Plymouth man charged with murdering his grandmother, seriously injuring mother and sister

A Plymouth man has been charged with murder in the death of his grandmother.

The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office said Friday that 34-year-old David Ekers is charged with second-degree murder, plus two counts of attempted second-degree murder for assaulting his mother and sister.

A criminal complaint states that Maple Grove police received a call from Ekers’ father on July 8 saying Ekers had severely injured members of his family. When officers arrived, they found Ekers’ grandmother, mother and sister suffering from serious wounds to their heads. They were immediately taken to a hospital.

Ekers’ father told police that he and his son were downstairs working when Ekers went upstairs and he suddenly heard his wife scream. At that point, he ran upstairs and found Ekers holding a wrench in his hand, which he then dropped, the complaint states.

At the police station, the complaint states Ekers admitted to trying to kill his grandmother, mother and sister, but said he viewed his father as an ally and didn’t hurt him. He also added that he’d been planning to murder them for about an hour before actuallly attacking them.

The attorney’s office said Ekers suffers from mental illness and claimed he was worried the three would make him return to a hospital or start taking medication again. The complaint states his mother had mentioned Ekers may need to go back to the hospital a day before the attack.

According to the complaint, Ekers’ grandmother had skull fractures and internal bleeding. Her family elected to compassionately extubate for comfort care on July 9 and she died a short time later. His mother and sister remained in critical condition in intensive care, as of Friday.

Ekers made his first court appearance Friday. His next appearance is set for Aug. 4.