Bio

Joshua Allen Krueth was born on November 12, 1983, and grew up in Ramsey, Minnesota. He lived with his family in the same general community where the murders later happened. By his late teens and early twenties, Krueth was using methamphetamine. Reports later described him as a methamphetamine user, and his drug use became part of the court proceedings. However, the court did not accept drug addiction as a reason to excuse or dismiss his responsibility for the crimes.

Before the murders, Krueth had some minor contact with local police and had a burglary-related conviction. He also worked installing drywall with his father. In September 2004, when he was 20 years old, Krueth carried out two separate shootings in Ramsey. The victims lived within a short distance of him, but there was no confirmed personal connection or clear motive. The random nature of the killings shocked the community and led authorities to describe him as a dangerous offender who had been stopped before more people were harmed.

Murder Story

On September 4, 2004, 60-year-old Lawrence Plessel was inside his home in Ramsey, Minnesota. Someone standing outside the house fired a rifle through the kitchen window and shot him in the chest. Plessel had been making a late-night snack when he was killed.

The shooting appeared random. There was no confirmed personal connection between Plessel and Joshua Krueth. Authorities later said Krueth stood about 50 yards from the home, looked through the rifle scope, and fired through the kitchen window. When asked why he did not shoot again, Krueth reportedly replied, “That’s all it took.”

Fifteen days later, on September 19, 2004, Krueth entered the home of Suzanne Kaye Fischer, a 59-year-old nurse, through an unlocked patio door. Fischer was sleeping beside her husband, Jerome Fischer, when Krueth shot her in the head. Jerome began to get up, and Krueth struck him in the head with the rifle before fleeing.

The attack led to a large police search. Investigators found a backpack in a park near the Mississippi River. Inside or near it was a sweatshirt with the letters IUPUI, referring to Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. The sweatshirt was shown on television, and someone contacted police after recognizing it as connected to Krueth.

Police arrested Krueth soon afterward. Reports state that he resisted arrest but was unarmed when taken into custody. Investigators also recovered high-powered rifles during the investigation. Contemporary reporting states that Krueth told authorities he had killed both victims, though early reports did not identify a clear motive.

Anoka County Sheriff Bruce Andersohn described Krueth as a possible serial killer who had been stopped. Because there were two separate killings, some reports used that language, though for your website the safest classification remains Murderer, with two victims.

Krueth pleaded guilty in the killing of Suzanne Fischer. On September 14, 2005, he was sentenced to life imprisonment. Under Minnesota sentencing rules, he would not be eligible for parole for at least 30 years, with credit for time already served.

Krueth also faced a separate case for the murder of Lawrence Plessel. In May 2006, an Anoka County judge sentenced him to 40 years in prison, the maximum penalty for second-degree murder in that case. That sentence was ordered to begin only if and when he completed the life sentence for Fischer’s murder.