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Left: Cody Vernon Kolstad (Rice County Attorney’s Office). right: Brian Daniel Stoeckel (Obituary).
A Minnesota man will spend over two decades behind bars for murdering his roommate in an admitted haze of drug abuse and stress.
On March 28, Cody Vernon Kolstad, 35, pleaded guilty to one count of intentional murder in the second degree over the May 2022 slaying of Brian Daniel Stoeckel, 41, according to a press release issued by the Rice County Attorney’s Office.
On Friday, 3rd Judicial District Court Judge Karie M. Anderson sentenced Kolastad to 25 years in prison. The defendant was credited with nearly three years spent in pretrial detention.
During an allocution, Kolstad relayed the grim events of the fatal night.
“[Brian] started talking about how one of us had to die by midnight so I shot him,” the defendant said, explaining that he was high on drugs when he picked up a shotgun, aimed it at the victim, and squeezed the trigger.
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The judge offered a light touch when reproving the convicted killer, urging him to take classes during his years in lockup and using the rhetorical concept of apostrophe to appeal to Kolstad’s better angels.
“While you are taking responsibility, you can never make this family whole,” Anderson said. “You owe a duty to Brian to do better so that you will never be that same guy that committed murder. The expectation is to make better choices … show Brian you can do better.”
Also in attendance were Stoeckel’s friends and family. During an impact statement, the admonition came down a bit harsher.
“They say the brightest stars burn out the quickest,” Stoeckel’s sister said through tears, addressing the defendant directly. “Cody, you took our star. He didn’t burn out; you made that fire go out.”
The deceased man’s obituary remembers him fondly:
He leaves a huge hole in the hearts of his family and friends who were always entertained by his stories and interesting sense of humor. He truly brought the life to the party. No matter the circumstance, you’d always leave with a story of something funny or crazy Brian did or said when you were with him.
In line with Kolstad’s explanation, law enforcement arrived at the house on 2nd Street Southeast in Morristown — a tiny town some 60 miles south of Minneapolis — just after midnight on May 21, 2022.
Meeting with deputies, the defendant claimed the man inside was “badly injured,” according to court filings obtained by Bring Me The News, a journalist-owned news service based in the Twin Cities.
“He’s dead,” the defendant told 911 dispatchers, “Bring the coroner.”
Law enforcement would find Stoeckel dead in bed.
When questioned, the defendant became more voluble.
“Put one in my head and burn me in that building,” Kolstad later told investigators, according to court documents obtained by Saint Paul-based ABC affiliate KSTP. “I took a life.”
Inside the residence, law enforcement found a hole in the wall and injuries consistent with Stoeckel being shot in the neck.
“Today an extraordinarily tragic and difficult case has reached its conclusion,” Rice County Attorney Brian Mortenson said in a statement. “While no plea agreement can ever undo the profound loss, today’s sentence holds the defendant accountable for his actions and, we hope, offers some measure of closure to the victim’s family, friends, and the community deeply affected by this crime.”
