ST. PETER — A patient at the state-operated mental health facility in St. Peter is accused of using an electric guitar to murder his roommate Monday, according to charges filed in Nicollet County.

David Michael Otey, 43, was charged with two felonies for second-degree murder with and without intent and three felonies for first-, second- and fourth-degree assault Tuesday in Nicollet County District Court.

Otey is accused of “bashing” his roommate at the Forensic Mental Health Program over the head with the guitar, causing fatal blunt force trauma, before choking a staff member, according to a criminal complaint.

In a statement, Minnesota Department of Human Services Commissioner Jodi Harpstead said the “tragic incident has left our patients and staff badly shaken.

“Our thoughts now are with the victim’s family and friends who have suffered a terrible loss,” she stated. “We are cooperating with law enforcement and have begun our own internal review.”

The incident reportedly occurred between midnight and 1 a.m. Monday on the north campus of the program, formerly known as the Minnesota Security Hospital. The victim, whose name wasn’t disclosed, was pronounced dead at 2:28 a.m. after being transported to a hospital.

Workers at the facility told police that Otey came to the staff desk and reported he had beaten the roommate over the head with the guitar. As staff tried to investigate, one worker said Otey choked her, prompting staff to retreat into an office and lock themselves inside.

Police were called and arrived, finding Otey pacing in a hallway while repeatedly balling up his hands in fists. An officer calmed him enough to sit on the floor and allow them to place him in handcuffs, the complaint states.

In the room that Otey and his roommate shared, police reported finding the guitar with blood on it on Otey’s side of the room. There were bits of broken wood on the victim’s bed.

David Michael Otey in 2018.

Court records show Otey was previously charged with second-degree murder in Crow Wing County in 2018. A criminal complaint from the time states Otey fatally stabbed his sister, Danyele Marie Johnson, at her workplace in Crosby.

A court-ordered examination led to Otey being found not guilty by reason of mental illness. He was then ordered to be civilly committed for an inordinate amount of time.

The north campus of the Forensic Mental Health Program in St. Peter is a satellite facility. The program’s main location is the upper campus housing the St. Peter Regional Treatment Center.

Otey is in the Nicollet County Jail. His bail hearing was scheduled for Wednesday.
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(c)2024 The Free Press (Mankato, Minn.)

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