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Hibbing man sentenced to over 8 years in jail for girlfriend's death

Hibbing man charged with murdering girlfriend
Hibbing man charged with murdering girlfriend 00:41

DULUTH, Minn. -- A 47-year-old Hibbing man has been sentenced to over eight years in prison for the killing of his girlfriend last summer.

Eric James Jarvis pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter in connection to the death of Kari Jo Petrich.

According to the criminal complaint, police were called twice to a Hibbing apartment building on June 27, 2022, where both Jarvis and Petrich were said to be "upset and intoxicated." On the second call, Petrich told police Jarvis hit her in the head. Police said they didn't see any signs of injury, so they left. 

Early the next morning, police returned after Jarvis reported that Petrich was unconscious. Officers found her dead on the living room floor. They said her face was bruised and her body looked like it had been cleaned. 

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Police soon found garbage bags in the apartment complex's dumpster that had bloody wet wipes and a blood-stained bottle inside that matched Petrich's DNA.

Petrich's family told investigators that she had feared for her life while with Jarvis, and had asked her ex-husband for help.

NOTE: The video above is from July 3, 2022.


Local Domestic Violence Resources

Women's Advocates
www.wadvocates.org
Crisis Line: (651) 227-8284

St. Paul & Ramsey County Domestic Abuse Intervention Project 
https://www.stpaulintervention.org 
Crisis Line: (651) 645-2824

Minnesota Day One 
www.dayoneservices.org
Crisis Line: 1-866-223-1111

Esperanza United 
esperanzaunited.org
Bilingual crisis line: (651) 772-1611.

For anonymous, confidential help, people can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or 1-800-787-3224.

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