my son's roommate killed his ex girlfriend's mother today (page 2)

misanthropic

That's horrible- thanks for posting the news article Gopher.

MsMcDucket

That is terrible. I wonder if there was a blood issue? Either way it's terrible!

changeling

Very sad.

I think your son needs a new roommate.

changeling :(

that's very sad. You can't blame it on JWs. That kind of violence happens every day in all kinds of people. So very tragic that the mother was killed and the poor girl must be out of her mind with grief and fear. How does your son feel? What a scary situation for him, even though he was just the guy's room mate. I hope he gets some counseling if he feels he needs it. NOT counseling from the elders, though.

Gopher

An update ....

http://www.startribune.com/local/north/25602174.html?location_refer=North%20Metro:highlightModules:1

New Brighton murder suspect made a 'hit list'

The man charged in the death of a New Brighton woman trying to protect her daughter had apparently planned a killing spree.

By HERÓN MÁRQUEZ ESTRADA, Star Tribune

Last update: July 18, 2008 - 9:04 PM

The 21-year-old man charged with killing the mother of a New Brighton girl he had been reportedly stalking for months also had a "hit list" of people he intended to target during a shooting spree, police reported Friday.

The suspect told investigators he meant to follow the 17-year-old girl to her job in Roseville, then kill her, her mother, Christine Rose Nguyen, the girl's co-workers "and any customers," according to a criminal complaint filed late Friday afternoon by the Ramsey County attorney's office.

"We were lucky he didn't shoot anyone else," John Ellickson, deputy director of the New Brighton Department of Public Safety, said Friday. "He had the mentality, kind of like the school shooters, that he was just going to take out all those people in the world he thought were against him."

Corey Lee Gaustad of St. Anthony was charged with second-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder. According to the charges, he ambushed Nguyen, 48, in her car, shooting her once in the stomach because he had read "it is a more painful way to die."

He then shot at the daughter, who was also in the car, as she fled and ran to the street.

Police said the mother probably saved the girl's life by confronting the gunman outside the parked car.

Gaustad told police that after the shootings he intended to go to the home of the girl's grandmother to kill her also, but changed his mind. Instead, he drove to St. Paul to try and kill a male friend of the girl's.

"But he changed his mind and decided he had done enough for now," investigators said in the criminal complaint.

Instead, Gaustad drove to Rochester because he was familiar with the area, said the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, which helped New Brighton police. Gaustad was tracked to a hotel where he was arrested Friday morning after Rochester police found his car in a parking ramp.

Ellickson said two 9-mm handguns, including the one thought to have been used in the Thursday shootings, were confiscated.

One was in Gaustad's car and the other was on a nightstand in the hotel room within arm's reach of his bed. "We were able to get to him before he woke up," Ellickson said.

Early warnings

According to the complaint, the teenage girl met Gaustad at church four years ago and they had been "close friends" since the summer of 2007.

That all changed about four months ago, the teenager told police. "She advised Gaustad that she no longer wanted to date him because he was showing violent tendencies," the complaint states.

Ellickson said the bizarre behavior had escalated in the past few months, including unwanted visits to the teenager at work, possibly peeping in the windows of her townhouse, and making death threats to the family over the telephone.

Nguyen, 48, grew so concerned about Gaustad's behavior that she called New Brighton police on Wednesday night to ask for help.

But Ellickson said she asked that New Brighton officers not contact Gaustad, as would be standard procedure when threats are made, because she did not want to provoke him.

Instead, Ellickson said, Nguyen was given information on filing a restraining order against Gaustad. He said she told the officer she would do so as soon as possible.

Ellickson said Gaustad has no previous record -- "not even a traffic ticket"-- and that his officers probably would not have arrested him right away for making threats on the phone.

"People make threats all the time," he said. "Unfortunately, making threats over the phone is not an arrestable offense."

He said the filing of charges also would have taken weeks or months of investigating and would be up to the city or county attorney to decide.

"In hindsight," Ellickson said Friday, "things obviously could have been done differently. But that still wouldn't have stopped him from shooting her the next day."

The hit list

In a jailhouse interview in Rochester within hours of his arrest, Gaustad told police about his plans to kill the teenager and several of her relatives, the complaint said.

Gaustad told police that he purchased two guns, one July 10 and the other Sunday.

On Thursday he followed the girl and her mother in his car from the Cub Foods in St. Anthony. He thought they were going to a Roseville clothing store where the girl worked.

"His plan was to go into the ... store and kill [the girl], her co-workers, and any customers," the complaint said. "Gaustad had both handguns and seven fully loaded magazines with 15 to 17 rounds in each magazine."

When the mother and daughter did not go to the store, Gaustad said he went to their New Brighton townhome to ambush them, parking his car several blocks away.

The pair arrived at 3:30 p.m. Thursday. Ellickson said he walked up to the car displaying a black handgun.

He then started yelling at the girl, repeatedly asking her why she had broken up with him.

At that point the mother got out of the car and started arguing with the suspect, putting herself between the gunman and her daughter.

After a few minutes there was a single gunshot. The girl told police that she fled the car, taking off her shoes to make it easier to run toward the street.

Witnesses told police they heard four or five gunshots. Police said they found several casings in the direction the girl was running, indicating she was shot at several times.

Ellickson said the girl was able to flag down a motorist and was given a ride to a neighbor's house, blocks away, to call police. Nguyen was taken to Unity Hospital in Fridley, where she died at 7:38 p.m.

Gaustad told investigators that following the shooting, he drove to Rochester and watched TV news reports about the incident in his hotel room.

Investigators said a search of the room after the arrest revealed a note with the name of the girl, her mother, her grandmother and the male friend.

"Underneath the name of [the mother] was the word 'success,'" the complaint said. "Underneath the names of the other three was the word 'failed.'"

Heron Marquez Estrada • 612-673-4280

Corey Lee Gaustad

whitman

wow - that's all very...wow!

J-ex-W

For those who asked, my sons are fine (safe, thank goodness!!), but this is all going to hit them hard very soon. Also, the murderer was a regular pioneer. I keep trying to tell my kids to look beyond the brief case--bookbag--but with the upbringing they've had, they can't recognize signs of violent thinking as being abnormalor of serious concern. Hopefully, they will be able to put the pieces together after the fact and accept the truth of it. Problem is, it would also require them to recognize some signs about their dad and his side of the family that feel they need to...emotionally/ mentally ignore.

I feel for the victim's family, though. The daughter is only 17; that's why she is not named in the articles.

White Dove

How horrible!

Regular PI?!

Dad says that I'm just trying to dig up dirt on JW's and that all of the perps are df'd or not JW's and the vics are.

I've gotta be careful how I present this kind of info.

Mom says you can trust any JW with your life.

HA!

yknot

That is so sad and scary........

Man if this stupid cult would just not repress people so much about dating.......

I can't even imagine.....

Prayers

lisavegas420

Investigators said a search of the room after the arrest revealed a note with the name of the girl, her mother, her grandmother and the male friend.

The male friend wasn't your son, was it?

this is very sad for all concerned.

lisa

my son's roommate killed his ex girlfriend's mother today