11 October 2023
ST. PAUL A Ramsey County judge has acquitted a man in the beating and stabbing death of his 88-year-old father at their St. Anthony home nearly two years ago.
Judge DeAnne Hilgers found Rodney Berg Christopherson, 49, not guilty by reason of mental illness in the December 2021 murder of Donald Allan Christopherson, who died of head trauma and blood loss caused by sharp-force injuries. Christopherson showed “he was laboring under such a defect of reason as not to know the acts constituting the alleged offense were wrong,” the judge wrote.
Hilgers’ ruling was issued last week; a bench trial was held in July.
Christopherson, who had been diagnosed with psychotic disorder and paranoid schizophrenia, struck his father in the head with a metal mallet and stabbed and slashed him with a knife, according to court documents.
The elder Christopherson had a long career as chief of pharmacy services for the Veterans Affairs hospital system in Michigan, Tennessee and South Dakota, his obituary says. After his wife of 39 years died in 2001, he moved to St. Anthony to be near his grandchildren. He was survived by four children.
Officers were called to the townhome in the 2400 block of 39th Ave. NE, just east of Stinson Boulevard, around 5:30 p.m. Dec. 4, 2021, after Christopherson’s other son found his father dead in bed and his brother lying face-down in a pool of blood in the kitchen.
Officers smelled the odor of a decomposing body, and found Donald Christopherson bludgeoned and stabbed to death. A wooden cutting board was under his head.
Rodney Christopherson was lying face-down and bleeding, but conscious and able to tell officers that he had stabbed himself in the chest and that he had been lying on his chest for hours hoping to keep pressure on his injuries so he wouldn’t bleed to death.
Christopherson denied hurting his father, and said he did not know what had happened.
Officers found a blood-soaked butcher knife and a pool of blood on the floor near the laundry room and an 18-inch-long metal mallet on a bathroom counter, also covered in blood. A knife-sharpening tool with blood spatter was on the kitchen island near where Christopherson lay.
He was taken to a hospital, where medical staff described his mental state as manic, court documents say. A blood draw revealed the presence of the sedative midazolam, but no other controlled or intoxicating substances.
His brother told police he had stopped by the house at the request of his sister, who was in daily contact with their father, and had become concerned when she could not reach him.
The brother said when he entered the house and found Christopherson in the kitchen, Christopherson said, “Don’t go in there … Dad’s dead.”
The brother told police that Christopherson has a schizophrenia diagnosis and had been living with their father for a while. He said he had seen Christopherson around Thanksgiving and it had appeared he was doing well. He thought his brother was taking his medications.
He said Christopherson had attempted suicide twice in the past, the most recent attempt in 2016.
‘Tragedy of circumstances’
In February, after three mental health evaluations, Christopherson was found to be competent to stand trial. He waived his right to a jury trial in June, opting for a bench trial based on stipulated facts and evidence.
At trial, his defense attorney, John Riemer, argued that Christopherson met the standard set by the M’Naghten rule. Under the standard, only defendants who didn’t know what they were doing or didn’t know their actions were wrong can be found not guilty by reason of mental illness. The rule is named for a delusional man who tried to assassinate England’s prime minister in 1843.
Two forensic psychologists were retained to assess Christopherson’s mental state at the time of the offense. They found he suffers from several mental illnesses, including schizotypal personality disorder, and that he did not know the nature of his acts were wrong, according to the Hilgers’ ruling.
Before considering the findings, though, Hilgers reviewed the circumstantial evidence of Christopherson’s “awareness of the wrongfulness of his actions.” She noted Christopherson did not show signs he was planning the attack by acquiring weapons, and did not attempt to hide the crime afterward.
It wasn’t until hours afterward that he showed knowledge his actions were wrong, Hilgers wrote, through his “desire to protect his brother from a grisly scene” and when he declined to answer questions and asked for an attorney.
Based on the circumstantial evidence and the conclusions of the evaluators, Hilgers wrote, “(Christopherson) has demonstrated by a preponderance of the evidence that he did not understand that his actions at the time of the murder were wrong, even where he appeared to gain some understanding of the wrongfulness of his actions within a short time after the murder.”
Prosecutors are required by state law to file a petition for civil commitment after the not-guilty verdict. Following due process and input from medical professionals, a judge will decide whether Christopherson should be civilly committed.
In the meantime, Hilgers ordered that Christopherson be detained in a state hospital or other facility pending completion of the proceedings.
Christopherson’s attorney said Tuesday that he has been restored to competency through treatment and struggles knowing he killed his dad.
“And I can’t speak for Rodney’s family, but based upon my interactions with them, they’re just all devastated,” he said. “It’s a tragedy of circumstances.”
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