'Killer Siblings': Andrew Hawes painted crossbow, hammer for ambush-style attack before brutally killing brother
Sibling rivalry is not an uncommon thing but is often just a phase that eventually passes. Regardless of siblings sometimes having some sort of rivalry, a majority of siblings love and care for each other deeply, with most having a secure bond. However, a handful of criminal cases have revealed a much darker and uglier side of sibling rivalry as was seen in the case of the Hawes siblings – Edwin, Elizabeth, and Andrew. Edwin Hawes was brutally murdered by his own flesh and blood, his two younger siblings in a case that has been covered in Oxygen's new documentary 'Killer Siblings'. With Season 2 ready to kick off on November 7, 6 pm ET/PT, the first episode delves into the vicious and deeply disturbing murder.
Family Dynamics
Edwin Hawes was the oldest of three siblings, Elizabeth being the middle, and Andrew Hawes being the youngest. According to Edwin's former wife, Christina Miller recalls the family being very welcoming and nice with no signs of a dark side. She shared how Andrew Hawes who was 10 years younger than Ed, was erratic and a little bit nerve-wracking. It was also believed that he was bipolar and diabetic. Elizabeth was very protective of her younger brother and would be quick to take his side over Ed's.
The children's mother, however, used to have many emotional swings and would often play the siblings off each other while their father was extremely quiet and submissive. When the children grew up, Ed and Andrew had a business together and were into professional lawn mowing. Ed was very responsible, diligent and business savvy, and Andrew trusted him blindly. However, the two would sometimes butt heads with Andrew described as a ticking time bomb.
One day, Andrew was on the office computer when he came across some books which showed that a bunch of money had gone missing from the family business. Andrew firmly believed that Ed had been embezzling money from the business and the relationship between the siblings deteriorated. The siblings had also made it well known to their family and friends that Ed was a liar and that he was responsible for taking a lot of money from the business. Their father had also committed suicide as the family's' relationship broke further with the siblings also blaming Ed for the death.
Edwin Hawes Goes Missing
Ed was initially reported missing by his roommate in the year 2008 on October 30. Besides this Ed's employer had been concerned for his well-being especially since Ed had a restraining order against his two siblings. There were also constant threats being made to Ed over the embezzled money. The employer also believed that Ed's life was in danger and it concerned Elizabeth and Andrew.
When Ed was reported missing, his car a 2005 Volkswagen Passat was also missing from the driveway of his home.
Evidence and Tools
There had been a pool of blood in Ed's driveway, as well as a significant amount of blood of the walls of the house. There was also a strong smell of bleach all over and a bunch of tools and items located all over. The items which include a bolt from a crossbow, a sled hammer, and a baseball bat were all spray painted black and were strategically placed around the property for an ambush-style attack. According to a medical examiner, the amount of blood on the floor indicated that the incident had occurred the evening prior.
The Prosecutor in the case weighed in saying that if the blood had been from a single person, it was highly unlikely that they had survived given the amount of blood lost. Around 12 hours before Ed went missing, a routine police patrol had found a suspicious vehicle in a parking lot, one mile from Ed's home. The vehicle belonged to Hawes Lawn Service.
Elizabeth Hawes then emerged from the woods and provided conflicting and inconsistent reasons as to why she was there at 2-3 am in the morning. While conducting a search of Elizabeth's background, the police found the restraining order and decided to go to Ed's home to check on him. When they arrived, they found Andrew on the way who said he was in need of medical assistance and provided a different story to his sisters'. Elizabeth was arrested and later released from prison while Andrew was allowed to drive away from the scene as the database did not show Andrew's restraining order.
A search of the area where Elizabeth was found revealed another part of the crossbow, some bleach, a jacket, and a pair of rubber gloves that had blood on it.
The Body of Edwin Hawes
A former Minnesota state trooper who was driving near Cottonwood County came across a massive fire in a farm. A female was also seen near the fire who was behaving in an odd manner. As he approached the woman who turned out to be Elizabeth, he could hear a sizzling noise from the fire. The farm was owned by Andrew Hawes.
The trooper picked up a pitchfork lying near the fire and started to poke around it. He was shocked to find human remains including a skull when Elizabeth made a shocking comment, "that's not my brother in there." The cop immediately asked her why she would say such a thing and grew suspicious of what was already an eerie scene. While talking to the cop, Elizabeth spoke about Ed and said that she hoped he would die and explained how he had embezzled money. She was later placed in handcuffs and taken downtown as more authorities arrived at the scene.
The crime scene unit at the scene had presumed that the body in the fire was Ed's but they needed to confirm it. They later found that Ed had died of multiple blunt force trauma and had injuries to the pelvis, and internal trauma consistent with being run over. He was also believed to have been shot with a projectile from a crossbow and had blunt force trauma to the head consistent with a sled hammer. Given the injuries, the authorities knew it was a hatred fuelled attack and was deeply personal.
It was later found that Ed had also been shot by Andrew using the crossbow and was bludgeoned by the hammer. His body was later dragged onto the road and run over by Andrew who drove Ed's car.
Proof and Sentencing
Andrew Hawes did not provide any statement while Elizabeth Hawes spoke very little. It was Elizabeth's husband Daniel Romig who was able to provide the cops with an address where Ed's car was found. The car was abandoned in the parking lot of a church and had blood all over the front of the vehicle including the bumper. It seemed as though a body was dragged by the car. There was also a small sled hammer found which was covered in blood. A search of Andrew's grandmother's house where he lived saw the discovery of rubber gloves, and a sheet of paper which had the black outlines of the tools found at Ed's home.
Both Elizabeth and Andrew were charged with aiding and abetting first-degree murder and sentenced to life.