MARSHALL, Minn. (AP) - Two young men were charged Monday with murder in connection with the shooting death last week of an elderly Minnesota couple whose home was also burglarized and set on fire.
Twenty-year-old Derek Hexum of Balaton and 18-year-old Theodore Como of Marshall were charged with second-degree murder, arson and armed burglary. A third man, 21-year-old Kyle Wesselink of Tyler, was charged with arson, burglary and receiving stolen property, the Star Tribune reported. All three appeared in Lyon County court and remain in jail.
Jim Hively, 75, and his wife, Cathy, 71, were found dead inside their rural Balaton home that was set on fire Thursday. Autopsies found the couple had been fatally shot.
Soon after the fire, the victims’ family released a statement noting the Hivelys’ many kindnesses, among them preparing and serving a community Thanksgiving meal at the armory and “baking and sharing treats with all the local school staff members.”
Two days after the fire, Fire Chief Troy Wendland and others helped the Hivelys’ son, Brad, get his crops in the field next to the charred family home.
“We did a lot of it Saturday,” Wendland said of the neighbors who chipped in. “I did my own crop and then helped. Everyone brought their own equipment and helped.”
According to the complaints, Como told investigators that Hexum shot the couple, but Hexum denied any involvement, saying he was at a friend’s home at the time, the Independent of Marshall reported.
The charges allege the couple was killed Wednesday with a stolen shotgun after Hexum and Como went to the home to commit a burglary. The next day, Hexum, Como and Wesselink returned to the home, and Hexum said he had killed the couple in the home the day before and had to get rid of evidence, Wesselink told investigators.
Como doused Jim Hiveley’s car in the garage with gas and lit it on fire while Hexum set the house on fire.
Public defenders will represent the three defendants. Como’s attorney, Cecil Naatz, told The Associated Press on Monday he hopes there will not be “a rush to justice” in the case.
Hexum is on probation after being sentenced for helping his brother flee law enforcement in a pickup truck last summer following the shooting and wounding of a 30-year-old man in neighboring Yellow Medicine County. The brother was caught, convicted and is in prison.
The complaints also allege that Hexum and Como stole a shotgun and a pickup from a rural Ghent home on Wednesday, then headed to the Hivelys’ home.
Hexum entered the home alone. Como said he covered his ears, then heard four of five shots and “someone screaming,” the complaint said. Como ran in and “started to grab stuff.” Hexum left alone in Jim Hively’s car. They later met at a vacant farm and burned the stolen pickup.
Marshall police found guns stolen from both homes in the trunk of Wesselink’s car after a traffic stop on Thursday, the complaints alleged. Como was Wesselink’s passenger at the time.
All three defendants are due back in court May 19.
The Hivelys had been married 53 years. Funeral services are scheduled for 11 a.m. Tuesday at Victory Christian Church in Balaton.
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