Man found guilty in fatal shooting of his father at Pine County hunting cabin

A 32-year-old man has been found guilty of all charges in the fatal shooting of his father at a Hinckley, Minnesota, hunting cabin in 2024, court records filed last week said.

The court convicted Kirk Hazlett III, from Cambridge, Minnesota, of one count each of first-degree murder, second-degree murder and first-degree burglary, and two counts of kidnapping. 

The court also ruled Hazlett's defense did not meet the burden to prove he was too mentally ill at the time of the crime to be considered responsible. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 15, 2027.

According to the criminal complaint, the shooting on the 57000 block of Barns Spring Road happened in November 2024. Hazlett's uncle told deputies at the scene that he, Hazlett's father and another man were at the cabin when he received a notification on his phone from a trail camera at the entrance of the property that showed a person walking up the driveway with a gun in his hand.

Court documents said Hazlett's uncle said he heard three gunshots while he went to another room to grab a handgun. He allegedly added that he came out of the room to see Hazlett standing with a gun and that his brother was still "breathing a little bit."

Hazlett told his uncle and the other man to sit on a couch before he shot his father again, according to the complaint. Hazlett eventually let the two men go, telling them to leave their phones. 

The men then ran out of the cabin and went to a neighbor's home to call the police. Hazlett's uncle told law enforcement that Hazlett and his father "weren't getting along" and was "not in good relations with their family," the complaint said.

Deputies later arrested Hazlett at his home in Cambridge, where his girlfriend told investigators he did not like the new security camera system at the hunting cabin, according to court documents.

Police had been called to the cabin approximately one month before the shooting for a disturbance, the complaint said. Hazlett's father reported that his son was drinking and threatening him and told law enforcement that he wanted his son to leave. Hazlett was later determined to be trespassing, according to court documents.

NOTE: The attached video first aired on Nov. 17, 2024.