ST. JAMES, Minn. (AP) - A southern Minnesota man has been charged in the fatal shootings of his wife and her adult daughter from a previous marriage, following an argument over a forgotten wedding anniversary.
Scott Engelbrecht was charged on Monday in Watonwan County with two counts of second-degree murder and one count of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon, the Star Tribune reported .
The shootings occurred Saturday after the 59-year-old and his wife, Joyce Engelbrecht, 67, argued at their St. James home, according to the criminal complaint.
Joyce Engelbrech was found with gunshot wound in her head, but was found seemingly alert inside the home, the complaint states. She died at St. Mary’s Hospital in Rochester on Sunday. Her daughter, Rachel Linder, 43, was found on the porch of a neighbor’s home and pronounced dead at the scene. The Ramsey County medical examiner reported that Linder had been shot in the back, the left forearm and the head.
Linder’s son, Dillion Mathias, 20, was in the basement when he heard a commotion upstairs. He told police that he first tried to use a stun gun on his grandfather, but then took refuge in a basement bathroom and called police after Engelbrecht instructed him to run.
Police arrested Scott Engelbrecht after finding him walking through a neighbor’s backyard carrying a rifle.
Engelbrecht didn’t deny the shootings in his statement to police, according to the complaint. He’s being held in the county jail. Court records don’t list an attorney for him.
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Information from: Star Tribune, http://www.startribune.com
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