Resort Employee Pleads Guilty To Fatal Shooting At Holiday Party

GRAND MARAIS, Minn. (AP) — A Minnesota man accused of shooting to death another man during an annual holiday party for employees has pleaded guilty to felony murder.

Authorities say 62-year-old Kirk Bigby, of the town of Finland, worked at the Bluefin Bay Resort in Tofte, a popular resort on the North Shore of Lake Superior. They say he shot and killed 35-year-old blackjack dealer Marcus Roberts, of Bloomington, outside the resort restaurant where the party was held in December 2015.

Bigby at one point had maintained that he acted in self-defense. Cook County Attorney Molly Hicken says Bigby pleaded guilty during a pretrial hearing on Friday. He could face up to 15 years in prison.

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