John Jefferson
Inset: Rodney Allen Andersen (Wright County Jail). Background: The house where Andersen allegedly murdered his wife (Google Maps).
An octogenarian Minnesota man is behind bars for killing his wife of over 65 years with a “large kitchen knife” during an argument this month, according to law enforcement in the Land of 10,000 Lakes.
Rodney Allen Andersen, 85, stands accused of one count of murder in the second degree without premeditation, according to a statement of probable cause filed by prosecutors in Wright County.
The alleged self-widower personally called 911 after the violence and admitted to the knife attack, even telling dispatchers where he disposed of the murder weapon, police and prosecutors say.
The incident occurred during the late morning hours on Sept. 12, according to the charging document. Just before 10 a.m., Andersen called 911 to say “he had stabbed his wife and placed the knife in the sink,” law enforcement allege.
A dispatcher told responding officers that the defendant was prepared to meet them at the front door of the couple’s house on Knollwood Street West in Annandale — a small town with 26 lakes located some 50 miles northwest of Minneapolis. The husband allegedly told dispatchers he “was not sure” if his wife was still alive.
She was not.
In the charging document, Andersen’s wife is referred to as “JLA.” Her full name was later released by county officials.
When police arrived, Andersen was sitting on the steps just inside the front door area of the residence. Police say they first tried to have the defendant exit the foyer with the use of a public address system. Then, officers decided to call him on the telephone. When that second effort to get him out of the house went nowhere, police say they “made exigent entry” to check on the victim’s welfare.
“When officers entered the home, the defendant was sitting on the steps of the home with his hands on his head with his face looking down at the floor,” the probable cause statement reads. “The defendant was shaking.”
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Inside, Janet Louise Andersen, 82, was found lying on her back on the kitchen floor, according to the 4-page charging document.
A pool of blood had collected around the woman’s body, police said. Her shirt was “soaked in blood,” and though still warm, she lacked a pulse, law enforcement wrote. The victim was said to have “several” puncture wounds on her abdomen “with blood oozing out of them.” Those wounds, officers noted in the probable cause statement, “were obvious stab wounds from which she was heavily bleeding.”
Responding officers first attempted lifesaving efforts on Janet Andersen and then passed the impossible task over to paramedics, who determined she was deceased at the scene of the crime.
“When officers cleared the home, they observed it was occupied only by the defendant and JLA,” the probable cause statement reads. “Officers observed a large kitchen knife in the sink that appeared to have blood on it.”
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After being transported to the police station and Mirandized, the defendant openly spoke about the fatal incident, police say.
The husband allegedly told investigators that he and his wife were married in 1958 and that they “continuously argue.”
At around 7 a.m. that day, the two “had a big argument” and a “fight” that “lasted until he called 911,” according to the charging document.
“I guess I lost my head,” Andersen said, when accounting for the denouement to his argumentative marriage — and likely his life outside the confines of a lockup facility or law enforcement purview.
“The defendant said the knives are kept in the butcher block in the kitchen,” the probable cause statement reads. “The defendant guessed he grabbed the knife from the butcher block. The defendant said he does not remember how many times he stabbed JLA but knew he stabbed her at least once. The defendant said he stabbed JLA in the ‘middle’ somewhere. The defendant was unsure of the force used when he stabbed JLA.”
The defendant’s bail was set last week at $1 million with conditions or $3 million without conditions, prosecutors said in a press release.
Andersen is next slated to appear in court on Sept. 19.
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