A 36-year-old man shot and killed his girlfriend as they argued over the weekend in her Brooklyn Center home, charges filed Tuesday said.
Michael I. Klinger, of Anoka, was charged in Hennepin County District Court with second-degree murder, first-degree drug possession and illegal weapons possession in connection with the shooting about 1 p.m. Sunday in the 5400 block of N. 68th Avenue.
Klinger remains jailed in lieu of $1.5 million bail ahead of a court appearance Wednesday. Court records do not list an attorney for him.
The Medical Examiner's Office identified the woman Tuesday afternoon as 34-year-old Katie A. Fredrickson.
Klinger was arrested a few hours later thanks to a neighbor taking down the license plate of the vehicle he used to flee the scene, the charges said.
Officers located the vehicle in St. Louis Park and arrested Klinger. The officers seized from him four handguns — three of them stolen — nearly 1 pound of methamphetamine and $5,360 in cash, the charges continued.
Police searched a hotel room in St. Louis Park where Klinger was staying and collected ammunition and magazines, the charges said.
According to the criminal complaint:
Officers dispatched to the home found Fredrickson face-down on a couch with two gunshot wounds to her chest.
Fredrickson also was shot in her right thumb, a wound "consistent with [her] putting her hand out in defense." Emergency responders declared her dead at the scene.
Police spoke with a couple who were spending the evening in the residence. The man said he heard Klinger and his "off-again-on-again" girlfriend arguing, and gunfire soon followed. The woman recalled hearing gunshots around the time of the arguing as well.
Klinger's criminal history in Minnesota includes three convictions for illegal weapons possession and one for a first-degree drug crime.
