Defense Calls For St. Croix River Stabbing Case To Be Dismissed
BALSAM LAKE, Wis. (WCCO) – A hearing took place in Wisconsin Wednesday for a teenager accused of stabbing a fisherman to death near the St. Croix River.
Peter Kelly, 34, was killed last April after fishing on the Minnesota side of the river at Interstate Park.
Levi Acre-Kendall, 19, is accused of stabbing Kelly after he came over to the Wisconsin side of the river.
Police said Kelly and his friend had been arguing back and forth across the river with Acre-Kendall and his friends before the stabbing.
At the hearing, the defense attorney and district attorney went back and forth for most of the morning.
Acre-Kendall's attorney filed a motion to have the case dismissed.
Acre-Kendall's friends say he was sitting inside a friend's vehicle when the victim placed him in a shoulder lock and tried to wrestle him out of the vehicle.
Defense attorney Eric Nelson says evidence shows the victim's blood was found inside that truck belonging to the suspect's friend, proving his client acted in self-defense.
Polk County district attorney Daniel Steffen told the judge he believes that motion is premature and that the defense attorney's information is based solely on police reports, not expert analysis.
The judge agreed with the district attorney and did not rule on the motion to dismiss the case. She's reserving that decision until the trial, at which time, she says, all evidence will be heard.
The defense attorney also requested a change of venue.
But the judge ruled the trial will stay in Polk County. However, she did say that they will pick the jury from another county.
What that county will be has yet to be decided.
The trial is slated to start on Dec. 7.
