Big Lake Man Convicted in Mother’s Grisly 2020 Murder

(KNSI) — The suspect accused in the brutal murder of his mother has been found guilty in the first part of a two part trial.

According to the criminal complaint filed in Sherburne County court, July 23rd, 2020, police were called to the home of Rosalie Johnson after her husband, Andrew Jordahl, came home from work and made the gruesome discovery. Their son, Eric, was in the garage, covered in blood, and said, “the devil exists, it’s in me and I ate Mom.” Johnson was found in the basement beaten and stabbed to death and partially dismembered. Jordahl said after his father went to work, he went into his mother’s room and she told him to go back to bed. He then proceeded to bite her and began hitting her with his fists and a fan, before retrieving a butcher knife from the kitchen with the intent to kill her and stabbed her repeatedly.

He was charged with second degree murder before being indicted by a grand jury on first degree murder charges. In 2021, he was found incompetent to stand trial, and the case stalled out, but prosecutors filed a notice of intent to prosecute when Jordahl regained competency. That happened in 2023 and was reaffirmed in 2024 before his attorneys filed a motion of intent to assert a defense of not guilty by reason of mental illness. That triggered what is called a bifurcated trial, or a trial split into two separate phases, each decided independently.

This past January, Jordahl waived his right to a jury trial, opting instead for a bench trial where the judge decides both the guilt phase and the mental illness phase. Both sides submitted their evidence for review and waived the seven day deadline for the judge to issue a ruling after a trial concludes to give time for written closing arguments and an oral argument session.

Judge Karen Schommer found Jordahl guilty on all counts, including first degree murder which means an automatic life sentence.

On Monday, April 13th, Schommer will hear arguments regarding Jordahl’s assertion he should be found not guilty due to mental illness. A finding of not guilty doesn’t mean he goes free. It typically results in a commitment to a secure psychiatric facility rather than prison.

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