Man charged with murder 2 years after Allison Lussier found dead in Minneapolis
The Hennepin County Attorney's Office has charged the ex-boyfriend of Allison Lussier, the 47-year-old Minneapolis woman found dead in February 2024, in her death.
Charles Henry Foss, 36, was charged Thursday with one count of second-degree unintentional murder and one count of stalking, the office said. Foss is serving a 105-month sentence for an unrelated crime at a southern Minnesota prison.
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty credited Lussier's loved ones and the community for keeping the case in the public eye and helping prosecutors do additional investigating.
"Without them, we would not be here today," Moriarty said.
The county attorney's office said the case was submitted to prosecutors in June 2024, but the case file was deficient and did not support charges. A team of prosecutors, investigators and victim services staff then developed a plan to investigate her death more thoroughly, the office said.
The Minneapolis City Council ordered an audit of the police response and investigation. In April, the city auditor found 22 issues with how the city handled Lussier's case, including that she and people close to her had contacted police 12 times and that she had made several reports about alleged abuse by her ex-boyfriend.
The audit found only a small number of Lussier's calls led to an investigation, and none led to formal criminal charges. Investigators missed statutory elements of stalking, which could have provided an opportunity to arrest the suspect.
The Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office could not determine an official manner of death. Lussier had suffered an acute subdural hematoma and likely died soon after the trauma. She also had "significant amounts of fentanyl and methamphetamine in her system."
Brian O'Hara, the former Minneapolis police chief, drew criticism early in the investigation for emphasizing publicly that Lussier had a "massive" amount of drugs in her system when she died.
"That statement caused real pain to the family, to those who loved her and to the broader community. I take responsibility for that impact," O'Hara said in 2025.
Details from the criminal complaint
Court documents state Lussier and Foss had dated on and off for about three years before her death, and she filed her first abuse report against him in March 2021.
Lussier filed an order of protection against Foss in 2022, alleging he had threatened her with a razor days earlier. She successfully asked the county to dismiss it a few days later.
Police were called to Lussier's apartment building on Feb. 13, 2024, after the caretaker reported seeing Lussier "running to her apartment without a shirt on, shaken, stating she had just been punched in the head" by Foss, who she said made her disrobe and choked her. Officers talked with Lussier soon after and unsuccessfully searched for Foss.
Three days later, Lussier called police to report Foss was in her apartment. Officers responded, removed him from the premises and told him "not to return," the complaint states. Hours later, the caretaker said she had her last text interaction with Lussier.
On Feb. 18, 2024, court documents state Lussier and Foss texted over the course of several hours, where she said in part "If u cant come home and be cool just stay away. i love u and i also love myself enough to just forget about everything n move forward with our relationship so please if you cant just let me go n ill do the same."
That afternoon, Lussier talked with her sister over the phone for the last time. A couple hours later, the criminal complaint states Foss called Lussier via a friend's phone to say he was coming to meet her. Lussier responded that she was home.
About an hour later, Lussier "called her sister multiple times, which went unanswered," court documents state.
On Feb. 19, 2024, the caretaker slipped a piece of paper under Lussier's door about upcoming maintenance. On Feb. 22, 2024, the day the maintenance was to take place, the caretaker noticed the paper hadn't moved. She and the building manager soon entered the apartment and found Lussier's body.
The criminal complaint states Foss allegedly told multiple people around the time of Lussier's death that he killed her, including telling people at a homeless encampment, "I think I killed that b**** this time."
The day after Lussier attempted to call her sister, court documents state a witness told investigators he saw Foss "wearing a wig" because "the police may be looking for him because he may have beaten someone to death." That witness said Foss left a cellphone behind after their interaction, which was later determined to have belonged to Lussier.
Police began to investigate Foss soon after Lussier's death. On July 30, 2024, the complaint states police spotted Foss driving a stolen car and gave chase. Foss eventually bailed on foot, broke into a home and threatened its residents with a knife, leading to an hourslong standoff. Police eventually found Foss inside a closet with a self-inflicted cut to his neck. He had written "sorry" in blood on the door, as well as "a heart with the letter A written twice," according to court documents. Foss was eventually convicted and is in the midst of his prison sentence.
If convicted, Foss faces 40 more years behind bars.
Domestic Violence Resources: For anonymous, confidential help, people can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or 1-800-787-3224.
