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Crime, Law and Justice
Matt Sepic

Relative charged in stabbing of Bloomington couple

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Hennepin County prosecutors on Monday filed charges of murder and attempted murder against the man suspected of stabbing a Bloomington couple early Thursday. Mark Novak, 74, was killed in the attack. His wife Pamela Novak, 72, suffered extensive injuries and remains hospitalized.

Adam Garrett Roring, 44, of Savage is charged with second-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder. He’s scheduled to make his first court appearance Tuesday afternoon.

Mark Novak served a single term as mayor of Janesville, Minn., in 2011 and 2012 before moving to the Twin Cities.

Janesville City Administrator Clinton Rogers said Monday that Novak was a supportive colleague, and the couple volunteered at many events in town.

“He did a really good job. He was fair and honest and open minded, and he listened to everybody.”

According to the criminal complaint against Roring, Bloomington police were dispatched to the Novaks’ home on 105th St. just after 4:30 a.m. Thursday. As officers tried to enter the house, they heard noises in the basement and allegedly saw Roring emerge from a window before attempting to run away.

Authorities say Roring was carrying a metal bar and part of a nunchuck that had blood on them. Investigators also found a large chef’s knife in the kitchen sink that Roring appeared to have used to attack the couple.

Pamela Novak suffered lacerations and broken bones on her hands and face. She told police that she and her husband were woken in their bedroom by a man beating them with an unknown object.

Novak said she escaped the bedroom and was pushed down the stairs before locating her cell phone and calling 911. She identified the assailant as a relative.

In an interview with police, Roring allegedly said that he went to the Novaks’ home to return a house key and discovered an intruder there. Roring is being held in the Hennepin County Jail.