Cannon Falls Area Man Admits Fatally Shooting His Father
Cannon Falls, MN (KROC-AM News) - A rural Cannon Falls man has pleaded guilty to murdering his father last year.
22-year-old Cole DeGroot went before a judge in Goodhue County Court earlier this week and admitted to a second-degree murder charge for fatally shooting 56-year-old Terry DeGroot at a Cannon Falls area farm on August 27, 2020. In exchange for the guilty plea, another second-degree murder charge along with manslaughter and felony assault charges will be dropped.
The criminal complaint says Goodhue County deputies responded to a farm located southwest of Cannon Falls after the younger DeGroot called 911 and stated he was "going to do something stupid" and shoot his dad. In later interviews with investigators, DeGroot indicated he and his father had a fight over a skid loader that became stuck in a creek and he responded by riding a bike to his father's nearby home to get a gun.
He then returned to the property where the two men were doing some work for the landowner and fatally shot his father, who was later found dead in the cab of the skid loader. DeGroot initially started heading back to his father's home, but then turned back to the crime scene and surrendered to Goodhue County deputies without offering any resistance.
He is scheduled to be sentenced on November 8.
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