Deer River woman gets 36 years for fatally stabbing man, burning his camper down

A Deer River woman was sentenced Wednesday to 36 years in prison in Shakopee after she fatally stabbed a man and burned down his camper.

Crystal Marie Wilson, 42, was convicted of second-degree murder and first-degree arson. She will serve over 32 years (391 months) for the first crime and over three years (41 months) for the second.

According to the Office of the Itasca County Attorney, the sentences will be served consecutively.

She has 252 days of credit served, according to court documents.

Wilson pleaded guilty to both charges on Oct. 31, 2022, court documents say.

As previously reported, officers in Ball Club (around an hour east of Bemidji) were called to a report of a camper fire on July 18, 2022.

RELATED: Charges: Deer River woman stabbed man, lit camper on fire to ‘burn a witch’

Bradley Reymann was pulled from the fire, and law enforcement saw puncture wounds on his body. He was then declared deceased.

The next morning, investigators spoke to a witness who said Wilson watched the camper burn and said, “He will not be able to hurt anybody again.” The witness also said that Wilson’s clothes were covered in blood, according to the criminal complaint.

Later that day, investigators interviewed Wilson, who admitted to using meth on July 17. She told investigators that she went to Reymann’s camper because she knew she could get more meth or alcohol.

When she got inside the camper, she thought that Reymann was going to attack her with a butcher knife — no butcher knife was ever found during a search of the camper after the fire, court documents said.

Wilson then started stabbing the victim all over his chest, back, shoulders, and head, punching and kicking him and holding her forearm against his throat, the complaint states. The murder weapon was determined to be a pair of needle nose pliers.

When asked how many times she stabbed him, Wilson allegedly responded, “I just kept going.”

Wilson then told investigators that she fell asleep or blacked out, and when she woke up, Reymann was cold to the touch. She said she lit the camper on fire because she thought she was burning a witch.

Reymann’s cause of death was determined to be multiple blunt, sharp and asphyxial injuries, including several broken ribs.