Minnesota man kills older sister, flees bullet-ridden home before turning himself in, authorities say

A Minnesota man is under arrest after he allegedly riddled his home in bullets and gunned down his older sister.

On May 8, Joseph T. Ness, 21, allegedly fatally shot 25-year-old Noelle Ness and then fled their family home in Chanhassen.

Around 2:20 that afternoon, a neighbor called 911 and told an emergency dispatcher that the siblings’ mother ran into her home and said, “Joey shot and killed Noelle,” WCCO reported, citing a criminal complaint. 

The mother then allegedly again told responding officers her son killed her daughter and said there were guns in the house, according to the station.

Around 45 minutes later, the charging document states, a second neighbor called 911 to report the shooting suspect had come to her property and allegedly said: “Please help me. I need your help. I need you to call the police for me. I just killed my sister. I want to surrender peacefully. I am unarmed.”

Police arrested Ness without incident. His sister, who was shot multiple times, died from her injuries at the crime scene.

According to the complaint, deputies found hundreds of spent shell casings in the home, which had bullet holes in the walls and several windows shot out. Investigators determined Ness used a rifle to fire multiple times from his room into his sister’s across the hallway. The complaint also notes that “Noelle may have been shot at a closer range as rounds traveled vertically through her bed.”

Police searched the home and recovered six firearms, which included AK-47 and AR-15 variants, as well as high-capacity drum magazines and ammunition, the complaint states.

“The investigation is ongoing and trying to determine the motive is part of the investigation," Sheriff Jason Kamerud said, according to the Star Tribune.

Ness faces one count of second-degree intentional murder and is being held in lieu of $1 million bond. If found guilty of the crime, the suspect faces up to 40 years in prison.