Cass Lake man charged with trying to kill man as he slept

A 24-year-old Cass Lake man has been charged with trying to kill the sleeping husband of a woman with whom he was infatuated.

According to the criminal charges against John Ernest Lutgen, he had been infatuated with the woman for some time and contacted her via a social networking site overnight Friday from outside her Cass Lake home. He had conveyed to the woman that he believed the husband was an unfit spouse and father and asked her to help him kill him, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported.

The criminal report also states:

The woman repeatedly asked him to leave, turned off her phone at 2 a.m. and went to sleep.

About 4:30 a.m. Friday, the woman awoke to find Lutgen standing in her bedroom staring at her. She told him to leave and escorted him to the door before going outside to retrieve a pet. Lutgen then ran back into the house.

The Star Tribune reported the woman went back into the house, where she heard her husband screaming, ran into the bedroom and found Lutgen hitting her husband over the head with a piece of wood and kicking him. She was able to pull the suspect off her husband and the suspect fled out a window.

Law enforcement later found and arrested Lutgen, who was booked into the Cass County jail.

The husband was treated at a hospital for a fractured skull and bleeding on the brain, according to Cass County Attorney Christopher Strandlie.

The victim told police that as Lutgen hit him, he repeatedly yelled, “Die! Die!”

A subsequent investigation revealed that the suspect entered the house through a pet access door.

Lutgen has been charged with attempted first-degree murder, assault and burglary. District Judge John Smith set bail at $500,000, with conditions. Lutgen will appear in court at 1 p.m. Tuesday.