Bowling alley owner arrested, charged in 34-year-old murder case

The victim's body was found in a barrel in the Tennessee River

Victim Mack Salyer, pictured, and murder suspect Billy Hawk were co-defendants in a pending cocaine distribution case. A third co-defendant, Debra Bales, married Billy Hawk several months after their arrests. Records of the initial Hamilton County Sheriff's Office investigation show Billy Hawk was the primary suspect in Mack's murder.
Victim Mack Salyer, pictured, and murder suspect Billy Hawk were co-defendants in a pending cocaine distribution case. A third co-defendant, Debra Bales, married Billy Hawk several months after their arrests. Records of the initial Hamilton County Sheriff's Office investigation show Billy Hawk was the primary suspect in Mack's murder.
photo Victim Mack Salyer, pictured, and murder suspect Billy Hawk were co-defendants in a pending cocaine distribution case. A third co-defendant, Debra Bales, married Billy Hawk several months after their arrests. Records of the initial Hamilton County Sheriff's Office investigation show Billy Hawk was the primary suspect in Mack's murder.

A bowling alley owner was taken into custody this afternoon in connection with the 34-year-old murder case of Johnny Mack Salyer, according to the Hamilton County District Attorney's Office.

State investigators found 61-year-old William Frank Hawk in Greene County, Tenn., Tuesday morning, the release says. The Hamilton County Grand Jury on Monday indicted Hawk on a charge of first-degree murder and set a $500,000 bond.

According to the release, Salyer's relatives last heard from him on May 24, 1981. Days later, his body was pulled from a locked steel drum in the Tennessee River near Lakesite. Salyer was 27.

According to the District Attorney's office, a couple living on Lake Chickamauga discovered the steel barrel near their dock in early June of 1981. Inside, deputies found the badly decomposed body of 27-year old Salyer. Stuffed into the barrel in a U-shape, he was found wearing only boxers.

Detectives believe Salyer was killed on May 24, 1981. He was a known drug dealer and it's likely his criminal activities led to his death.

Hawk, who owns a bowling alley in Lebanon, Tenn., was considered the primary suspect in the murder, records of the initial Hamilton County Sheriff's Office investigation show. At the time, Hawk and Salyer were co-defendants in a pending cocaine distribution case.

This year, after bringing back the retired detectives and agents originally assigned to the case, the district attorney's cold case unit spent hundreds of hours interviewing dozens of witnesses and advanced the investigation toward this week's indictment.

Hawk is the son of the late Billy F. Hawk, Jr., who owned the Holiday Bowl on Brainerd Road.

During a 1 p.m. press conference at the Cold Case Unit on East 7th Street, District Attorney Neal Pinkston; Sheriff Jim Hammond; Chattanooga Police Chief Fred Fletcher; and Larry Sneed, the retired detective originally assigned to the case, will speak.

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