Man sentenced to over 20 years for deadly Sibley County farm shooting

A man suspected of shooting and killing a 79-year-old man at a farm in Sibley County learned his sentence on Wednesday.

Travis Joel Bauer, 48, was sentenced to over 20 years in prison, followed by over 10 years on supervised release. He had credit for 117 days already served.

Last year, Bauer was found guilty of second-degree intentional murder by a jury, with one count of first-degree premeditated murder being dropped.

As previously reported, Bauer called 911 on Sept. 20, 2022, to report a man was unresponsive and there was blood present. Responding officers found the body of Dennis Weitzenkamp, 79, slumped on a chair in a machine shed.

Investigators later found he died from a gunshot wound in the back of his head, and he appeared to have been shot while shucking corn.

Bauer told investigators he was working on the farm with Weitzenkamp until lunch when they left to eat at their respective homes. He then said he returned to work on a tractor but left after a bit to get some anti-freeze from Napa Auto Parts in Winthrop, passing Weitzenkamp on Country Road 57 on the way there, the criminal complaint said.

However, cell phone tracking data show Bauer’s travel that afternoon did not match up with what he told investigators.

Bauer claimed he wasn’t at the farm with the victim again until he had returned from Napa, but location data showed he and Weitzenkamp were both at the farm around 2:16 p.m., the complaint states. He also appeared to have taken a different route into town from what he told police. Furthermore, Weitzenkamp was captured driving on a squad camera less than half an hour before Bauer called 911.

Investigators noted that when Bauer was questioned again, he admitted to lying about his whereabouts, the court document said.

Prosecutors say Bauer had “significant debt” and was struggling to pay his bills. Bauer had also been notified about an hour before Weitzenkamp’s body was found that he was in danger of defaulting on his mortgage.

Bauer worked on Weitzenkamp’s farm for years and “was considered part of the family,” the complaint states. Trust documents also revealed that Bauer stood to gain “significant financial benefit” if Weitzenkamp died.