Inset: Jamie Lee Voelker (Windom Police Department). Background: The two streets in Windom, Minnesota, where Voelker committed the crimes (Google Maps).
A Minnesota man has been sentenced to more than 12 years in prison for fatally shooting his mother while under the influence of drugs.
Jamie Lee Voelker, 39, pleaded guilty in July to second-degree murder and first-degree burglary in connection with the death of his 70-year-old mother, Kathryn Voelker.
A Cottonwood County judge sentenced Voelker on Friday to 12 years and six months behind bars, according to a press release from the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office.
The shooting occurred in the early morning hours of July 23, 2025, at Kathryn Voelker’s home on 12th Avenue in Windom, a small southwestern Minnesota town about 150 miles from Minneapolis and St. Paul.
Authorities said her son shot her seven times with a .22-caliber handgun. Police responding to the residence were told by a witness that Voelker was the shooter.
Kathryn Voelker was taken to a nearby hospital, where she was pronounced dead. An autopsy determined that she died from blood loss caused by multiple gunshot wounds.
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Following the shooting, Voelker entered a neighbor’s home on River Road and damaged the bathroom. The neighbor called law enforcement, and officers soon arrested him.
Voelker told investigators that he had used a THC vape before the attacks and could not remember committing the crimes because he believed the marijuana had been unusually potent.
As part of the plea agreement reached over the summer, prosecutors dismissed an additional charge of intentional murder.
Voelker entered what is known in Minnesota as a “Norgaard plea.” The procedure allows a defendant to plead guilty while acknowledging that he cannot fully recall the events surrounding the crime. By entering the plea, however, the defendant concedes that the state’s evidence would be enough for a jury to find him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
“Voelker’s crime is absolutely horrific for his family and the entire community of Windom,” Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said. “We can never bring his mother back, but I hope that his being held accountable is an important step in healing.”
The Minnesota Attorney General’s Office prosecuted Voelker after receiving a referral from Cottonwood County Attorney Nick Anderson.
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