Joshua Krueth

Overview

Joshua A. Krueth was a 20-year-old man described by authorities as responsible for two deaths in Ramsey, a community of more than 18,500 north of Minneapolis. He was described as a serial killer who “... has been stopped” and was reported to have been a known drug user. Krueth was charged in connection with the deaths of Suzanne Kaye Fischer, 59, and Lawrence Plessel, 60, after both were shot with a high-powered rifle in their homes.

Background

Anoka County Sheriff Bruce Andersohn described Krueth as “a serial killer who ... has been stopped as of yesterday afternoon.” Officers said they did not have a motive for the killings and believed Krueth was responsible based on statements he made to authorities.

Krueth was described as a high school dropout. A man who described himself as a friend of Krueth’s, 18-year-old Jason Burgess, told the St. Paul Pioneer Press that Krueth worked installing drywall with his father.

The offence

Authorities said Krueth shot Suzanne Kaye Fischer, 59, on Sunday and Lawrence Plessel, 60, on a Saturday two weeks earlier. Both Fischer and Plessel were from Ramsey and were shot with a high-powered rifle while in their homes. Authorities said the victims were chosen at random.

Officers said Fischer died early Sunday from a shot in the head as she slept next to her husband.

In the killing of Lawrence Plessel, officers said Krueth allegedly entered through an unlocked patio door and fired through the kitchen window, hitting Plessel in the heart. Police said a person stood on Plessel’s deck and shot him through his kitchen window, hitting him in the chest. Police said Krueth told authorities he stood 50 yards from Plessel’s house, looked through his scope and fired through the kitchen window, hitting the man in the heart, and when asked why he didn’t shoot twice, Krueth told police: “That’s all it took.”

Investigation

The manhunt that led to Krueth’s capture started early Sunday after Fischer’s husband called the Anoka County Sheriff’s Department to report a gunman had apparently broken into their home and shot his wife in the head. The shooter fled.

Officers were led to Krueth after they found a backpack in a park they were searching and displayed a college sweat shirt with the letters “IUPUI,” apparently for Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis, in a TV news report. A person came to a police command post to say they knew someone with such a sweat shirt, Anoka County Sheriff’s Capt. Bob Aldrich said.

Samples of Krueth’s blood were being tested for drugs and alcohol, Andersohn said.

Andersohn said Krueth resisted arrest but was unarmed when he was taken into custody. Andersohn said that two high-powered rifles were recovered during the investigation, but he did not give details.

After the arrest, investigators described the victims as having been chosen at random, and they said they did not know why.

Dan Plessel said: “The negative part of this is we still don’t know ... why”

Officers said the garment was shown on TV after police found it in a backpack, along with a rifle, while chasing Krueth along the Mississippi River.

After the arrest, Andersohn described Krueth as “a serial killer who ... has been stopped,” and said he was a known drug user who was sentenced in June to a month in jail on a burglary conviction.

Arrest

The manhunt began early Sunday after Fischer’s husband reported that a gunman had broken into their home and shot his wife in the head.

Officers were ultimately led to Krueth later Sunday after someone recognized Krueth’s college sweat shirt with the letters for Indiana University and Purdue University-Indianapolis.

Trial

Krueth was charged with two counts of second-degree murder. The first charging was for the death of Suzanne Fischer, and the second was for the death of Lawrence Plessel.

According to criminal complaints, Krueth told authorities he killed the pair; the court documents did not indicate whether he gave a reason for the violence.

Krueth pleaded guilty in the killing of Suzanne Fischer.

Krueth also faced trial in January on charges that he shot a man to death in Ramsey two weeks before killing Suzanne Fischer.

Sentencing

Suzanne Fischer killing

Joshua A. Krueth was sentenced to life in prison on September 14, 2005. The sentencing court did not make Krueth eligible for parole for at least 30 years, minus the year he had already served in jail.

Jerome Fischer said: “Thirty years ain’t long enough,” and also said after the sentencing: “I still wonder why he didn’t take me first.” Jerome Fischer said: “When I got up, he took off.”

Krueth had no comment before his sentencing Wednesday in Anoka County District Court.

Jerome Fischer testified that he and Suzanne were married 40 years. He said she was about to retire after working 37 years as a nurse in Fridley and that she cared for him after he developed leukemia and had kidney and bone marrow transplants. He described her as their guardian angel and said: “I never would have made it without her. Our best friends called her our guardian angel.” He also said: “I truly believe she is guarding our family and friends.”

Outside the courtroom after the sentencing, Krueth’s aunts and his father, Gary Krueth, apologized to the Fischers.

The sentencing narrative stated that Krueth had entered a Ramsey, Minn. home and shot Suzanne while she slept. It also stated that Krueth was high on methamphetamine when he entered.

Krueth was described as serving a life sentence in Fischer’s murder, which carried a minimum term of 30 years.

Lawrence Plessel killing

After a guilty plea in the murder of Suzanne Fischer, an Anoka County judge sentenced Krueth on Thursday to 40 years in prison—the maximum penalty allowed—in the second-degree murder of Lawrence Plessel.

The sentencing narrative stated that Thursday’s developments capped a roller-coaster saga for the meth-addicted high school dropout who now had two murders to his name. It stated that Krueth, 22, pleaded guilty last year to first-degree murder in the Sept. 19, 2004, shooting death of Suzanne Fischer and that the sentence in the Plessel case would begin if and when he completed the other sentence.

Krueth’s sentence in the Plessel case was to begin after completion of the other sentence.

Appeals

No appeals were described in the provided material.

Outcome

Police declared they had stopped a possible serial killer.

Krueth was sentenced to life in prison on September 14, 2005 for the death of Suzanne Fischer.

He also received a 40-year prison sentence for the second-degree murder of Lawrence Plessel.

Aftermath

The killings were still reverberating through the small town on Monday.

Tonya Griffore said she was unsettled from the heavy police and SWAT team presence in the neighborhood the day before and said: “I’m kind of relieved that he’s caught.” She also said: “I’m real thankful for that. But it’s still really unsettling.”

Leon Fischer, brother-in-law to Suzanne Fischer, said at the news conference that he was sure that her killer “never met her, never knew her.” He said: “I would have to forgive her killer eventually,” and also said: “but ‘today, it’s not on the plate.’”

Plessel’s son, Dan Plessel, said there was no personal link between his father and Krueth. He said he could not put his emotions toward the suspect into words and offered sympathy for the Fischer family. He said he understood how in a moment “their lives were turned upside down.”

Dan Plessel said: “their lives were turned upside down.”

Dawn Zimmer, 32, one of Lawrence Plessel’s neighbors, said she wouldn’t expect something like a killing in her quiet neighborhood. She said: “I’ve never had any problems.” She also said: “I’ve always felt safe here, so it was very surprising that it had happened to Larry, first of all, then another one.”