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Mukhtar M. Ibrahim and Peter Cox

Prosecutors to charge man in killings of St. Michael father, brother

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Officer Todd Besser
Officer Todd Besser
Courtesy of Elk River Police Department

Updated: May 11, 1:05 p.m. | Posted: May 10, 2:15 p.m.

Prosecutors are expected to charge a St. Michael man Tuesday with killing his father and older brother in an apparent domestic dispute.

The Wright County Sheriff's Office said a man called 911 Saturday evening saying he had been shot. When deputies arrived at the home, in the 4500 block of Mayfield Avenue Northeast in St. Michael, they found Blake Besser, 27, and Todd Besser, a 49-year-old Elk River police officer, dead.

About 45 minutes later, Christopher Besser, 21, called the Wright County Sheriff's Office to turn himself in for the killings. Officers took him into custody at a Monticello gas station without incident. He is being held in the Wright County jail.

Christopher Besser will be charged Tuesday after 11 a.m., said Wright County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Capt. Todd Hoffman.

Authorities will hold a press conference at 9 a.m. at the Wright County Sheriff's Office to announce the charges against Christopher Besser, Hoffman said.

Todd Besser was a 16-year veteran of the Elk River Police Department.

Elk River Police Chief Ron Nierenhausen said Besser worked in patrol, as a detective and as a school liaison officer.

"Todd was a fantastic person. Even-keel. He was a pleasure to work with," he said. "We used to talk all the time, we were similar ages and we both have military experiences and backgrounds. Todd was a rare individual."

Nierenhausen said that Besser had worked a 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. shift at the department Saturday, before going to his home in St. Michael, where he died.

"Our police department is very tight group in Elk River, very close," Elk River Mayor John Dietz said. "This is obviously a very tragic day for our city and our police department and I think it's going to take our department a while to recover from this."

Elk River police said Besser served 12 years of active duty in the U.S. Air Force and retired from the Air Force Reserve after a total of 20 years of service. Before joining the Elk River police, he was a corrections officer in Washington County.

In a news release Sunday, the Wright County Sheriff's Office, which is investigating the incident, said it "appears to be a domestic situation." Police are not seeking any additional suspects.

Funeral services for Todd and Blake Besser were scheduled to be held on May 17 at Elk River High School. Public visitation will take place at the school from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.