Number of death investigations draw attention
Number 2
Area death investigations were prominent in the news throughout 2007.
In January, a 27-year-old Cushing man was arrested for murdering his parents at their rural Cushing home.
Erik John Wojciechowski was indicted on two counts of first-degree murder after shooting his parents, Roger and Jeanne Wojciechowski. He pleaded guilty to both counts in November and was sentenced in December to more than 30 years in prison.
In March, criminal charges were filed against a 66-year-old Garrison man for aiding in the suicide of his wife, whose body was recovered in Borden Lake in Garrison.
Nancy Lou Hesner, 61, was reported missing on Dec. 18, 2006. Her body was located in Borden Lake on Dec. 23, anchored to the bottom with a 25-pound weight. Her husband, Gerald Jones, is accused of driving Hesner in a boat to the spot where she jumped into Borden Lake.
On June 20, Crow Wing County Sheriff's Department deputies responded to a rural Emily residence after a man was shot to death.
Brainerd Dispatch/Nels Norquist
As of Dec. 12 no new court dates have been set for Jones.
In April, a 24-year-old St. Cloud man was arrested for the murder of Lewis James Wilczek, 21, Little Falls. He was indicted on two counts of first-degree murder.
Jeremy Jason Hull is accused of killing Wilczek, burning and burying his body in Mille Lacs County and then assuming Wilczek's identity to withdraw more than $50,000 from his bank account. Police found Wilczek's body, burned and bound with an extension cord in a shallow grave in a gravel pit in May near property where Hull used to live by Foreston.
Hull's next court appearance in Mille Lacs County is Feb. 21.
In June, a 37-year-old Emily man was arrested for the shooting death of his father-in-law.
In July Steven Bernard Radke was indicted on a charge of premeditated first-degree murder for the death of Darrell Buesgens at Buesgens rural Emily home.
According to court documents, Radke drove to Buesgens' home, laid on the ground and shot Buesgens twice with a rifle. Buesgens had been outside with his daughter, Melanie Radke, who is Steven Radke's estranged wife, and two of his grandchildren when the shooting took place.
Radke's next court appearance in Crow Wing County is scheduled for Jan. 15.
In August, Ronald Mann, 50, Cass Lake, was arrested and charged with second-degree intentional murder but without premeditation for the death of his 74-year-old father, Ivan Mann.
Ronald Mann was arrested at the property where he and his father lived in rural Cass Lake. Ivan Mann's body was found in a wooded area of the property. The medical examiner's office ruled Ivan Mann's death as a homicide, with the manner of death being manual strangulation accompanied by blunt force trauma to the head.
Ronald Mann's next court appearance in Cass County is scheduled for Jan. 25.
Also in August, 19-year-old Matthew Michael Martin was arrested for murdering 15-year-old Molly Rice after the two attended a party near Pine Mountain Lake near Backus.
Martin was indicted on five first-degree murder counts and one count each of second-degree murder, first-degree burglary and third-degree criminal sexual conduct.
Martin's next court appearance in Cass County is scheduled for Jan. 28.
MATT ERICKSON may be reached at matt.erickson@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5857.