LE CENTER – A Le Sueur County grand jury has indicted an Elk River man for the murder of his ex-girlfriend last October in her Kasota apartment. The six count indictment was unsealed Wednesday afternoon in a Le Center courtroom.
23-year-old Tyler Andrew Wicklund is now facing six new counts as a result of evidence presented to the grand jury last week.
Le Sueur County authorities first learned something happened inside the Ridgley Apartment Complex when they received a call from Sherburne County dispatchers that Wicklund had told one of their deputies he had killed his girlfriend in Kasota.
Le Sueur County deputies responded to Apartment 4 and entered. Inside they found a large pool of blood in a hallway and the body of Jessica Buboltz in the bathtub with a cut across her throat.
Buboltz then fled the apartment, taking the couple’s one-year-old child with him.
The grand jury indictment includes six counts.
Count I – Murder in the First Degree (Premeditation).
Count II – Murder in the First Degree (While Committing Criminal Sexual Conduct)
Count III – Murder in the First Degree (While Committing Aggravated Robbery)
Count IV – Murder in the Second Degree (Intentional)
County V – Murder in the Second Degree (While Committing Assault in the Second Degree)
County VI – Felon in Possession of a Firearm.
Minnesota Assistant Attorney General William F. Klumpp Jr. declined to discuss the indictment on camera following the hearing, but did review the separate counts with members of the media and members of the victim’s family.
The initial criminal complaint says Wicklund admitted to having sex with the victim at her apartment and that he “again tried talking with Buboltz about their relationship.” Count II of the indictment indicates there was evidence presented to the grand jury that the sex was not consensual but was in the realm of First Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct.
When family asked about the “robbery” aspect of Count III, Klumpp confirmed it was because Wicklund allegedly took the cellphone of Buboltz from her apartment.
In court, Judge Michael Baxter ordered Wicklund’s attorney Anthony Nerud be provided with transcripts of the grand jury proceedings. That could take up to 60 days to be completed.
Grand jury proceedings were believed to have started last Monday, February 15th. While it isn’t known exactly how long testimony was given or how long the grand jury deliberated, the indictment was signed by the Grand Jury foreperson on Thursday, February 18,, 2011.
A previously scheduled Review Hearing on March 22 has been removed from the court calendar, but both Klumpp and Nerud told Judge Michael Baxter they would like to keep the scheduled trial date of June 27, 2011.
“I think it’s good to have a target date,” said Nerud.
The next step is another omnibus hearing where the defense can challenge evidence and bring concerns before the judge. When that hearing will be set will depend on how quickly Nerud receives the previously mention grand jury transcripts.
Counts I and II have a maximum sentence of life without the possibility of release. Count III carries a life sentence. Counts IV and V have a maximum penalty of “Not less than one year plus one day nor more than 40 years.” Count VI brings a penalty of “Not less than five years nor more than 15 years and/or $30,000, or both.”