Not sure if this has been posted but......What has become of society today? Now kids get bullied on the playground, they bring a gun. Now kids get yelled at by their parents, they kill them. Also more ammunition for the anti-gun crowd.
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By STEVE KARNOWSKI
Associated Press Writer
HASTINGS, Minn. (AP) - The teenagers' first try at killing Peter and Patricia Niedere was a failure.
Carrying shotguns and a glass cutter, two friends enlisted by Matthew Niedere and his promises of money crept into the Niederes' yard, intent on making it look like a burglary gone wrong while he was off bowling as a cover story. When security alarms tripped, they panicked and ran.
The next day, Matthew Niedere insisted on another try at killing his parents. And it was Matthew Niedere, prosecutors said, who followed through when one accomplice's nerve failed, shooting his father five times and his mother three times.
And it was Matthew Niedere, prosecutors said, who ordered his classmate to fire the final shot that killed his mother - a shotgun blast to the back of the head.
Niedere and Clayton Keister, 17, were both charged Tuesday as adults with four counts of first-degree murder, two counts of second-degree murder, and two counts of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. Their friend, Jamie Patton, 18, was charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder.
"This was a calculated murder plot, carried out boldly, and ultimately successfully," Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom said as the teenagers made their first court appearances. To reporters later, he called it a "chilling plan of murder for money, which was going to be obtained from the victims' estate."
Attorneys for Niedere and Patton would not comment. Daniel Guerrero, Keister's attorney, declined comment other than to say it was a "tragic case for all involved."
Matthew Niedere told police that persistent tensions between him and his parents had grown worse in recent weeks.
They had argued about many things, the teen said: His desire to change churches, his absence from a recent service because he overslept, his flirtations with younger girls at church.
Money was the motive for Keister and Patton - as much as $20,000 each dangled by Niedere, Backstrom said.
Backstrom said he didn't know the details of why the youth was dissatisfied with his family's church, Hope Lutheran Church in Hastings, which is affiliated with the conservative Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.
Matthew Niedere and Keister were classmates at Concordia Academy, a private school in Roseville also affiliated with the Missouri Synod. Patton grew up with Keister in Blaine and had attended the interdenominational Calvin Christian School there with him, but now is a senior at Mounds View High School.
According to the complaints and Backstrom, Patton and Keister went to the Niederes' home in Hastings late Friday night with shotguns that belonged to Keister's father, planning to make the killings look like a burglary gone wrong.
Matthew Niedere was out bowling with other friends but kept in close phone contact, Backstrom said.
Keister told police that as they entered the backyard, they tripped the security lights and alarm, got scared, and ran back to their vehicle. Patricia Niedere called police. When the teens saw a squad car drive through the neighborhood, they went home.
He told police Matthew Niedere was disappointed that the plan failed and wanted to try again, and that Patton had agreed but wanted to do it later. But Matthew Niedere offered Keister more money, he said, and they agreed to meet the next morning.
On Saturday afternoon, Matthew Niedere and Keister met outside a Cub Foods store in Hastings. Keister told police he brought his father's shotgun and a .22-caliber pistol he had borrowed from a 13-year-old neighbor - who Backstrom said was unaware of the plot - and put it in the trunk of Matthew Niedere's car.
Then they drove to the parents' business, Gordy's Premier Auto Glass, in Hastings. Matthew Niedere told police Keister was carrying the handgun when they went inside. The plan was that Keister would hold the gun on Matthew Niedere, but then turn the gun on the parents when they got close enough. Matthew Niedere said his parents at first thought they were just joking.
The teenagers walked out into an adjoining shoe store, where Keister told his friend he couldn't go through with it and walked out. Matthew Niedere took the gun and went back to the auto glass store. Backstrom said he then shot his father five times. He also shot his mother once in the arm.
Keister and Matthew Niedere told police she ran outside holding her bleeding arm, asked "What's wrong with Matt?" and told Keister to call 911. He didn't.
Patricia Niedere then went back inside, where her son shot her twice again, but none of those shots to her was fatal, Backstrom said.
Matthew Niedere told police he then told Keister to use the shotgun on his mother, and that Keister shot her in the back of the head at close range as she lay on the floor.
"I haven't seen any remorse expressed at all in the police reports I've read," the prosecutor said.
In fact, Backstrom said, both Matthew Niedere and Keister had dates lined up for Concordia's homecoming dance on Saturday night.
They didn't make it. Tips from witnesses helped police catch up with the teens later Saturday in Blaine. The complaint alleges they and Patton, who was arrested Monday, all admitted their roles in the killings.
Bail was set at $1 million apiece for Matthew Niedere and Patton, who both face life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted on the most serious counts. Bail was set at $500,000 for Patton, who faces a recommended sentence of 15 years under the state's sentencing guidelines.
