Hennepin Co. attorney will ask Minnesota Supreme Court to review overturned conviction in Deshaun Hill killing
MINNEAPOLIS — The Hennepin County Attorney's Office said Thursday it will ask the Minnesota Supreme Court to review the overturned conviction of a man accused of killing a Minneapolis high school student-athlete.
Minnesota Court of Appeals Judge Renee Worke reversed 31-year-old Cody Fohrenkam's second-degree murder conviction on Tuesday. Fohrenkam was convicted last year and sentenced to 38.5 years in prison for the fatal shooting on Feb. 9, 2022.
Worke's ruling said incriminating statements were illegally collected during a jailhouse interview with Fohrenkam.
On Thursday, the Hennepin County Attorney's Office said it "conducted a thorough review of the case to determine the appropriate path forward, which is petitioning the Supreme Court for review of the decision."
"The senseless killing of Deshaun Hill was devastating to his loved ones and to everyone in the North High School community," Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said. "Having reviewed the Court of Appeals decision, we believe the Minnesota Supreme Court should review this case and reinstate the conviction. We believe we charged the right person and, if necessary, we will try this case again. We will bring justice and accountability for this disturbing crime."
Hill was killed while walking to a bus stop on Golden Valley Road near Penn Avenue North, just blocks from Minneapolis North High School, where he was a star quarterback and honor roll student. Students had been let out early that day and encouraged to attend a protest over to the fatal police shooting of Amir Locke.
Surveillance video showed Hill and Fohrenkam walking past each other, then Fohrenkam stopping and turning toward Hill before three gunshots are heard. Witnesses told police they saw Fohrenkam running from the area after shots rang out.
Fohrenkam told investigators he was in the area looking for someone who stole his phone.
Two days after Hill's death, two witnesses told investigators Fohrenkam was a suspect. That same day, Carlton County officials had Fohrenkam in custody on an unrelated matter and were about to release him.
In his appeal, Fohrenkam says 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.
In her ruling, Worke said the state failed to meet its burden to show that his statements were lawfully obtained. The ruling also placed blame on the judge.
The county attorney's office has not yet filed a petition with the Supreme Court, but has 30 days from the Court of Appeals' decision to do so.
Note: The video above originally aired May 28, 2024.