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She stabbed a man: Judge does WHAT in Duluth?
Minneapolis woman shoots cousin and his attorney in government center
70-year-old woman arrested for murder of her husband in Hill City
New Prague woman shoots husband then kills herself following night
Colorado GOP convention delegate seduced and robbed of $50,000 by woman in Minneapolis
What's New on CompuServe, February 6, 2002
by Cathryn Conroy, CompuServe News Editor
Leah Marie Fairbanks of Duluth, Minnesota pled guilty to first-degree assault for stabbing Ciro Carales-Toledo five times when the two got in a fight last May. Fairbanks, who is 26, was drunk at the time.
Her sentence: Judge Terry Hallenbeck has ordered her to read and prepare reports on eight works, including the:
• Declaration of Independence;
• Emily Dickinson's “We Never Know;” and
• Ernest Hemingway's “The Old Man and the Sea.”
You read that right. She stabbed a guy five times and as punishment she has to write book reports.
Do you think this sentence is ridiculous or fair?
The judge also sentenced her to 14 months probation. If she doesn't do her homework, she'll get up to eight years in the slammer.
Needless to say, this was a radical departure from the traditional sentencing guidelines. Fairbanks reportedly has a high IQ and is trying hard to turn her life after a divorce in which she lost custody of her children. She had no prior offenses.
Still, a different judge sentenced David Lee Mitchell, who also pled guilty to first-degree assault for the same fight, to eight years in prison. He does have a prior criminal record of robberies.
Fairbanks' attorney, John Lind, told the Associated Press, “It takes a lot of courage for a judge like Hallenbeck to do what he did. He just decided this person was worthy of a chance to be rehabilitated.”
The judge wrote about the risk of the sentence: “If she fails, it will be because she fails to abstain from chemicals. She cannot handle alcohol in any amount. It is poison to her biologic system and to her intellect.”
© 2004 KSTP5abc
February 9, 2004 — A judge denied a defense request for a change of venue for a woman charged with shooting her cousin and cousin's lawyer at the Hennepin County Government Center.
Attorneys representing Susan Berkovitz, 53, suggested that her trial be moved to Red Wing, Faribault or Owatonna because of extensive publicity about the case in the Twin Cities. However, Hennepin County District Judge Thor Anderson denied the request
Berkovitz is charged with first-degree murder in the death of her 56-year-old cousin Shelley Joseph-Kordell of Minnetonka. She also is charged with attempted first-degree murder in the wounding of Joseph-Kordell's attorney, 53-year-old Richard Hendrickson of Crystal.
Her trial was set for April 12, 2004.
© 2004 The Aikin Independent Age
Published April 7, 2004 — Ardelle Manthey, 70, Hill City, has been charged with first degree murder in the shooting death of her husband, Francis Manthey, then 69. Francis Manthey was killed in the early morning hours of March 5, 2003, in Hill City.
A grand jury was convened from March 30 to April 1 and heard from 13 witnesses, after which it handed down the indictment, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Ardelle Manthey was arraigned in Aitkin County Court on April 1, 2004.
November 5, 2005 — Authorities say a New Prague woman shot her husband in the back of the head while he was sleeping, then used the same handgun to kill herself the following night. The Le Sueur County Sheriff's office says the bodies of 49-year old James Gullickson and 49-year old Elizabeth Gullickson were found on the bed in their master bedroom Thursday.
Abstracted from story by Steve Karnowski, Associated Press
September 17, 2008 — Police are trying to find the woman who apparently drugged and robbed a Republican National Convention delegate of about $50,000 worth of jewelry, clothing and cash in his downtown Minneapolis hotel room.
Gabriel Schwartz, a Denver, Colorado, attorney and Republican Party donor, told police he met the woman in a bar at the luxurious Hotel Ivy and invited her up to his room early on September 4, 2008. Police say that once there, the woman made the man drinks and suggested they get undressed.
The 29-year-old delegate told police that was the last thing he remembered. Police believe he was drugged but aren't sure what drug he was given, police spokesman Sgt. William Palmer said Tuesday.
When Schwartz awoke, the woman was gone and he was missing several items and some cash, including a watch he valued at $30,000.
“We have no doubt this happened,” Palmer said. “The guy has been very forthcoming with us. He's been very helpful in the investigation.”
The delegate gave police a detailed description, but investigators had no suspects, Palmer said.
Such thefts are “very rare” in Minneapolis, both in terms of the manner of the crime and the amount stolen, Palmer said.
“It's embarrassing to admit that I was a target of a crime,” Schwartz said in a statement Tuesday. “I was drugged and had about $50,000 of personal items stolen.”
“As a single man, I was flattered by the attention of a beautiful woman who introduced herself to me. I used poor judgment. If there is any good that can come from this humiliation, it is to caution others that date rape drugs can be used on men, too,” he said.
Investigators don't believe Schwartz did anything wrong. “This is not a prostitution thing,” the spokesman said. “This is a guy who got ripped off.”
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