Authorities on Tuesday identified the man who was fatally stabbed with a butcher knife in his Hopkins apartment, allegedly by his longtime friend who had been drinking heavily and had ingested marijuana gummies.
Clayton J. Kartak, 66, died Friday from numerous stab wounds and other injuries, according to the Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office.
Daniel K. Johnson, of Hopkins, charged Monday with second-degree murder, remains in custody and has an appearance scheduled for Wednesday in Hennepin County District Court.
Johnson was convicted in November for theft and was sentenced to 45 days in the Hennepin County workhouse and put on supervised probation for three years. Terms of the probation included staying out of legal trouble. He's also been convicted of disorderly conduct, assault, drunken driving and drug possession.
According to the criminal complaint:
Officers went to the apartment building at 9 7th Av. S. about 10:30 p.m. concerning a man holding a butcher knife and knocking on doors with bloodied hands. They located Johnson curled up in the hall, the bloody knife at his feet.
Police arrested him and noted that he smelled of alcohol and was speaking about "spirits and ghosts" and "helping them kill someone."
Testing measured his blood alcohol content at 0.18 percent. Johnson also acknowledged downing pot gummies, police say.
Deep slash to the throat
Officers located Kartak dead on his living room floor. He had a deep slash to the front of his throat, as well as several stab wounds to his torso and facial injuries.
The suspect's son said Johnson left his home elsewhere in Hopkins about 4:40 p.m. to hang out with Kartak. The son added that Johnson has been depressed lately because this was about the time of year his wife and another son died.
Others told police that Johnson and Kartak were longtime friends who would routinely get together to drink and consume marijuana. No one who spoke to police was aware of any friction between the two.
