A man's persistence in retrieving his possessions seized by police from a Brooklyn Park apartment made it easier for investigators to figure out that he was the one who killed the bloodied resident inside, according to authorities.
James C. Thompson, 42, was charged in Hennepin County District Court last week with second-degree murder in connection with the death of a man in his Huntington Place residence. The two had been roommates, police said.
Thompson remains jailed in lieu of $1 million bail ahead of a hearing on Nov. 2.
The identity of the victim has yet to be disclosed by the Hennepin County medical examiner's office.
According to the criminal complaint:
Thompson called police on Sept. 26 out of concern for his roommate's well-being. Thompson told police that the two of them had fought, a knife was involved, and he hit the man and "knocked him out." He said he wanted to know how to get his possessions and how the man was faring.
Officers went to the apartment and saw the man's bloodied body on the living room floor. A knife was spotted under his neck, and officers saw a stab wound to his back.
Thompson said he and the resident had been drinking late at night on Sept. 23 and into the early morning hours. He said he punched the man and choked him unconscious. Thompson again asked police about getting his possessions from the apartment. He was told he could get them at the police precinct.
Thompson arrived at the precinct on Friday for his belongings and was arrested. Inside the backpack Thompson had with him was a bloody washcloth.
An autopsy on the victim revealed that the knife that inflicted the back wound also cracked a rib, punctured a lung and struck the spinal cord. His face showed signs of having been beaten.
Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482
