Mankato Area Woman Killed – Suspect in Critical Condition
Lake Crystal, MN (KROC-AM News) - A suspicious death investigation in the Mankato area has shifted to a homicide investigation.
The Blue Earth County Sheriff's Office sent deputies to a home near Lake Crystal Thursday evening after a friend of 57-year-old Kristi Joy Gardner reported finding her unresponsive in her home. First responders pronounced her dead after they arrived at the scene.
A news release says the Ramsey County Medical Examiner's Office has since ruled her death a homicide from multiple gunshot wounds.
According to the Sheriff's office, investigators learned that the victim had been involved in a relationship with 64-year-old Gary Mark Rodewald, who was later located in a vehicle parked inside a garage at his residence in New Ulm. A law enforcement Emergency Response Unit was called to the scene and entered the garage Friday morning and found Rodewald unresponsive due to an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The news release indicates he was transported to a hospital in Minneapolis, where he remains unresponsive in the intensive care unit.
The incident remains under investigation by the Blue Earth County Sheriff's Office and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
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Gallery Credit: Carly Ross
