Murder Trial For East Grand Forks Man Delayed Third Time This Year

(KNOX) –The murder trial for an East Grand Forks man accused of killing his father nearly six years ago has been delayed once again, this time to October 6.

34-year-old Vincent Chase Villarreal was arrested in January 2021 and charged with murder with extreme indifference. This is a Class AA felony that carries a max sentence of life imprisonment.

Villarreal’s attorney requested to have more time to review evidence. Grand Forks Judge Theodore Sandberg granted the motion, but emphasized it would be the last time the trial would be delayed. The trial was supposed to begin in March, before it was rescheduled to July 14.

Villarreal allegedly murdered his father, 55-year-old Jeffrey Allen Shulzitski, in December 2020. Villarreal is accused of killing him at the former Budget Inn Express motel in Grand Forks. Authorities found the death suspicious, and an autopsy determined his father died from a gunshot wound.

Villarreal was arrested in 2021 in Minnesota on unrelated charges and served prison time before he was transferred to Grand Forks County Correctional Center in February 2025 to face the murder charge.