Police identify person of interest in Faribault homicide
Police say a “person of interest” in a homicide south of the Twin Cities earlier this week is in custody.
Faribault Police provided an update on Friday, saying a 32-year-old woman was in a “legally qualifying domestic relationship” with 76-year-old Gary Lehmeyer, who was found dead in his home on Monday afternoon.
5 EYEWITNESS NEWS is not identifying the person of interest, because she has not been charged or officially named as a suspect by police in Lehmeyer’s death at this time.
The woman was arrested for unrelated reasons in Dallas County, Iowa, around three hours before Lehmeyer was found, police say. However, during their homicide investigation, officers learned that she was driving Lehmeyer’s vehicle, and a charge of vehicle theft was added to her charges.
RELATED: Suspicious death in Faribault ruled a homicide, investigation ongoing
In recent days, police say Lehmeyer’s vehicle was transported to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension for forensic processing, and investigators have enough evidence to link the person of interest to the theft of Lehmeyer’s vehicle. However, they haven’t yet linked her to Lehmeyer’s death, only calling her a person of interest at this time, as forensic testing results are still pending.
Police previously noted that they didn’t believe Lehmeyer’s killing was random but haven’t provided any other details as to how he died or his relationship with the person of interest.
As of Friday afternoon, the person of interest remained in custody in Iowa but Rice County officials are working to issue a warrant for her so she can be extradited to Minnesota when her case there is resolved, police say.