Their next court appearances were set for Oct. 25, and Backstrom said he'll submit the case to a grand jury, which must approve the first-degree murder charges.
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Discuss.
_________________________________________________________
By STEVE KARNOWSKI
Associated Press Writer
HASTINGS, Minn. (AP) - The teenagers' first try at killing Peter and Patricia Niedere was a failure.
Carrying shotguns and a glass cutter, two friends enlisted by Matthew Niedere and his promises of money crept into the Niederes' yard, intent on making it look like a burglary gone wrong while he was off bowling as a cover story. When security alarms tripped, they panicked and ran.
The next day, Matthew Niedere insisted on another try at killing his parents. And it was Matthew Niedere, prosecutors said, who followed through when one accomplice's nerve failed, shooting his father five times and his mother three times.
And it was Matthew Niedere, prosecutors said, who ordered his classmate to fire the final shot that killed his mother - a shotgun blast to the back of the head.
Niedere and Clayton Keister, 17, were both charged Tuesday as adults with four counts of first-degree murder, two counts of second-degree murder, and two counts of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. Their friend, Jamie Patton, 18, was charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder.
"This was a calculated murder plot, carried out boldly, and ultimately successfully," Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom said as the teenagers made their first court appearances. To reporters later, he called it a "chilling plan of murder for money, which was going to be obtained from the victims' estate."
Attorneys for Niedere and Patton would not comment. Daniel Guerrero, Keister's attorney, declined comment other than to say it was a "tragic case for all involved."
Matthew Niedere told police that persistent tensions between him and his parents had grown worse in recent weeks.
They had argued about many things, the teen said: His desire to change churches, his absence from a recent service because he overslept, his flirtations with younger girls at church.
Money was the motive for Keister and Patton - as much as $20,000 each dangled by Niedere, Backstrom said.
Backstrom said he didn't know the details of why the youth was dissatisfied with his family's church, Hope Lutheran Church in Hastings, which is affiliated with the conservative Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.
Matthew Niedere and Keister were classmates at Concordia Academy, a private school in Roseville also affiliated with the Missouri Synod. Patton grew up with Keister in Blaine and had attended the interdenominational Calvin Christian School there with him, but now is a senior at Mounds View High School.
According to the complaints and Backstrom, Patton and Keister went to the Niederes' home in Hastings late Friday night with shotguns that belonged to Keister's father, planning to make the killings look like a burglary gone wrong.
Matthew Niedere was out bowling with other friends but kept in close phone contact, Backstrom said.
Keister told police that as they entered the backyard, they tripped the security lights and alarm, got scared, and ran back to their vehicle. Patricia Niedere called police. When the teens saw a squad car drive through the neighborhood, they went home.
He told police Matthew Niedere was disappointed that the plan failed and wanted to try again, and that Patton had agreed but wanted to do it later. But Matthew Niedere offered Keister more money, he said, and they agreed to meet the next morning.
On Saturday afternoon, Matthew Niedere and Keister met outside a Cub Foods store in Hastings. Keister told police he brought his father's shotgun and a .22-caliber pistol he had borrowed from a 13-year-old neighbor - who Backstrom said was unaware of the plot - and put it in the trunk of Matthew Niedere's car.
Then they drove to the parents' business, Gordy's Premier Auto Glass, in Hastings. Matthew Niedere told police Keister was carrying the handgun when they went inside. The plan was that Keister would hold the gun on Matthew Niedere, but then turn the gun on the parents when they got close enough. Matthew Niedere said his parents at first thought they were just joking.
The teenagers walked out into an adjoining shoe store, where Keister told his friend he couldn't go through with it and walked out. Matthew Niedere took the gun and went back to the auto glass store. Backstrom said he then shot his father five times. He also shot his mother once in the arm.
Keister and Matthew Niedere told police she ran outside holding her bleeding arm, asked "What's wrong with Matt?" and told Keister to call 911. He didn't.
Patricia Niedere then went back inside, where her son shot her twice again, but none of those shots to her was fatal, Backstrom said.
Matthew Niedere told police he then told Keister to use the shotgun on his mother, and that Keister shot her in the back of the head at close range as she lay on the floor.
"I haven't seen any remorse expressed at all in the police reports I've read," the prosecutor said.
In fact, Backstrom said, both Matthew Niedere and Keister had dates lined up for Concordia's homecoming dance on Saturday night.
They didn't make it. Tips from witnesses helped police catch up with the teens later Saturday in Blaine. The complaint alleges they and Patton, who was arrested Monday, all admitted their roles in the killings.
Bail was set at $1 million apiece for Matthew Niedere and Patton, who both face life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted on the most serious counts. Bail was set at $500,000 for Patton, who faces a recommended sentence of 15 years under the state's sentencing guidelines.
Their next court appearances were set for Oct. 25, and Backstrom said he'll submit the case to a grand jury, which must approve the first-degree murder charges.
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Discuss.
