Cushing man charged in shooting death of parents
LITTLE FALLS - Murder charges have been filed against the 27-year-old rural Cushing man arrested early Monday in connection with the shooting deaths of his parents.
Erik John Wojciechowski was charged Tuesday in Morrison County District Court with two counts of felony second-degree murder without premeditation for the deaths of his father, Roger Wojciechowski, 64, and his mother, Jeanne Wojciechowski, 57.
Roger and Jean Wojciechowski were found shot to death early Monday in their rural Cushing home after Erik Wojciechowski had called 911 to report he shot his parents.
Erik Wojciechowski will be sent to a state hospital in St. Peter for a psychological evaluation to determine if he is competent to stand trial. His bail was set at $1 million.
Morrison County Attorney Brian Middendorf on Tuesday said it was too early to say if he would call a grand jury in the case.
Erik Wojciechowski
According to the criminal complaint filed against Wojciechowski:
About 3:15 a.m. Monday, a Morrison County sheriff's dispatcher received a 911 call from Erik Wojciechowski, who said, "I just did something very bad," and admitted he shot his parents. He then asked the dispatcher to send deputies to his parents' residence on the 3000 block of Scandia Drive, northeast of Cushing and a few blocks from Lake Alexander.
Officers arrived at the scene and found Erik Wojciechowski walking several blocks away from his parents' house. He again admitted he shot his parents.
Officers went to Roger and Jeanne Wojciechowski's house. They found Roger Wojciechowski lying in the living room, dead of an apparent gunshot wound to the head. They found Jeanne Wojciechowski in the bedroom, also dead of an apparent gunshot wound to the head.
After being transported to the Morrison County jail, deputies attempted to take a tape-recorded statement from Erik Wojciechowski, but he was not responsive.
According to Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension criminal records, Wojciechowski had been arrested several times since 1999 in Stearns County, including for driving under the influence, driving with a canceled driver's license, failing to provide insurance and escaping from custody.
He also had been twice arrested for driving under the influence in Morrison County, most recently serving two months in jail before being released in late December.
After he was released from jail, he went to live with his parents at their rural Cushing home. Within days of his release, his parents called the Morrison County Sheriff's Department to report their son was acting strangely, but Sheriff Michel Wetzel on Monday said there wasn't enough cause at that time to have Erik Wojciechowski taken into custody for a psychological evaluation. Instead, Wetzel said deputies were able to convince Erik Wojciechowski to seek help on his own.
MATT ERICKSON can be reached at matt.erickson@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5857.