Two Twin Cities men have been convicted in separate fatal stabbings in South St. Paul.
The retrial of one man who was charged in the death of his girlfriend again resulted in a conviction, but this time for second-degree rather than first-degree murder.
Thomas M. Luby, 61, of South St. Paul, was convicted Tuesday by a Dakota County jury of two counts of second-degree murder in connection with the death of Kelly Ann Anderson, 45, also of South St. Paul, the county attorney announced Wednesday.
The jury deliberated for about five hours. Luby's sentencing will be scheduled in early 2019.
"We are pleased to have brought Mr. Luby to justice for this violent murder," said County Attorney James Backstrom. "Our deepest sympathy is extended to the family and friends of Kelly Anderson."
According to investigators, Luby told a 911 dispatcher on Aug. 7, 2015, that there was a dead woman in his home and "I killed her."
Officers arrived at the home in the 500 block of 9th Avenue S. and found Anderson on the living room floor, a large kitchen knife in her right hand.
According to a search warrant, Luby said he didn't know how the knife got there.
Luby did tell officers that he and Anderson had been drinking when she became upset with him and stabbed him in the neck. He then stabbed her, he said, in self-defense.
An autopsy revealed that Anderson had two deep cuts consistent with defensive wounds, as well as deep cuts on her jawline and stab wounds to her chin, mouth and neck.
She died of the wounds to her neck that severed her jugular vein and carotid artery. Luby had two small cut marks under his chin.
Anderson was survived by a son and a daughter.
In April 2016, the Minnesota Supreme Court reversed Luby's murder convictions after finding that his attorney conceded elements of guilt against the defendant's wishes. The decision returned Luby's case for a new trial.
Another conviction
Also Tuesday, a 21-year-old Roseville man was convicted in the stabbing death of an 19-year-old Oakdale man.
After deliberating for 16 hours, jurors convicted Daniel Anthony Cruz Hernandez on two counts of second-degree murder and first-degree aiding and abetting aggravated robbery in connection with the death of Jordan David Paredes.
Judge Jerome Abrams set sentencing for Feb. 27.
"We are pleased to have brought Daniel Cruz Hernandez to justice for his role in this violent crime that claimed a life," Backstrom said in a news release. "Our sympathy is extended to the family and friends [of] Jordan Paredes for their loss."
Paredes was the father of two children and engaged to be married.
According to the criminal complaint, police were sent to an apartment complex about 3:15 a.m. on Aug. 2, 2017. They arrived to find Paredes on the ground and stabbed several times. He died soon after at a hospital.
Witnesses told police that three people had been attacking and robbing two others. Hernandez and the others fled in a car. Investigators found the car six days later, and Paredes' blood was found inside.
On March 28, almost eight months after the stabbing, a witness told law enforcement that Hernandez said he stabbed Paredes and threw away the knife.
No one else has been charged in the attack.
Staff writer Karen Zamora contributed to this report. Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482
