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Jon Collins

St. Michael man charged with killing father, brother

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

Prosecutors have charged a St. Michael, Minn., man in the shooting deaths of his father and older brother on Saturday night.

Christopher Besser, 21, faces two counts of second-degree murder. Wright County Attorney Tom Kelly said he'll ask a grand jury to consider boosting the charge to premeditated first-degree murder.

Officers responding to a 911 call at a St. Michael home at about 6:30 p.m. on Saturday found the bodies of 27-year-old Blake Besser and 49-year-old Todd Besser, an Elk River police officer. Christopher Besser called police from a Monticello gas station about an hour later to turn himself in for the shooting.

County Attorney Tom Kelly said Todd and Christopher Besser had a "strained relationship." He said there was a confrontation between the two men before the shootings.

Prosecutors allege that Christopher Besser used a .30-.30 rifle to shoot his father in the back of the head as he sat at a computer. Kelly said Christopher Besser later shot his brother in the stomach.

"Blake, who had just been shot, called 911, and with labored breathing and moaning, told dispatch that his brother had just shot him and that he needed help," Kelly said. "By the time officers arrived, Blake was already dead."

At about 7:45 p.m., Christopher Besser asked to use the phone at a Kwik Stop in Monticello, and called 911 to turn himself in, Kelly said.

Kelly offered condolences to the victims' family, friends and colleagues.

"How tragic and how sad the case, if you can only imagine the phone call: your husband Todd has been killed, your oldest son Blake has been killed and your youngest son Christopher is in jail for killing both of them," Kelly said. "How do you even wrap your brain about that."

Christopher Besser is being held in the Wright County jail. He is scheduled to make his first court appearance on Tuesday afternoon.

Todd Besser worked a 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. shift at the department Saturday before he was killed, according to Elk River Police Chief Ron Nierenhausen.

Todd Besser was a 16-year veteran of the Elk River Police Department who worked in patrol, as a detective and as a school liaison officer. Besser previously served 12 years 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.

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