Four murdered in Twin Cities

On Thanksgiving Day 2019, Raven B. Gant’s ex-boyfriend shot and killed her in front of her minor daughter in North Minneapolis. Later, over the holiday weekend, Kjersten Marie Schladetzky, and her two sons, William and Nelson were killed in a triple murder-suicide by their father and Kjersten’s ex-husband, David, in south Minneapolis.

Raven, Kjersten, William, and Nelson are Minnesota’s most recent confirmed intimate partner homicide victims. There have been 19 confirmed intimate partner homicide victims as of press time on Dec. 21.

On the morning of Dec. 1, David Schladetzky, 53, shot and killed his two sons, William, 11, and Nelson, 8, outside of their home at 2738 Oakland Ave. He then entered the house and shot and killed his ex-wife, Kjersten, 39, before killing himself. Police officers responded to calls of gunshots and found the two boys in the front yard. As officers arrived, they heard shots coming from inside the house. Kjersten and David’s bodies were later found inside the home. A divorce was finalized between the two in June 2019.

Randall Watkins, 41, faces a second-degree murder charge for the killing of 27-year-old Raven Gant, who was shot in the back. The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office says it will seek an enhanced sentence in this case due to the presence of the child.

Intimate partner homicides have a devastating impact on children. Children are injured and killed. Additionally, witnessing the murder of a parent due to intimate partner homicide can have long-term adverse effects on children. In the Violence Free Minnesota 30-year retrospective on intimate partner homicide in Minnesota, a child witnessed the homicide of their parent in 22% of the 685 cases from 1989-2018.

“The safety of our children is directly linked to intimate partner violence of their parents,” said Violence Free Minnesota Executive Director Liz Richards. “Protecting our children is an essential part of our work to end intimate partner violence. We must find the words – and the solutions – to say that these deaths are the fatal result of power and control; and we can take action as a community to end intimate partner violence.”

Raven Gant, and Kjersten, William, and Nelson Schladetzky’s lives will be honored at an intimate partner homicide memorial on Jan. 28, 2020, and included in the 2019 intimate partner homicide report to be released on Oct. 1, 2020.

If you are a victim experiencing abuse, contact Day One at 866-223-1111 to connect with services.

Information courtesy of Violence Free Minnesota, formerly the Minnesota Coalition for Battered Women.

Read more in our Voices Against Violence series here.

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