Family demands answers after Navy vet, 53, killed in mysterious attack after night out with friends

The family of a military man who was killed on a Minneapolis street after a night out with friends is pleading for help solving the murder of their loved one.

James Quigley, 53, a Gulf War Navy veteran, was brutally attacked after attending a concert at Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis in May.

Quigley’s friends had returned to their hotel while he went for a drink at a local bar. He was on his way home at around 1am when he was attacked near a bus stop.

During the attack, the former Navy veteran hit the back of his head on cement. When he was taken to the hospital, he was intubated and later suffered a stroke.

Ultimately, the family had to make the heartbreaking decision to take him off the ventilator.

Quigley died of blunt force trauma to the head after an attack near this bus stop

Quigley died ten days after the attack. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner confirmed the cause of death as blunt force trauma to the head. The death has been ruled a homicide.

It is frustrating that Minneapolis police have not made a single arrest since the May 4 killing.

According to police, there is video footage of the incident, but it has not yet been released to the public by police.

The family has not yet viewed the clip, but an officer explained what it shows.

“As he was walking by the bus stop, there were some people there. Jim kept walking, but he turned around to say something or go back and turned around. As he turned around, he was attacked,” Quigley’s sister Michelle Swanson told KAREN.

Quigley’s sister Michelle Swanson, pictured, wants the Minneapolis City Council to lift the ban on facial recognition, saying she believes it could help catch the killer in her brother’s case.

During the attack, the former Navy veteran struck the back of his head on cement. When he was taken to the hospital, he was intubated and later suffered a stroke.

A Navy veteran, Quigley received full honors at his funeral at Fort Snelling National Cemetery earlier this week

“There was just a shoe print on his face. His neck was, I don’t know if he was strangled, if this person strangled him or what they did,” Swanson added in an interview with Fox 9.

“He deserves justice. All he did was go out with friends to listen to music downtown. He should not have been cut off,” she said.

Swanson, one of Quigley’s six siblings, said she wants the Minneapolis City Council to lift the ban on facial recognition. She believes it could help catch the killer in her brother’s case.

She is confident that MPD detectives are doing their best to find the person responsible.

“If that person has an identity, such as through social media, a driver’s license, an ID, a passport, then they will show up in these databases,” Swanson said.

“He deserves justice. All he did was go out with friends to listen to music downtown. He should not have been beaten out of his life.

“You felt so close to him. If you talked to his family or friends, he had a huge circle of friends. Everyone felt so close to him,” Swanson said.

As a Navy veteran, Quigley was extensively honored at his funeral at Fort Snelling National Cemetery, which took place earlier this week.