Appeals court throws out conviction in shooting death of North football star Deshaun Hill Jr.

The state Court of Appeals on Tuesday threw out the conviction of the man police say shot and killed Deshaun Hill Jr., the rising football star and honor roll student at North High in Minneapolis, ruling that the defendant's incriminating statements to law enforcement during a jailhouse interview were made while he was illegally detained.

Cody Fohrenkam, 31, of Minneapolis, was sentenced in March 2023 to a 38½-year term after a jury took less than an hour to convict him of second-degree murder for gunning down the 15-year-old on Feb. 9, 2022, during a chance encounter while Hill was walking home from school.

In his appeal, Fohrenkam contended that statements he made to investigators in the Carlton County jail should not have been presented during his trial, because they were made after a court ordered his release on an unrelated matter and before he was freed from custody.

https://www.startribune.com/appeals-court-throws-out-conviction-in-shooting-death-of-north-football-star-deshaun-hill-jr/600369162/