2nd person charged in connection to Lino Lakes homicide
[Anoka County Sheriff's Office]
A second person has been charged in connection to a homicide in Lino Lakes.
According to a criminal complaint, 47-year-old Melissa Madelyne Zielinski has been charged with one count of second-degree murder, with intent but not premeditated, in connection with an incident that happened Aug. 27.
The criminal complaint details the following:
At about 2:35 p.m. on Aug. 27, officers with the Lino Lakes Police Department and the Anoka County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of a shooting at a residence along the 6900 block of West Shadow Lake Drive.
Upon arrival, officers spoke with a man who said that when he arrived at his home that afternoon, he saw an unfamiliar SUV in the driveway. When the homeowner went into his home, he found a man and woman he didn’t know.
The man was later identified as 47-year-old Nicholas Walter Zielinski and the woman was later identified as Melissa Madelyne Zielinski.
When the homeowner asked them what they were doing, Nicholas said, "Your son stole on me" and "I’ll take you out, too."
Nicholas and Melissa left and the homeowner went downstairs to find his son, identified as 22-year-old Karl Mitchell Henderson, had been shot in the abdomen. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Neighbors’ doorbell cameras captured video of the incident, allowing officers to identify the vehicle and its owner, Nicholas Walter Zielinski. Meanwhile, DNA collected at the scene was a match for Nicholas.
During the investigation, a number of people came forward to officers to report the woman at the scene was likely Nicholas’s sister, Melissa.
Text messages exchanged as well as cellphone tracking information for both Nicholas and Melissa confirmed their route to the scene in Lino Lakes.
The homeowner also identified Nicholas in a lineup.
Zielinski made her first appearance on Friday in Anoka County District Court where bail was set at $2 million.