Minnesota man sentenced for punching, beating wife to death during custody exchange
01/29/2024 1:42 pm PST
MARSHALL COUNTY, Minn. (TCD) -- A 33-year-old man has been sentenced to almost 20 years in prison for choking his wife to death when she picked their five children up from his house after a sleepover.
Minnesota court records show a judge sentenced Anders Odegaard to 220 months in prison with 524 days of credit for time served after he pleaded guilty last month to the second-degree murder of his wife, Carissa Odegaard. KVLY-TV reports Odegaard could be released from prison in about 11 years because he is required to serve at least two-thirds of his sentence.
KVLY reports Carissa Odegaard died from possible asphyxiation and blunt force trauma because Anders Odegaard punched her and she fell.
According to Anders Odegaard’s probable cause affidavit, on Aug. 23, 2022, a Marshall County Sheriff’s Office deputy responded to domestic incident and made contact with a man and two children who were "very worked up." The man said the children waved him down and said their mother was "bleeding really bad and needed help."
The older of the two boys reportedly told the deputy he thought his mother was dead.
The deputy went inside the residence and made contact with Anders Odegaard, who was wearing boxers and had blood on his body. Odegaard told the deputy he did not "feel right."
The affidavit says the deputy located Carissa Odegaard unresponsive in a doorway with severe head trauma. The deputy called for an ambulance and administered CPR until paramedics arrived, who then transported her to the hospital. Odegaard was detained and later arrested for domestic assault.
According to the affidavit, the deputy told the boys that other law enforcement officers would take them to the hospital. Three other children were sitting inside Carissa Odegaard’s car, which was still running.
The deputy went back into the house and noticed dirty dishes, dirty clothes, and blood.
A forensic investigator spoke with some Anders and Carissa Odegaard’s children. The 2-year-old reportedly did not speak but witnessed the incident because she was holding him.
The 9-year-old boy said he and his siblings slept over at their father’s house on Aug. 22, 2022, and Carissa Odegaard picked them up at around 5 p.m. on Aug. 23. The boy said his parents got into a "big fight." He believed his father hit Carissa Odegaard with a spatula or a knife, and there was "blood all over."
Anders Odegaard told the boy to "get out of the house," so the boy ran to the highway and waved for help.
The affidavit says Anders Odegaard was "hollering and yelling and was hitting his mother."
The child reportedly saw Anders Odegaard hit his wife in the past, but it was "usually with his hand."
Investigators spoke with an 8-year-old boy, who said Anders and Carissa Odegaard began fighting because she picked them up for church, but he didn’t want them to leave. The 8-year-old said they were "fighting over the little brother."
The boy reportedly witnessed Anders Odegaard hit Carissa Odegaard with a spatula. The 8-year-old rescued the 2-year-old she was holding and he had a cut on his arm. He reportedly saw Anders Odegaard choking Carissa Odegaard, and she told her son to call 911.
According to the affidavit, the 8-year-old noticed "a lot of blood." At one point, he tapped Carissa Odegaard’s foot, but she "didn’t respond to the touch."
She was declared brain dead Aug. 24, 2022.
Records show Carissa Odegaard filed for divorce in April 2021.
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