A Pennington County (MN) jury has found an Oklee man guilty of second-degree murder in his wife’s death.
Forty-six-year-old Eric Reinbold was found guilty of murder in the stabbing death of Lissette Reinbold as she was leaving for work on the morning of July 9, 2021.
The investigation showed that Eric stabbed Lisette 27 times and left the property.
She was found by one of the couple’s children.
Jury deliberations began today (Fri) in Thief River Falls.
Eric Reinbold will be sentenced later.
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(KNOX / KFGO)
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(Statement from MN Attorney General Keith Ellison)
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison today secured the conviction in Pennington County of Eric Reinbold on two counts of murder in the second degree. On July 9, 2021, Reinbold stabbed his wife Lissette to death after arguing with her the day before. One of Lissette’s children found her dead on the ground next to her vehicle. Reinbold, who had previously been convicted of a federal weapons charge, was released early from federal prison in March 2021. Following the murder, Reinbold fled into the woods and evaded U.S. Marshals and local law enforcement for over three weeks before he was captured on August 4, 2021. After less than a week of testimony, a Pennington County jury deliberated for about four hours before convicting Reinbold on both counts today. The jury also found the aggravating factor of particular cruelty, which authorizes the judge to impose an upward departure from the sentencing guidelines. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled on a future date.
Attorney General Ellison accepted prosecution of this case upon referral from the Freeborn County Attorney’s Office, pursuant to Minnesota Statutes Sec. 8.01. Since 2019, attorneys of the Criminal Division of Attorney General Ellison’s office have prosecuted 40 cases of serious violent crime in 22 counties across Minnesota, including cases of murder, attempted murder, manslaughter, criminal vehicular homicide, and criminal sexual assault. To date, Attorney General Ellison’s Office has not lost a single one of these cases. Since 2019, Attorney General Ellison has repeatedly asked the Legislature to fund more prosecutors for the Criminal Division, which the Minnesota Senate has refused to provide.
“Reinbold brutally murdered his wife, leaving her body for her child to find, then fled justice for weeks before he was captured. He has now been convicted for his hateful, violent act. I want to thank law-enforcement agencies for solving this crime, the jury for their hard work, the Pennington County Attorney’s office for their cooperation, and the attorneys in my office for successfully pursuing justice. As always, my thoughts today are with to the victims of this crime, above all Lissette’s children. We can never bring their beloved mother back, but they and all of us are now protected from her murderer,” Attorney General Ellison said.
“Though original criminal jurisdiction for this murder lies with the Pennington County Attorney, as similar cases do with all county attorneys, I took this case on the request of the Pennington County Attorney because under the law, it is my job to assist our county attorneys when they ask for the help. Minnesotans in every corner of our state deserve equal justice and my office is here to help provide it. When a prosecutor asks for my help, I will seek justice for victims and prosecute offenders to the fullest extent of the law,” Attorney General Ellison concluded.
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