MAPLE GROVE, Minn. — A third person has died of injuries that prosecutors say were inflicted with a pipe wrench by a mentally ill family member in Maple Grove.
David Ekers, 34, is charged with attacking his sister, Eleanor Ekers, his mother Linda Ekers and his grandmother Darlene Broste on July 8.
Broste, 86, died the next day. Eleanor Ekers, 34, died two weeks later, according to the Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office. Linda Ekers, 63, died this week, her husband, John Ekers, posted Wednesday on CaringBridge.org.
A criminal complaint says David Ekers admitted to trying to kill his grandmother, mother and sister because he believed the women wanted him to return to a psychiatric hospital or start taking his medication again.
The complaint says Ekers, who has mental health issues, told officers he wanted to kill the victims because he didn't want to be back on medication or go back to the hospital. The defendant said his mother had thought something was wrong the day before and wanted him to go to the hospital.
His father later told police of his son’s schizophrenia and about “a catatonic episode” the previous day, when he was unintelligible for 2 minutes. the Star Tribune reported.
David Ekers remains jailed on $1.5 million bail, with his next court appearance set for Aug. 4.
