Charges: Minnetonka man killed his father because ‘he needed to die’

Prosecutors have charged a Minnetonka man with killing his father.

Minnetonka police say 39-year-old Jacob Joseph Schech was arrested Wednesday morning after his father, Frederick Schech, was found dead inside a home in the 5000 block of Holiday Road.

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Charging documents filed Friday state that a woman who lived in the lower level of the home was awoken by the family’s dog at around 1 a.m. Wednesday. After she let the dog outside, she went upstairs and found Schech sleeping on a couch.

According to the documents, the woman asked Schech where his father was because Frederick Schech’s wife had called her earlier in the night, saying her husband and Schech weren’t answering their phones.

Although Schech initially told the woman he didn’t know, a criminal complaint states that she walked into the kitchen and found his father’s body.

When she asked Schech what happened to his father, he allegedly told her, “He needed to die.”

An autopsy determined that Frederick Schech died from multiple blunt force injuries, which caused multiple fractures to his skull, face, neck and ribs.

The woman told police that Schech had been drinking and giving his father “a hard time” while his father worked on a pool earlier that night before she went to bed. She added that she later heard someone “stomping” around upstairs.

The complaint adds that when police showed up, Schech didn’t appear emotional at all but had blood on his hands and right foot.

Schech is charged with second-degree murder and faces up to 40 years in prison if convicted. His first court appearance is scheduled for Monday and he’s currently being held in Hennepin County jail on $1 million bail.