was sent to the Minnesota Correctional Facility at Stillwater. Despite the length of his sentence, Hittle was paroled in 1984 after approximately eleven years in prison. He was permitted to relocate to Texas, where he eventually settled in the Dallas area. His release later became a major point of public criticism after he committed another series of killings. ...

Confirmed Victims: (7)

Margaret Hittle Age: (45), Date of Death: April 4, 1973

Daniel Hittle - Wikipedia