MANKATO, Minn. — A 40-year-old Mankato man accused of beating, choking and raping his ex-girlfriend in August 2023 has been sentenced to 48 years in prison.
In court Tuesday, John Robert Olson refused to take responsibility. “I am not a rapist. I am not a predator,” he told the judge. “I never had a fair chance at a fair trial with all the publicity with Chelsea’s interview with KARE 11.”
In June, Olson was found guilty of a brutal attack on Chelsea Zamudio that authorities say lasted for hours.
“I feel relieved that he’s not going to be able to hurt me again,” she said after the sentence was announced.
Last year, Chelsea told KARE 11 Investigates how she finally ended the assault by playing dead.
Then, from her hospital bed, she taped Olson’s confession when he called her to apologize.
“I’m not supposed to hit you anymore and that went way too far yesterday,” Olson can be heard saying in the recorded phone call.
“You were pushing my buttons, but that doesn’t give me a right,” Olson said.
The brutal assault happened just hours after Olson had been released from jail after an earlier attack on Zamudio.
Advocates for domestic assault survivors tell KARE 11 the case is an example of how Minnesota’s criminal justice system can fail to protect victims of domestic assault who report the crime.
The first attack
The first time she called police, Chelsea Zamudio said her ex-boyfriend had waited in the dark outside her apartment and punched her so hard she hit her head on the pavement.
It was July 5, 2023.
Chelsea told officers Olson had strangled her in the past and now she feared he would kill her.
A month and a half later, she says he nearly did.
“Everybody could see this coming a mile away,” Chelsea told KARE 11 Investigates.
Several days after punching Chelsea, Olson was arrested and charged with felony harassment and gross misdemeanor domestic abuse.
Because Olson has a criminal record a mile long – including previous domestic abuse-related convictions involving another woman – the new charges could have carried enhanced penalties. He could have faced years in prison.
He was held in the Blue Earth County Jail awaiting trial on $40,000 bail. His trial was set to start Sept. 14.
The plea deal
The trial never happened.
On Aug. 21, at a pre-trial hearing, the prosecutor in the case discussed the possibility of a plea deal with Chelsea. She says she objected.
“I told him, just like I told everyone that is close with me, that if he is released on the streets, pick a hospital or pick a morgue - because it’s going to be one or the other,” she said.
Despite her objection, the next day, Chelsea received an email from the office’s victim/witness coordinator telling her the prosecutor had extended an offer to Olson’s attorney and they’d reached a deal.
The terms included dropping the felony – which carried a harsher sentence. Instead, Olson agreed to plead guilty to the gross misdemeanor and be sentenced to 60 days in jail – most of which he had already served awaiting trial.
The plea agreement also called for the bail requirement to be dropped. Under the deal, Olson would be released without so much as GPS monitoring as he awaited a sentencing hearing.
Last-minute notice
Later that afternoon, Chelsea learned in an email the plea would be heard the very next day and Olson would be released afterward.
“No GPS monitor, nothing. They just let him right out,” she said.
State law requires prosecutors to inform the judge if a victim objects to a plea deal. There’s no evidence that happened.
KARE 11 obtained a transcript of the plea hearing. Even though Chelsea says she told the prosecutor she objected, the transcript shows that was never mentioned in court.
Although the court ordered Olson not to have any contact with Chelsea, he quickly ignored it.
Within hours of being released, Chelsea says Olson showed up at her door. “Then he reminded me that if I testified against him, he was going to kill me,” she said.
Following through on a threat
The criminal charges describe what happened next.
Olson is accused of punching Chelsea in the face, knocking her to the ground, then continuing to beat and kick her – holding her captive for hours. She was beaten, choked and raped.
“Hours of kicks and slaps and punches,” she said.
When KARE 11 interviewed Chelsea last fall the bruises and stitches were still visible from the attack. Her arm was in a cast. She said she had 22 broken bones.
Photos show her apartment caked in blood.
Prosecutors say Olson held her captive until she played dead.
“Nothing about that is keeping her safety in mind.”
Advocates for domestic assault survivors say Chelsea’s case is alarming.
Joe Shannon helps put together Violence Free Minnesota’s annual domestic violence homicide report – focusing on five key risk factors for deadly violence.
“In this case, there were four of those. She had left the relationship, there was a history of violence, he had strangled her, and he had threatened to kill her,” Shannon said.
When victims tell authorities they fear their partner will harm them, he says, they need to believe it.
Shannon reviewed court documents in the two cases in which Olson was charged with attacking Chelsea. He says he was surprised by the plea deal – especially the lack of GPS – and appalled by the fact that Chelsea was given just one day’s notice.
“Nothing about that is keeping her safety in mind,” he said.
Minnesota law requires victim notice. However, it is silent on how much notice must be given.
“You were dead for like, eight minutes.”
From her hospital bed after the second assault, Chelsea vowed to do all she could to ensure Olson wouldn’t get out again.
Knowing he’d call, she downloaded a recording app on her cell phone.
He did call, asking “You’re not going to record this and get me in more trouble, are you?”
Chelsea was recording as he apologized again and again.
“I’m so sorry babe. I’m so sorry,” he said.
Olson admitted he believed he’d killed her. “You were dead for like, eight minutes – literally.”
Chelsea turned the recording over to prosecutors. “I wanted to do everything I possibly could to make sure the state couldn’t say we don’t have enough, we’re not sure,” she said.
On Tuesday, Judge Gregory Anderson sentenced Olson to consecutive sentences on multiple counts totaling roughly 48 years. The judge said the upward departure from state sentencing guidelines was due to the particular cruelty Olson demonstrated during the assault.
Referring to Chelsea’s blood-soaked apartment, Anderson said, “The scene would not have been out of place in a slasher movie.”
Even if he qualifies for a reduced sentence because of good behavior in prison, Olson would likely be in his 70s before he is released.
Chelsea wishes it wouldn’t have taken an attack that nearly killed her to put him back behind bars.
Helping others
Still healing from a brain injury and shattered bones, Chelsea said she wants others in abusive relationships to hear about her case.
She hopes they can find the strength to get help earlier than she did.
“Say something the first time,” she said. “Don’t let the first time become the second time – and have that become a gigantic trial because you almost died.”
“Just do your best to get help the first time it happens, so you don’t end up like me,” she said.
Chelsea also hopes the court system will learn a lesson.
She says courts need to make certain future victims of domestic abuse are given more notice before their abusers are released from jail. She says she had just hours.
If you or someone you know is experiencing partner abuse, there are resources to help.
Minnesota DayOne Hotline: 866-223-1111
Violence Free Minnesota: https://www.vfmn.org/get-help