Complaint: Shovel, moose antler used to kill Grand Marais man
A Grand Marais man has been charged with second-degree murder following the death of another man earlier this week.
Levi William Axtell, 27, was formally charged and had a bail hearing Friday in Cook County, where Judge Michael Cuzzo set bail at $1 million, per the prosecutor’s request. However, that amount may be revisited at a later time.
According to a criminal complaint, deputies were called to a home in Grand Marais shortly before 5 p.m. on Wednesday after a citizen reported a person pulled into the driveway of a home belonging to a man previously identified by authorities as Lawrence Scully. The caller also reported hearing screaming coming from the house.
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About a minute later, the caller said the vehicle’s driver left and was driving to the police station, which is about three blocks from the victim’s home.
The complaint goes on to say a vehicle matching the description of the one parked in the victim’s driveway entered the parking area of the police station. Then, a man covered in blood — identified as Axtell — entered the building and put his hands on his head before saying he had murdered Scully.
Deputies then went to the home and found Scully surrounded by blood and a bloody shovel.
Scully died from his head wounds at his home. Prior court records show he was 77 at the time of his death.
Axtell was then arrested and a complaint states he admitted to entering the home, hitting Scully over the head nearly two dozen times with a shovel found on the victim’s deck, and then hitting him multiple times with a large moose antler.
The document goes on to say Axtell claimed Scully had sexually offended against children previously, adding he saw the victim’s vehicle parked at locations where children were present and thought he would re-offend.
A medical examiner said Scully died from blunt force head injuries and also had defensive injuries on his arms.
A review of court records shows Axtell and Scully had prior encounters. Axtell applied for and was granted a temporary restraining order against Scully in 2018, in which Axtell accused Scully of waiting for his daughter to “go on walks from daycare and tries to talk to her.” After a hearing, a judge dismissed the restraining order in May of 2018.
If convicted, Axtell faces a maximum sentence of 40 years behind bars. His next court date is scheduled for the morning of April 10.
