MINNEAPOLIS — *Editor's Note: The above video first aired June 15, 2022.
The 24-year-old woman charged with attempted murder in the April 2022 shooting of Minneapolis Police crime scene investigator Nicki Lenway has admitted to investigators and prosecutors that she pulled the trigger, according to court filings.
Colleen Larson is charged with her boyfriend Tim Amacher, the father of Lenway’s child, who prosecutors believe directed Larson to shoot.
Now, Larson’s attorney writes that Amacher, who is 17 years older than Larson, began grooming her from as early as age 12 and is an “abusive, manipulative, egotistical, and controlling man.”
“Mr. Amacher is more than Ms. Larson’s co-defendant. He is her ‘master’—a term of art used in mixed martial arts (which he taught her in), but sadly, is more than a double entendre as it speaks of his role in her relationship,” attorney Daniel Adkins wrote in a motion opposing a joint trial.
The judge hasn’t decided yet whether Amacher and Larson will be tried separately or together, but Amacher filed a motion demanding a speedy trial that is now scheduled to begin Oct. 3.
Lenway was shot from behind while walking up to a supervised parenting center on University Avenue in Minneapolis to pick up her young son. The boy was inside to have a court-supervised visit with Amacher.
The shooting happened shortly after Amacher lost unsupervised visitation rights in the long and vicious custody battle between Lenway and him.
A court filing made by Senior Assistant Hennepin County Attorney Patrick Lofton revealed that Larson spoke with investigators in May and admitted shooting Lenway.
“When asked whose idea it was to shoot [Lenway], Larson stated it was Amacher’s. Larson stated that she and Amacher discussed killing [Lenway] a week or two before the shooting,” Lofton wrote in the court filing.
Amacher claims he had no idea Larson was going to shoot Lenway and that Larson acted alone. He currently has multiple pending motions to suppress evidence and to dismiss a charge.
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