HELENA — Carol and Richard Emineth were killed at the Mini Basket near East Helena 40 years ago.
No one has been convicted of the murders, but on Tuesday, the Lewis and Clark County Sheriff’s Office said new DNA evidence is being tested in the case.
Sheriff Leo Dutton announced that they have submitted previously untested evidence for DNA testing. The items submitted are believed to have been dropped or used by the suspect.
“Now, under touch DNA and a few other things, this is an incredible opportunity to say we are sure that the suspect touched this," Dutton shared. "They did not have any idea when they took it before that this would be something in the future.”
WATCH: Murder at the Mini Basket, update after 40 years:
The FBI and the Montana Division of Criminal Investigation have assisted the Sheriff's Office on the homicide case over the years.
“This case has left a lasting mark on a very close-knit community, and we want the victims' families and the community to know that even after four decades, this case still matters,” FBI Special Agent Caroline Marshall noted in her speech.
Modern DNA testing has progressed significantly in recent years. In 2018, two men accused of the killing of Donna Meagher were exonerated after DNA testing proved another man, David Nelson, matched the DNA evidence that was found at the crime scene.
The Emineths co-owned and operated the Mini Basket Convenience Store in the 1980s. On January 19, 1986, the couple was attacked at the store. Lori Emineth, the couple's daughter, was just 19 years old at the time.
She expressed, “To get through something like this, I have had a family basis and my faith.”
A report from the Lewis and Clark County Sheriff’s Office at the time said it was believed two men entered the store, shot the Emineths and a customer, and then the men fled in a blue Chevrolet S-10 pickup truck.
First responders found Richard Emineth deceased in the parking lot, lying near a broken door. Carol Emineth was found unresponsive behind the counter with a gunshot wound to the head. She died from her injuries the following day.
Another man, Tom Ellison, had stopped at the Mini Basket to make a purchase and was shot twice shortly after exiting his vehicle. Despite his injuries, the 27-year-old made his way inside the building and used the phone in the business to call law enforcement for help.
Sheriff Leo Dutton was a responding EMT that night and said it makes him want to bring the case to justice even more.
“Forty years and I can still remember what it smells like, I can still remember the chaotic scene of trying to get her out, preserve what we could, still fresh in my memory," Dutton recalled.
In the following weeks, a Helena-area 16-year-old was arrested and accused of the murders. The teen was tried as an adult and acquitted of the charges in June 1986.
Forty years later, Lori Emineth says the pain is still there, but so is the memory of her parents.
“They were very social people, loved people, a good faith background, they were kind, they would help anyone, they liked fishing and camping in the outdoors, and loved their family," she shared.
Anyone with information concerning the deaths of Carol and Richard Emineth is asked to contact the Lewis and Clark County Sheriff’s Office at 406-447-8293. Anonymous tips can also be made to Helena Area Crime Stoppers at 406-443-2000.
