Fort Ripley man charged 2 weeks following wife's hit-and-run death
FORT RIPLEY, Minn. -- A 47-year-old Fort Ripley man is accused of fatally striking his wife with an SUV and leaving the scene late last month.
On Wednesday, Tony McClelland was charged with one felony charge each of second-degree murder, first-degree manslaughter and criminal vehicular homicide in connection to the June 25 incident, court documents in Crow Wing County show.
In the early morning of June 25, Crow Wing County deputies were called to the intersection of Legend Lane and Killian Road in Fort Ripley after someone spotted the body near State Highway 371. Officials later identified the deceased woman as 49-year-old Angela Marie McClelland of Fort Ripley.
According to the complaint, investigators learned that Tony and Angela McClelland attended a birthday party the night before, were seen drinking at the party, and both left in the early morning hours.
When officers spoke with Tony McClelland, he said that his wife had "thrown a hissy fit … just like every other f—ing day," and that he dropped her off on the side of the road after they got into an argument, the complaint said. He said he only realized she hadn't returned home when he woke up the next morning.
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After obtaining a search warrant for the vehicle, a Ford Explorer, officers found what appeared to be blood and tissue in several locations underneath the vehicle, including a single strand of long hair.
Investigators say forensic data contradicts Tony McClelland's version of events, placing the vehicle at the location of the body at the suspected time of death. The complaint says data shows the vehicle was traveling southbound on Legend Lane and stopped around 100 yards south of Killian Road, which is south of where the body was located.
Investigators determined the vehicle was put in reverse and backed up at speeds of around 20 mph to where the body was located and stopped. The vehicle was then driven at a high rate of speed southbound from the scene, reaching speeds over 100 mph, before returning to the couple's residence on Sleepy Hollow Road.
On Monday, Tony McClelland spoke again to officers and said his wife had gotten mad at him for looking at another woman and was grabbing at the steering wheel, but said he didn't remember much after that and that he was pretty drunk, too, according to the complaint. He was then arrested.
If convicted, he could face up to 40 years in prison on the murder charge.
