A woman who was with her boyfriend when he beheaded an Iron Range man along an Itasca County road was charged Thursday with being an accomplice in the killing after both assaulted the victim earlier that day.
The 22-year-old woman, of Grand Rapids, Minn., was charged in District Court with second-degree murder as an accomplice after the fact and third-degree assault for allegedly pairing up with 35-year-old Joseph C. Thoresen in the death early last week of 20-year-old David A. Haiman, of Hibbing.
Haiman was killed in an ambush along a northern Minnesota road, his body left in one spot in the woods, his head dumped elsewhere, according to charges against both defendants. Thoresen was charged Wednesday with second-degree murder.
The woman told authorities that Thoresen was upset when she revealed to him that Haiman had raped her in the couple's apartment, according to prosecutors.
Sheriff's investigator Mark Weller said Thursday, "I can't confirm or deny" whether the sexual assault occurred. "But we are looking into that," Weller said. The Star Tribune generally does not identify people who have been or may have been victims of sexual assault.
Authorities say the three were in Haiman's car near the town of Ball Club, when they pulled over and the two men got out. Thoresen allegedly hit Haiman with a baseball bat, stabbed him in the torso and took a machete and beheaded his victim while Haiman was groaning on the ground.
The woman was in the car at the time of the killing and also hid the machete in the couple's apartment, the charges say. She later revealed to authorities what happened and led them to Haiman's torso and head on Sunday, according to the charges.
Haiman had gone to couple's apartment earlier that day, when the woman and Thoresen both beat him and leveled the rape accusation, charges allege. The three left together and smoked marijuana and methamphetamine in the time leading up to the beheading, police say.
The discovery of the connection between Haiman and the couple by law enforcement is rooted in the victim being reported missing early last week when he did not show up for work. Also missing was his car.
Haiman's missing vehicle was spotted late last Friday — after Haiman was dead — being driven in nearby Deer River by a 19-year-old man, with Thoresen as a passenger, the complaint against him read.
Just as the Deer River officer was about to pull over the car, driver Triston M. Corwin took off, but he was stopped several miles later. Thoresen was briefly detained at the scene, as was Corwin.
Corwin told the officer that Thoresen was threatening him with a knife during the pursuit and that Thoresen confessed to decapitating Haiman and stealing the dead man's vehicle, according to the charges.
The day after the chase, investigators showed up at the couple's apartment and questioned them about Haiman. That's when the woman implicated her boyfriend, prosecutors say.
Both remain jailed ahead of court appearances Tuesday. Thoresen's bail has been set at $1 million and the woman's is $100,000.
Thoresen's attorney declined Thursday to address the accusations against her client. The woman's attorney has yet to respond to a message from the Star Tribune.
Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482
