Twin Cities man charged with killing father with hammer
A 29-year-old North St. Paul, Minnesota, man is accused of fatally striking his father with a hammer last weekend.
The man, who was charged Tuesday, faces two counts of second-degree murder in connection to the incident on Saturday.
According to the charging documents, officers were dispatched at approximately 1:30 p.m. to the 2700 block of Chippewa Avenue on an assault call. The 911 caller told police that their schizophrenic son had struck her 69-year-old husband on the head with a hammer.
When officers arrived, they found the victim suffering from a significant head wound. He died the next morning at Regions Hospital.
The victim's wife said her son was diagnosed with schizophrenia five years ago and recently changed medications, which changed his behavior. She said he was more stressed, stayed up for days and stopped eating. She told police that he had never been aggressive or violent in the past and loved his father, the charges said.
He recently had a seizure and moved into the home the day before the incident. The victim's wife said the son hit the father twice in the head with the ball-peen hammer "without any warning or prior argument." He then fled the home.
With the help of the alleged attacker's brother, he was found and arrested.
When talking with police, the son admitted to hitting his father and said that "he was holding me for hostage," the criminal complaint said.
He faces up to 40 years in prison.
If you or someone you know is in emotional distress, get help from the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988. Trained crisis counselors are available 24 hours a day to talk about anything.
In addition, help is available from the National Alliance on Mental Illness, or NAMI. Call the NAMI Helpline at 800-950-6264 or text "HelpLine" to 62640. There are more than 600 local NAMI organizations and affiliates across the country, many of which offer free support and education programs.
