Man Who Admitted Killing SCSU Professor Will Be Sentenced Next Week

(KNSI) – A Duluth man will be sentenced next week after pleading guilty to killing a St. Cloud State University Professor.

On October 1st, Jason Robert Beckman pleaded guilty to Murder in the 2nd degree for shooting and killing 68-year-old Edward Ward. Two other felony charges were dropped in the agreement. The 45-year-old man pleaded guilty and will be sentenced on October 29th. The deal calls for Beckman to serve 32 years in prison.

In June, Beckman stole a 2004 Audi sedan from a parking lot in Waite Park and crashed it in the 2600 block of Island View Drive in St. Cloud, the same block where Ward lived. The crash rendered the sedan inoperable. Beckman went to Ward’s door and Beckman allegedly used the gun to shoot Ward twice at close range while Ward was standing in the front entryway of his home.

Authorities located and arrested Beckman after someone called the St. Cloud Police Department to report that a man was carrying a handgun in the 1200 block of 4th Avenue South. The criminal complaint says Beckman was carrying a loaded .45 caliber handgun.

SCPD described the shooting as random, saying Beckman had no connections to Ward or the neighborhood.

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