Surprise guilty plea in NW Minn. double murder
The man charged in the fatal shootings of a rural northwestern Minnesota couple has entered a surprise guilty plea.
Fifty-three-year-old Tim Thorson entered his plea Thursday at what was supposed to be a routine court appearance.
Thorson's plea comes just days after he was charged in the killings last week of 72-year-old Francis Lundon and his 71-year-old wife, Ethyl, at their rural Mahnomen home.
KFGO Radio of Fargo, N.D., reports Thorson told the judge that he's sorry for what he did and doesn't want to put the Lundon family through any more pain.
Create a More Connected Minnesota
MPR News is your trusted resource for the news you need. With your support, MPR News brings accessible, courageous journalism and authentic conversation to everyone - free of paywalls and barriers. Your gift makes a difference.
Thorson is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 11.
Thorson had been living at a chemical dependency center a mile from the Lundons' home. He told investigators he thought drug dealers were living at the house, so he rode his bicycle to the house, armed with a rifle. He was at the wrong house.
---
Information from: KFGO-AM
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)