A Minnesota lawyer accused of beating his ex-wife to death in front of their kids has been charged with second-degree homicide.
An 8-year-old who witnessed Tuesday’s lethal assault advised officers that his dad and mom had been arguing about whether or not his mom, Carissa Odegaard, might take the youngsters to church, in accordance to a possible trigger assertion filed in Minnesota’s ninth Judicial District Court.
Anders Odegaard, 31, didn’t need her to, the kid advised authorities, in accordance to the criticism. The baby mentioned his dad and mom additionally fought about his 2-year-old brother, whom his mom was holding in the course of the assault, in accordance to the doc.
The couple had 5 kids collectively starting in 2013 and divorced final yr, in accordance to a courtroom submitting. Carissa Odeegard was awarded sole bodily custody of the youngsters, and so they had been each given joint authorized custody.
Anders Odegaard was recognized in the submitting because the state’s lawyer for Mercer County, North Dakota. It wasn’t clear if he nonetheless labored for the workplace. A message looking for remark was not instantly returned.
According to the assertion, the youngsters had stayed with their father the night time earlier than in the small northern Minnesota metropolis of Warren. When their mom got here to choose them up at 5 p.m. the following day, they received right into a battle that started outdoors and moved into the house, one of the youngsters advised authorities, in accordance to the assertion.
Anders Odegaard grabbed a knife or spatula and struck his ex-wife, one of the youngsters mentioned. Another baby advised authorities his dad and mom had been “tackling” one another, and he might see that his mom was minimize, in accordance to the assertion. The boy additionally noticed his father choking his mom, who advised him to name 911, the assertion mentioned.
“There was a lot a blood all over, and he stepped over his mom,” the assertion mentioned. “He said that he did tap on this mother’s foot, but she didn’t respond to the touch.”
One of the youngsters grabbed the 2-year-old from their mom and two of them flagged down a passerby who referred to as 911, in accordance to the assertion.
When deputies arrived at Anders Odegaard’s house, he was sporting boxer briefs and supplied one response to their questions, “I don’t feel right,” in accordance to the courtroom doc.
It wasn’t instantly clear if he has a lawyer to converse on his behalf.
Carissa Odegaard was taken to a hospital in Fargo, North Dakota, the place she was discovered to have “no significant brain function.”
Her grandfather told NBC affiliate KVLY of Fargo on Wednesday that she had died.
