Minnesota Man Pleaded Guilty to Murder After Fatally Stabbing Both of His Parents

A Minnesota man has been sentenced to prison after he stabbed both his parents while he was on a drug rage. The man pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to prison for more than a decade on May 8th.

A 40-year-old man from Minnesota, identified as Travis Lester, has been sentenced to prison for 11 years. Lester pleaded guilty to the second-degree murder of his parents in April, months after he attacked them with a knife in their kitchen. Lester, however, was finally sentenced to 11 years behind bars on May 8th, with credit for the 245 days he had already served.

According to a criminal complaint reviewed by Law&Crime, the attack happened on the evening of September 5th, last year. Police responded to a 911 call received around 6 in the evening that same day from a house in Champlin, Minnesota.

Dispatchers told the Champlin Police Department officers that all they could hear was someone “fumbling” with the phone, then someone yelling “No.” After the call, a neighbor called 911, reporting that they found a woman at the house “covered in blood.”

When authorities arrived at the home, they found Lester’s father on a private deck, moaning and gripping a railing with blood-covered hands. He told officers that his son had stabbed both him and his wife. He also said he did not know where his son or his wife was at that time.

According to the complaint, Lester’s father, who had multiple stab wounds and was reportedly going into shock, told police that his son attacked them during what he described as a “drug-induced rage.” The complaint states he suffered stab wounds to his neck, chest, abdomen and hand.

Lester’s mother was found in a neighbor’s house with stab wounds to her neck, chest, abdomen, and arms. Both parents were transported to the hospital in critical condition. Despite the severity of their wounds, they both survived the attack.

Police learned that Lester was likely driving a silver Buick Lucerne. After police located the car, they initiated a traffic stop and saw a kitchen knife inside the car that matched a set found at the victim’s home. Police also found a jar in the car’s cup holder that contained what appeared to be methamphetamine.

Lester confessed to stabbing his parents and told police that he had been thinking about "doing it” for a day or two before he carried out the attack. He also added that he “didn’t want to” stab his parents.

Lester was charged with two counts of attempted second-degree murder. He entered a guilty plea on April 10th.