Carlton, Minnesota

From the Duluth News Tribune of October 6, 2005

Jurek not guilty in death of brother

COURTS: The Mahtowa man says he shot his older brother in self-defense.

Florian "Sonny" Jurek already lost one son. He said a Carlton County jury kept him from losing another son Wednesday night.

Jurors deliberated about five hours before finding Dennis Jurek not guilty of premeditated murder in the Aug. 2, 2003, shooting death of his brother, Michael, 41.

Jurek, 42, admitted using a .30-.30 caliber deer rifle to shoot his brother in the chest and back after a fight on their family farm in Mahtowa Township. He said he did so in self-defense after suffering30 years of abuse by his bullying brother, who was threatening to kill him.

If found guilty of first-degree murder, Jurek would have received a mandatory life prison sentence. The six-man, six-woman jury also acquitted him of inten- tional second-degree murder and first-degree manslaughter.
…

The fight that led to Michael Jurek's death started when the Jurek brothers were drinking beer and cutting firewood.

Dennis Jurek said his brother started beating and choking him and he ran back to the farm to escape. He said his brother gave chase on a four-wheeler.

The defendant went into a garage attached to the house he shared with his parents and waited for his brother. He said he shot him once in the chest when he got within "target range" and shot him again in the back when he got off the ground and lunged at him. It wasn't made clear during the trial how much time elapsed between the fight in the woods and the time of the shooting.

Under Judge Robert Macaulay's instructions, if jurors didn't find Jurek guilty of first-degree murder they had the option of finding him guilty of first-degree manslaughter, even if they concluded that he acted with premeditation and with intent to kill.

(Further discussion of verdict options)