Rural Cushing man to serve at least 30 years for killing parents
Erik John Wojciechowski, the 28-year-old man who in January murdered his parents at their rural Cushing home, will spend at least the next 30 years of his life in prison.
Wojciechowski was sentenced to life in prison Tuesday in Morrison County District Court on two counts of felony first-degree murder for the Jan. 8 murder of his parents, Roger Wojciechowski, 64, and Jeanne Wojciechowski, 57.
He pleaded guilty Nov. 15 to two counts of first-degree murder in Morrison County District Court. In exchange, prosecutors dismissed additional murder charges.
Erik Wojciechowski
The sentences for first-degree murder run concurrently and Wojciechowski is eligible for parole after 30 years, the court administrator's office reported. He was given 345 days credit on both counts for time already served in the Morrison County Jail. He was ordered to pay $11,078 in restitution.
"The judge followed our plea agreement. There were no surprises," said Morrison County Attorney Brian Middendorf Tuesday afternoon. "Obviously we felt the sentence was appropriate."
Wojciechowski also was sentenced to 42 months prison on a charge of felony first-degree DWI, with 710 days credited for time already served in the Morrison County Jail. The DWI sentence runs concurrently with the first-degree murder sentences.
Erik Wojciechowski was committed to the custody of the Minnesota Department of Corrections. Middendorf noted Wojciechowski has the right to appeal his sentence, but such appeals are limited because of the plea agreement.
About 3:15 a.m. on Jan. 8, 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 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.
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, and served two months in jail before being released in December of 2006.
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 previously 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 may be reached at matt.erickson@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5857.