State v. Koehler

OPINION

OTIS, Justice.

Defendant Patrick Byron Koehler appeals from a conviction for murder in the first degree. We remand for a new trial.

Karen Wiita, the twelve-year-old sister of appellant’s former woman companion, was murdered on February 27, 1978. Her badly beaten body was found in the late afternoon near Spirit Mountain Recreational Area in Duluth. Shortly thereafter, the investigation by Duluth police began to focus on appellant.

Appellant accounted for his whereabouts after approximately 9 a.m. on the day of the murder. The State therefore attempted to show that the murder took place…